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Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

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Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#41

Post by wustep »

Hey!

1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes

2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under Notifications > Desktop meeting detection notification.

source: I work for Notion

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#42

Post by paul-tharun »

untech wrote: post #10

I’ve come to hate Notion with passion because of its abysmal performance, but I still pay for it for my small business. My non-technical employees use it as a database for clients, tasks, payments etc. I tried to research replacements several times, and still haven’t found anything good. Sometimes I wonder if I should build my own.

outline - https://getoutline.com is pretty good and you can import all your notion spaces too.

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#44

Post by chinathrow »

wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

From 1)

> If you do not want the AI Meeting Notes feature available to your users, administrators may opt-out their workspace at any time via the toggle available in their console.

Here's your problem: Make this opt-in.

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#45

Post by jitl »

wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

To elaborate:

The Notion desktop app will observe if there is a process running on your computer that is actively using your microphone, such as Zoom.

Notion does not and cannot listen to the audio coming from your microphone ambiently or snoop on the signal received by another application. This detection is done purely based on the existing of a process using your microphone, not on the audio coming from the microphone. Users can verify this because the OS-level microphone indicator will show that Notion is not listening to their microphone.

If one is detected, Notion will notify the user and try to associate it with a calendar event if you have connected your calendar. Connecting your calendar is not a requirement to receive this notification.

Users can disable this behavior via their account settings in Settings > Notifications > Desktop meeting detection notifications.

Only when the user has started a meeting note and clicked record, will Notion activate the user's microphone. We cannot do this without operating system mediated consent dialog, which is the way it should be! At this point Notion will show up as using the microphone in the OS indicators.

(I work at Notion)

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#46

Post by wustep »

wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

FWIW, you can verify when any apps are recording microphone input by the OS's microphone indicator. I think Windows, Mac, and Linux all have one.

(edit: see what @jitl said)

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#47

Post by CubsFan1060 »

wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

If it helps, this has been one of the most infuriating things for me in recent memory. I don't understand why this wasn't opt-in.

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#48

Post by wustep »

CubsFan1060 wrote: post #47
wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

If it helps, this has been one of the most infuriating things for me in recent memory. I don't understand why this wasn't opt-in.

thanks, will fwd to team

you're talking about the desktop notification in particular, right?

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#49

Post by rchaud »

chinathrow wrote: post #44
wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

From 1) > If you do not want the AI Meeting Notes feature available to your users, administrators may opt-out their workspace at any time via the toggle available in their console. Here's your problem: Make this opt-in.

AI features + user opt-in are mutually exclusive at this point.

Re: Tell HN: Notion Desktop is monitoring your audio and network

#50

Post by chinathrow »

jitl wrote: post #45
wustep wrote: post #41

Hey! 1. Notion records audio only during your use of the Meeting Notes feature. Here are the docs: https://www.notion.com/help/ai-meeting-notes 2. Notion desktop app has notifications about meetings that ask you if you want to use Meeting Notes, it recognizes this by detecting that your microphone is on (i.e. it does not listen to audio coming from your microphone). This feature is a setting in preferences btw, under…

To elaborate: The Notion desktop app will observe if there is a process running on your computer that is actively using your microphone, such as Zoom. Notion does not and cannot listen to the audio coming from your microphone ambiently or snoop on the signal received by another application. This detection is done purely based on the existing of a process using your microphone, not on the audio coming from the microph…

Make it opt-in and this would be not an issue.
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