Stop viewers downloading, or hide the transcript

Each recording has four switches that control what a viewer can do once they've opened it, separate from who is allowed to open it in the first place. You'll find them on the recording's Settings tab, next to Edit, Activity and Transcript.

• Download - lets viewers download the video file. Turning this off also blocks Save to Drive for viewers, so they can't get a copy that way either. This only affects other people; you can always download your own recording.
• Transcript - lets viewers open the Transcript tab and read it. Turn it off and the tab looks exactly like a recording that was never transcribed - viewers don't see an error, the transcript just isn't there. You can still read it yourself as the owner.
• Comments and Emojis - lets viewers add comments and emoji reactions. Turn it off and a viewer who tries to post sees a notice that the owner disabled comments and reactions; existing comments stay visible.
• View Count - shows or hides the view counter next to the video for viewers. You always see your own view count regardless of this setting.

All four are on by default for a new recording, and each one applies only to viewers - never to you, the owner.

Change a setting

1. Open the recording.
2. Go to the Settings tab.
3. Toggle the switch you want. It saves immediately - no separate save button.

To apply your current choices to every future recording instead of just this one, use Set defaults at the bottom of the Settings tab.

What this doesn't control

These switches decide what a viewer can do once they have access - they don't decide who has access in the first place. That's set separately with Private, Specific people, or Anyone with the link. See Private, specific people, or anyone with the link.

Related articles

• Private, specific people, or anyone with the link
• Set sharing defaults for every future recording
• Download your own recording
• How views are counted
• Comment at a specific moment in a video
• Get, or stop getting, an email when someone comments
• Save a recording to Google Drive