Is it legal to record a conversation in Illinois?

The detail that catches people out

All-party for private conversations. Illinois also has BIPA, which separately regulates voiceprints — a reason we never store biometric voice templates.

What to do in practice

Say you are recording, out loud, at the start, and ask each participant to confirm they are okay with it. This is the safest default when people or jurisdictions are unclear; it is not legal advice, and local rules can require more.

Two more things worth knowing wherever you are. Recording a conversation you are not part of is illegal in every state, regardless of the consent rule. And when people are in different states, the safe assumption is that the strictest rule applies — which, on a video call with participants in three places, it usually does.

Recording meetings in Illinois

Most meeting-notes tools leave consent entirely to you — a clause in the terms of service, and a notice that vanishes after a few seconds. Two of the largest are currently defending lawsuits over recording people who never agreed.

Ours keeps the recording indicator visible for the whole meeting, asks you to confirm everyone has been told before capture begins, and stores that confirmation with the meeting alongside the rule that applied — all-party consent in Illinois — so you can still answer the question months later.