PulseAbout the transparency features
Three ways to tell participants you are recording, and what each is good for.
Pulse has features for telling the people in a meeting that transcription is under way. There are two: posting a message to the meeting chat automatically, and overlaying an indicator on your camera image. You can use either or both. Meeting apps also have notices of their own that can be combined with these, so this article sets all three side by side — what participants see, and which kinds of meeting each suits. The setup steps are on separate pages for individuals and for administrators.
The transparency features run on a computer. Automatic chat notices are handled by the desktop app (macOS and Windows) and the browser extension; the watermark is handled by the camera bundled with the desktop app.
Where this feature sits
Japanese law has no general prohibition on recording meetings or calls. Recording and transcribing a meeting you are yourself part of is generally understood not to be unlawful. The features described here are therefore not a procedure for obtaining legal consent; they are designed to let participants know what is happening. Think of them as the means by which your internal rules, or an arrangement with a client, are put into practice. Giving notice makes “nobody told me” far less likely afterwards, and makes it easier to explain yourself when you share the record of a meeting.
For the legal picture — when consent is required under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and where the position is merely a recommendation — see How far you can go with AI minutes (a guide for teams). This article covers only how to choose between the features.
For meetings with people from outside your organisation, or a first sales conversation, we recommend saying a word at the start of the meeting as well as relying on the feature. Chat gets missed, and on a phone call or in person there is no chat panel at all.
Three ways to tell people
| Method | Where participants see it | Apps mainly covered | When it appears | Who sets it up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic chat notice | The meeting chat panel | Google Meet / Zoom / Microsoft Teams | Once, just after transcription starts | The user, or a Pulse administrator |
| Watermark | Your own camera image | Any app where you can choose the camera | Stays visible throughout transcription | The user, or a Pulse administrator |
| The meeting app's own notice | A dialog on joining, and similar | Zoom / Microsoft Teams | When a meeting starts or is joined | An administrator of the meeting app |
Automatic chat notices
When transcription starts, Pulse posts a message once to the meeting chat. It reaches everyone with the same wording without interrupting the conversation, which suits recurring meetings where the same routine repeats. In Google Meet the posted message is pinned, so people who join partway through see it too.
On the other hand, participants who do not have the chat panel open can miss it. Note too that someone joining late from outside your organisation may not see it, depending on the meeting's chat settings.
A short message about transcription being under way, pinned at the top of the Google Meet chat panel.
Watermark
This overlays a small indicator in the corner of your camera image showing that transcription is under way. It catches the eye of participants who are not watching chat, and reaches anyone joining partway through there and then. It is shown only while you are transcribing and disappears when you stop.
It requires installing an extra camera, and a one-off change of the camera setting in your meeting app to Pulse's camera. It cannot be shown in meetings you join with your camera off, so pairing it with the automatic chat notice is the reliable approach.
A small badge overlaid in the corner of your own camera image indicating that transcription is under way.
Your meeting app's own notices
Zoom and Microsoft Teams have features of their own, separate from Pulse, that display a notice of their own wording when a meeting starts or is joined. These are administration features provided by those companies, and they are configured by your own organisation, not by UNCHAIN, Inc.. They can be used alongside Pulse's transparency features where you want the same wording company-wide, or a uniform notice that covers tools other than Pulse.
- Zoom: an account owner or administrator can set a custom disclaimer shown on joining. The title and body are editable, and you can target it at participants inside your organisation, outside it, or both. Plan conditions apply.
- Microsoft Teams: an IT administrator can change the wording of the in-meeting recording and transcription notice, and the privacy policy URL shown to participants.
These are configured in each platform's admin console; UNCHAIN, Inc. cannot configure them on your behalf. Deciding what notice to give is a matter for the organisation using the product.
Which to choose
If you are unsure, use these as a guide.
- Mostly internal recurring meetings: the automatic chat notice is enough. With the same people every time, explaining it out loud once at the start is enough for the notice to do its job thereafter.
- Lots of external meetings and interviews: make a spoken word at the start part of the routine, on top of the automatic chat notice. Adding the watermark reaches people who do not look at chat.
- You want one company-wide rule: an administrator can turn it on across the workspace and stop users switching it off. Consider how it sits within your internal rules at the same time.
- You often join with your camera off: the watermark alone will not reach anyone. Always pair it with the automatic chat notice.
- You want one notice covering tools beyond Pulse: use your meeting app's own notice alongside Pulse's automatic chat notice.
Setup instructions
Related articles
If you have any questions, contact us at tharada@the-unchain.com.