Recording notice
What recording does
When you press Start, your browser sends audio to our server, which sends it to our transcription provider and receives text back. The audio is not saved anywhere by us. The text, and the notes written from it, are saved in your account. Nothing is recorded until you press Start, and nothing is recorded after you press Stop. There is no audio file to play back, export, request or subpoena from Onyx; only the transcript and the notes exist.
What you are responsible for
- The law where you are. In some states, recording a conversation requires everyone's consent; in most, one person's. As commonly listed in 2026, all-party-consent states include California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Laws change and classrooms can be treated differently from private conversations, so check where you are. Tennessee requires the consent of one party, which can be you.
- Your school's or employer's rules. Many institutions have a policy on recording lectures or meetings, on sharing class material, and on using AI tools in a course. Some require the instructor's permission. Read the syllabus; ask if it is not there.
- Telling people. The simplest way to be in the clear is to say that you are recording. A phone on the desk is not the same as asking.
- Accommodations. If you record because of a documented disability accommodation, your school's accessibility office can tell you what is already permitted and how to notify instructors.
- Sharing. Sharing a notebook gives the recipient their own copy. Do not share what you are not allowed to share.
What Onyx does to help
- The audio is never stored.
- Transcripts and notes are private to your account unless you choose to share them, and sharing delivers a copy to a specific person with a confirmed email; never a public link.
- Our transcription provider is opted out of training on your audio, and our AI provider does not train on the text.
- You can delete any lecture at any time; deleted lectures are gone for good after 30 days.
If someone asks you to stop
Stop. Press Stop, and if they ask, delete the lecture from your account.