Desktop and mobile notetaker that captures your computer's audio instead of sending a bot, and does not retain the audio after transcription.
People who want to stay in the conversation rather than manage a bot, since Granola states it "Uses your computer audio, so doesn't invite a bot" and "doesn't join your meeting", transcribing in the background instead. It fits anyone whose calls move across platforms and settings, with macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps and a stated reach of Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Huddles, in-person and on-the-go meetings. Teams that cannot hold audio files benefit from the documented handling: audio is temporarily cached during the meeting for transcription only and is not retained.
Not for anyone who needs participants told automatically - the chat message and the Granola Watermark are features you or an admin must switch on, and Granola states that "customers remain responsible for determining what notice or consent is required for their use case and jurisdiction". Not for anyone relying on free access to their archive, because Basic restricts note access to a rolling 30-day window and Granola says older notes remain stored but inaccessible until you upgrade, while retention runs the other way on paid plans: notes and transcripts are retained indefinitely unless you or an admin configures a retention policy, with configurable auto-deletion on Enterprise. Teams with a data-residency obligation outside the United States are also ruled out, since all data is stored on AWS servers located in the United States, no region option is published, and Granola states custom DPAs are not available.
Pros
Cons
No. Granola states it "Uses your computer audio, so doesn't invite a bot" and that "Granola doesn't join your meeting. Instead, it transcribes in the background while you stay present." It lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps and says it works with Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and every other meeting app. An optional Zoom app and Chrome extension add platform-level notices.
Only if you tell them or switch a feature on. Granola documents two transparency options: an automated message posted in the meeting chat when transcription starts, and a Granola Watermark shown on your video throughout the call. Admins can enable both for everyone in the workspace. Granola states customers remain responsible for determining what notice or consent is required for their use case and jurisdiction.
Audio is temporarily cached during the meeting for transcription only, and Granola states it does not retain audio recordings. Notes and transcripts are retained indefinitely unless you or your admin configures a retention policy, with configurable auto-deletion periods on Enterprise. Everything is stored on AWS servers in the United States, encrypted at rest and in transit, and Granola holds SOC 2 Type II certification.
By default on Free and Business plans, anonymised data may be used for Granola's own model improvements. You can opt out under Settings, Preferences, Data and sharing by turning off "Use my data to improve models for everyone", and Enterprise admins can configure an org-wide opt-out. Granola separately states it does not allow third parties like OpenAI or Anthropic to use your data to train their AI models.
Facts sourced from the vendor’s own site, last verified 2026-10-10.
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