Microsoft Teams has become an indispensable tool for communication and collaboration in the modern workplace. With its robust features for calls and meetings, including recording and transcription services, it’s essential to understand where these records are stored and how they can be managed effectively.

Storage Locations for Teams Recordings and Transcripts

When a Teams meeting is recorded, the recording is automatically saved to Microsoft 365 and is accessible in OneDrive or SharePoint. For private meetings, recordings are stored in OneDrive, while recordings of channel meetings are saved to SharePoint. This ensures that recordings are secure and compliant with Microsoft Purview compliance features.

For calls that have both a recording and a transcript, the transcript is linked in the chat for the meeting and displayed in the Recordings and Transcripts tab for the meeting in the Teams calendar.

In cases where there is only a transcript without a recording, the transcript is still available for reference and download in Teams after the meeting, providing a valuable resource for those who want to review the discussion.

The transcript isn’t stored separately but is embedded in the recorded mp4 file. You can access and download the transcript as a vtt or Word document file from Teams.

Upcoming Changes to Storage Locations

Microsoft is planning an update that will centralize the storage of Teams transcripts to only OneDrive. This change is aimed at streamlining the storage process and is detailed in the Microsoft 365 roadmap item 365720. This move will simplify access and management of transcripts for users and administrators alike.

Configuring Retention for Recordings and Transcripts

Retention policies are crucial for managing the lifecycle of recordings and transcripts. Administrators can configure these settings to retain necessary data or delete data that’s no longer required. Teams supports retention policies for chat and channel messages, allowing admins to decide whether to retain or delete this data after a specific period.

To enable call recording and transcription, admins can use the Microsoft Teams admin center or PowerShell. The settings for calls and meetings should be consistent to avoid confusion among users. Additionally, retention policies can be applied to the entire organization or to specific users and teams.

Remember, since transcripts aren’t stored as a separate file, the retention setting for recording file is also what the transcript retention will follow.

References

Here are additional references that can help understand more:

Teams meeting recording – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
View live transcription in Microsoft Teams meetings – Microsoft Support
Configure call recording, transcription, and captions in Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
Manage retention policies for Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Cheers!