PulseEnabling the transparency features for your organisation (for admins)
How to roll out the features that tell participants recording is in progress, across a whole organisation.
Enabling the transparency features across a workspace means meeting participants are told transcription is in progress without each user setting it up individually. This article covers how to run a company-wide rollout, wording you can use internally, and answers to likely questions. The setup steps for each platform are in their own articles.
Enterprise plan
What the features do, and how they compare from a participant's point of view, is in About the transparency features. Read that first when deciding whether to roll them out.
Changing workspace settings requires Pulse workspace administrator rights. Distributing the extension for Google Meet additionally requires Google Admin console administrator rights, and distributing permissions to macOS devices requires MDM administrator rights.
This article is for administrators applying the transparency features across a workspace. To set it up for your own account only, see Telling people you are recording (for individuals).
Write the range of plans on which workspace-wide enforcement is available to match UNCHAIN, Inc.'s terms. This article assumes use on the Enterprise plan. Enabling it from individual preferences is assumed to be available on the free, Personal and Team plans too.
Comparing the rollout work
Which feature you use changes the work required of administrators and of users.
| Automatic chat notice | Watermark | |
|---|---|---|
| Supported OS | macOS / Windows | macOS 14.0 or later / Windows 11 |
| Supported meeting apps | Google Meet / Zoom / Microsoft Teams | any app where the camera can be selected |
| Work for administrators | for Google Meet, distributing the browser extension and adjusting the meeting chat setting. For Zoom / Teams, granting accessibility permission on macOS devices | enabling it for the workspace, and pre-approving the camera extension through MDM |
| Work for users | for Google Meet, installing the extension (not needed if distributed). For Zoom / Teams on macOS, granting accessibility permission | installing the camera and selecting it in each meeting app |
| Prerequisites | none | one of the automatic chat notices must be enabled first |
Either can be used on its own, or both together. In organisations where people often join with their camera off, building around the automatic chat notice is the more reliable approach.
How automatic chat notices are delivered
Which component posts the message differs by meeting app. It affects how you sequence the rollout, so check before you start.
- Google Meet: the Pulse browser extension posts it. It works on both macOS and Windows. Google Chrome, or a supported Chromium-based browser (Microsoft Edge, Arc, Brave), is required.
- Zoom / Microsoft Teams: the Pulse desktop app posts into the chat. It can be applied workspace-wide on both macOS and Windows. macOS requires accessibility permission, which can be granted in bulk through MDM or individually by each user.
Prerequisites for the watermark
To begin configuring the watermark for a workspace, one of the automatic chat notices (Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams) must be enabled first. That condition keeps a meeting in a state where notice has already been given, for when a user turns their camera off partway through. The reasoning and the behaviour are detailed in the next article.
How to run the rollout
A company-wide rollout goes more smoothly in this order.
Decide the scope
Decide whether to apply it everywhere at once or start with particular departments. Distribution of the Google Meet extension can be narrowed by organisational unit (OU) or Google group.
Settle its place in your internal rules
Document what recording and transcription are for, who can see the records, and how long they are kept.
Check labour procedures
Check whether the work rules need amending. Whether the procedure is required is explained under “Points to note as monitoring of employees” in this article.
Announce it
Around two weeks before rollout, send an announcement explaining the purpose and the impact. Draft wording is under “Internal announcement templates” in this article.
Enable the settings
Enable the automatic chat notice first, confirm it works, and then move on to the watermark.
Prepare for enquiries
Share the likely questions and answers with your IT and HR teams.
After rollout, confirm three things: that the notice is posted in a test meeting attended by users in the target departments; that, if you use the watermark, setup has completed on users' machines and the meeting app's camera has switched over; and that the feature cannot be turned off from users' individual settings.
Internal announcement templates
Three ready-to-use versions: for email, for an intranet post, and for the watermark rollout. Replace the parts in 〔 〕 with your own details.
For email
Subject: A “recording in progress” notice is being added to our meeting transcription tool (from 〔start date〕)
To all staff
This is 〔department〕. From 〔start date〕, we are adding a feature to Pulse, the tool we use to produce meeting minutes, that tells meeting participants when transcription is in progress.
What changes When transcription starts, a message to the effect that transcription is in progress is posted automatically in the meeting chat. 〔If you are also using the watermark, add: An indicator showing that transcription is in progress will also appear in the corner of your camera image.〕
Why we are doing it So that participants know a record of the meeting is being kept. It also prevents misunderstandings arising later in meetings with external attendees.
What we ask of you 〔If you use Google Meet, add: A browser extension will be distributed automatically. Nothing is required of you.〕〔If you use the watermark, add: A one-off setup screen will appear the next time you open Pulse. Follow the on-screen instructions; it takes two to three minutes.〕
This feature is not used for attendance management or performance review We do not aggregate who held meetings and when, or use it in individual assessments. The rules for its use are set out in 〔internal policy name〕.
Any questions to 〔department and address〕.
For an intranet post
A “recording in progress” notice is being added to meeting transcription
From 〔start date〕, starting transcription in Pulse automatically posts a notice in the meeting chat. The change tells participants that a record is being kept, so that misunderstandings do not arise later.
- Applies to: all staff in 〔departments〕
- Start date: 〔start date〕
- What you need to do: 〔either “nothing” or “a one-off setup the next time you start the app”〕
- Rules for use: 〔internal policy name〕
- Enquiries: 〔department and address〕
If a participant raises an objection to recording, stop transcription there and then. How to do that is at 〔URL of the relevant help centre page〕.
For the watermark rollout (email)
Because the watermark requires work on users' machines, announcing it separately from the automatic chat notice avoids confusion.
Subject: A “transcribing” indicator is being added to meeting camera images (from 〔start date〕)
To all staff
This is 〔department〕. From 〔start date〕, while Pulse is transcribing, a small indicator showing that transcription is in progress will appear in the corner of your camera image. The change lets meeting participants see at the time that a record is being kept.
What we ask of you (about three minutes) 1. The next time you open Pulse, a setup prompt appears. Follow the on-screen instructions. 2. In Zoom / Google Meet / Microsoft Teams settings, change your camera to “〔the camera you normally use〕 - Watermark”. This is a one-off step per app.
Things worth knowing - The indicator appears only while transcription is running. Your video is not recorded throughout the meeting. - Supported environments are macOS 14.0 or later and Windows 11. - Transcription may pause briefly until the camera has switched over. - The indicator cannot be turned off in individual settings. - This feature is not used for attendance management or performance review. The rules for its use are set out in 〔internal policy name〕.
Full steps are at 〔URL of the relevant help centre page〕. Any questions to 〔department and address〕.
Likely questions and answers
The questions users and employee representatives most often raise, with the substance of an answer. Adapt them to your own policies.
Q. Why are meetings being recorded?
A. To keep accurate minutes and share what was discussed with members who could not attend. The aims are to cut the time spent producing minutes and to keep a record of what was said so decisions can be traced. It is not for monitoring individual employees.
Q. Can I refuse to be recorded?
A. Make it your practice to stop transcription there and then when a participant asks. Parts already recorded can be deleted block by block from the transcript. For meetings with external attendees, we recommend stating explicitly in your internal rules that recording is always stopped on request. Whether an employee can ask for a meeting they attend to be stopped is for each company to set as practice.
Q. Will records be used in performance reviews?
A. We recommend expressly prohibiting use for performance review, attendance management or any other monitoring of individual employees in your internal rules. Include a clause prohibiting use beyond the stated purpose, and configure viewing to be limited to meeting attendees and project members.
Q. Who can see the records?
A. By default, the person who created them and anyone they share with. There is also a setting to share across the whole workspace. Decide what default your organisation wants after reading Sharing controls.
Q. How long are records kept?
A. The retention period can be set. See Automatic transcript deletion and match it to the retention period in your internal rules.
Q. Can it be used for occupational health or HR interviews?
A. For interviews where sensitive personal information such as health or medical history may come up, we recommend not using it as a rule. Where its use is unavoidable, obtain the individual's prior consent. The Act on the Protection of Personal Information requires the individual's consent, as a rule, for acquiring sensitive personal information.
Q. Do we need consent from external attendees every time?
A. Japanese law contains no provision generally requiring consent from everyone present in order to record a meeting. For details see How far you can rely on AI meeting notes (a guide for teams). Giving notice is, however, strongly recommended. Where a contract with a client or industry practice requires individual consent, follow that.
Q. Does enabling the watermark mean my video is recorded all the time?
A. No video is recorded. The watermark overlays an indicator on the camera image you send, only while transcription is running. Stop transcription and the indicator disappears. What Pulse captures is audio; video is never stored.
Q. Why can I not turn the watermark off myself?
A. It is set as an organisational policy, so that participants are reliably told a record is being kept. Where a particular meeting does not need a record, simply do not start transcription.
Q. What happens in meetings where I join with my camera off?
A. If the automatic chat notice has already been sent in that meeting, you can keep transcribing with your camera off. Where neither notice has been given, transcription may stop. That behaviour is why the automatic chat notice is a prerequisite for rolling out the watermark.
Points to note as monitoring of employees
If you are introducing ongoing recording and transcription of meetings employees attend, consider its place in your internal rules. The Personal Information Protection Commission's guideline Q&A sets out points to bear in mind when monitoring employees: (i) specify the purpose of the monitoring in advance, set it down in internal rules and make it clear to employees; (ii) designate who is responsible and what authority they have; (iii) establish the rules for how it is done in advance and make sure those operating it understand them; and (iv) check that it is being carried out properly in accordance with those rules. Notifying and consulting a labour union, and informing employees, are also regarded as desirable.
Where rules on recording and transcribing meetings apply across the company, Article 89 of the Labour Standards Act may require them to go into the work rules. When amending work rules, Article 90 requires you to hear the opinion of the union representing a majority of workers at the workplace, or, failing that, a person representing a majority of the workers.
In preparing or amending work rules, the employer must hear the opinion of the union organised by a majority of the workers at the workplace, or, where there is none, of a person representing a majority of the workers. Where rules on the use of a meeting recording tool go into the work rules, or into internal rules made under them, this procedure has to be followed.
Prohibiting covert recording in the workplace through the work rules is generally considered possible in itself, but there is a body of opinion questioning the validity of a blanket prohibition extending to recording done by a victim of harassment to preserve evidence, and treating it as a disciplinary matter. When setting internal rules on recording, check with your legal department or external counsel.
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For anything else, contact tharada@the-unchain.com.