Can I record a call in Massachusetts?

Not in secret. Massachusetts prohibits secretly recording a conversation. A recording the other people know about is not secret.

No secret recording Recording is lawful when the other people know about it; recording in secret is not.

General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed September 2026. Laws change and facts differ; check before you rely on any line here, and ask a lawyer licensed where you record for anything that matters.

What the rule means

The statute turns on secrecy rather than on an expectation of privacy, so it reaches conversations that other states would treat as public.
Knowledge is what matters. If the others have been told, or can plainly see that recording is happening, the recording is not secret.
Tell everyone at the start of the call, and tell people who join late.

Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)) allows a participant to record unless the recording is made to commit a crime or a tort. State law can ask for more.

The law

Massachusetts General Laws ch. 272, § 99

Secret recording is a crime punishable by a fine, imprisonment or both, and the person recorded can bring a civil claim.

When the others are somewhere else

A call with anyone in Massachusetts should be announced, whatever the rule is where you sit. Video meetings are treated like phone calls, and the strictest rule that applies to anyone on the call is the one to follow.

What to say

Say it at the start, before anything else, and say it again when someone joins late.

“Quick note before we start: I’m recording and transcribing this meeting on my own computer for my notes. It isn’t shared with anyone unless I send it to you. Let me know if you’d rather I didn’t.”

How Recordist fits

You are the participant. Recordist records your own microphone and the audio arriving at your computer. No bot joins the call.
It asks before every recording. Nothing records until you confirm, and the confirm card can show the sentence above as a reminder.
The notice is still yours to give. Software cannot give consent for the other people. In Massachusetts, tell them and get their agreement first.

Recordist is opening in small waves. Ask for a place.