Zoom Recording and Transcript Auto-deletion

• To ease the initial transition for faculty and staff, Information Services will create a one-time dark archive of all Zoom files on Nov. 24. We’ll steward those files through their respective retention schedules, providing access for recordkeeping purposes only.
• On Nov. 24, all Zoom cloud video recordings and transcripts more than 90 days old will move to the Zoom trash. However, since they’ll also be in the dark archive, no action is needed unless you want to keep those files for active use, such as teaching or operations. Learn more below about saving and moving Zoom recordings and transcripts. 

• From Nov. 24 on, all Zoom recordings and transcripts will follow the above timeline as they reach 90 days old. To keep any Zoom files, you must download them and save them elsewhere.
• If you need to keep files for records retention purposes, you must save them where they can be retrieved, opened, viewed, and shared for the duration of their retention. Learn more about best practices for records management of video recordings.
• You may need to save files for instructional use, departmental operations, or other purposes. Learn more about where to save recordings.

• Zoom is a video conferencing tool and not intended for long-term preservation. The Zoom cloud is most suitable for short-term storage, viewing, and downloading of recordings and transcripts. 
• Auto-deleting older Zoom recordings will greatly reduce UO’s spending on Zoom cloud storage, letting us invest in storage services that better serve the university.

You can access your Zoom cloud recordings and transcripts through the UO Zoom web portal, which supports deletion and short-term viewing, downloading, and sharing.

• Remove personal files. Any content that wasn't generated for or in connection with UO work should be removed from UO storage altogether. 
• Follow best practices for records retention. Some Zoom recordings need to be saved. Others should be deleted — but you may need to save the corresponding transcripts. Learn more about managing video recordings as records. 
• Storage costs money. Please be thoughtful about which recordings you keep and where you store them. Saving unnecessary files can stretch UO’s storage capacity and cause excess spending. Information Services staff are analyzing usage and costs for all UO storage services and may introduce auto-delete settings for other services soon, in consultation with stakeholders and University Records Management.  

As noted above, many recordings don’t need to be saved for more than 90 days. 

If you do need to save a recording or transcript, please download it and save it in the appropriate UO storage service: 

• Course-related recordings suitable for reuse: Panopto in Canvas 
  • Panopto is recommended for storing and serving video content, such as lectures or tutorials, that may be reused in future courses. Recordings in which students can be identified by face or name can't be reused in future teaching due to FERPA protections. 
• All other content: Dropbox, Microsoft SharePoint or Teams, or Microsoft OneDrive 
  • Please use shared spaces (SharePoint, Teams, or Dropbox team spaces) for content that others may need to access for operations or records retention.

Yes and no.

• While recordings and transcripts are in Zoom’s Trash folder, you can temporarily recover files, download them, and store them elsewhere. ("Recovered" recordings more than 90 days old will automatically move back to the Trash after 24 hours.)
• However, once a recording has been permanently deleted from the trash, it can’t be recovered — not even by Zoom. 

By default, Zoom will email you daily starting seven days before a recording is permanently deleted from the trash. Transcripts are deleted with their corresponding recordings. 

You can turn that email notification setting on or off: 

1. Visit the UO Zoom web portal and log in. 
2. Click Settings on the left. 
3. Choose the Meeting tab at the top. 
4. Choose Email Notification on the left to jump to that section. 
5. Find the setting When the cloud recording is going to be permanently deleted from trash. 
6. Toggle the setting on or off as you wish. Changes are saved immediately. 

• Yes. You can record locally to your computer instead of to the Zoom cloud. 
• You’re still responsible for retaining recordings and transcripts according to the UO Records Retention Schedule and storing them in appropriate locations, as described above. Learn more about best practices for records management of video recordings.