We’ve all been 25 minutes into a meeting and realised we forgot to hit the record or transcribe button. It’s frustrating.
However, Microsoft may be working to fix that problem – as revealed in a patent filing called ‘Retroactive Recording of a Meeting’.
Microsoft filed the patent in June 2023, with the “date of patent” listed as 8 October 2024.
The patent details how a user could record a meeting after it’s started, including screen-shared activity.
Images attached to the patent show the familiar Teams menu bar, but with options to start a recording retroactively or up to thirty minutes after a meeting has begun (the patent actually reveals that recording could be started even after a meeting has finished).
As expected, the patent describes the underlying technology in great detail. Essentially, meeting data would be segmented and stored on a digital ledger. Microsoft refers to this as “stealth recording”.
Meeting data is encrypted and sits here until a meeting participant triggers retroactive recording. At this point, consent is required from all meeting participants (see image below).
Users can choose whether to allow recording for the entire meeting or just from when the recording was initiated.
Rejecting retroactive recording would delete the previous meeting data associated with this person.
"Advanced settings" would give users more control; they could consent to audio recording but not video recording, for example.
Of course, the patent is not definitive proof Microsoft will release the feature.
Anyone wanting to understand the technology and process in painstaking detail can view the patent here.
Been Kicked Out of A Meeting?
In a separate patent dated 10 October, Microsoft has outlined technology to improve experiences for meeting participants with dodgy internet.
