Recording Recruitment Interviews: What Are the RGPD Rules?

Do you record your interviews to get minutes and an evaluation grid? It's possible, but a candidate is neither your employee nor your client: they are applying, and refusing may feel costly to them.

It is this imbalance that dictates how you ask for their agreement, and how long you keep their data.

Can you record a recruitment interview?

Yes, but not without a framework for the processing.

A recorded interview contains the candidate's background, their motivations, their situation, sometimes things they had not planned to share. It therefore constitutes processing of personal data within the meaning of the GDPR.

In particular, you must:

• ask for the candidate's agreement before recording;
• inform them of the retention period;
• determine your legal basis;
• define the purpose of the recording;
• restrict access to the evaluation grid;
• allow them to exercise their rights.

Recording without the knowledge of the people present also falls under the French Criminal Code, which punishes "with one year's imprisonment and a fine of €45,000 the act of wilfully violating the privacy of another person by any means whatsoever: 1° by capturing, recording or transmitting, without the consent of their author, words spoken in private or confidentially" (Article 226-1).

Is a recorded interview personal data?

Yes, and particularly dense personal data.

The GDPR defines personal data as "any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person" (Article 4, point 1).

An interview is about a named person, their background and their skills.

The transcript, the minutes and the evaluation grid are also covered.

Why does recruitment call for more precautions?

Because the person recorded is asking for something.

They are not in a position to negotiate the terms of the exchange, and refusing the recording may seem penalising to them, even when it is not. The common framework is detailed on the page recording a professional meeting.

You also carry out several successive processing operations:

record → transcribe → write the minutes → produce the grid → pass on to the committee.

What data is recorded?

Depending on the tool used, you may keep:

• the audio of the interview;
• the transcript;
• the names of the speakers;
• the date of the interview;
• the minutes;
• the strengths and the points to explore further;
• the evaluation grid.

The grid is an assessment of a person: it deserves the same care as everything else.

---

Do you have to inform the candidate before recording the interview?

Yes.

The information must be given before or at the time the data is collected. The text requires it to be provided "at the time when personal data are obtained" (GDPR, Article 13, paragraph 1).

In an interview, information alone is not enough: you also ask for their agreement.

When should you inform them?

Before starting the recording.

In practice, you can announce it in the invitation message, then ask the question at the start.

The invitation prepares. Only the spoken question allows the candidate to refuse.

What should you tell them?

The CNIL states that the people concerned "must in particular be informed: of the existence of the system; of the identity of the data controller; of the purposes pursued".

You must therefore be able to explain simply:

who is recording → why → who will see the minutes → how long the data is kept.

Do you have to announce the retention period?

Yes, and this is a requirement specific to recruitment.

The CNIL states that the file "may be kept for 2 years after your last contact with the recruiter, or longer if you have given your formal agreement", and that it is "on condition of informing you and having obtained your agreement" that a recruiter may keep the data.

Do you have to say that an AI writes the minutes?

Yes.

The audio recording and the processing then carried out by the AI are two operations that are worth distinguishing.

The European AI Regulation provides that "providers shall ensure that AI systems intended to interact directly with natural persons are designed and developed in such a way that the natural persons concerned are informed that they are interacting with an AI system" (Article 50, paragraph 1). These obligations have applied since 2 August 2026, and they target the provider of the system; your obligation to inform comes from the GDPR and the CNIL's guidance.

In an interview, this information matters twice over: the candidate may want to know that an automatic summary will support the decision.

You can, for example, announce:

"The interview is being recorded and an AI assistant automatically writes the minutes."

What if a second interviewer joins the interview?

You inform them when they arrive, as the candidate was informed.

---

Which legal basis should you use to record an interview?

The candidate's consent is the most suitable basis.

Legitimate interest is weaker here, because the person concerned does not belong to the organisation.

Why consent?

Because the candidate is not in an employment relationship with you.

Consent is defined as "any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement" (GDPR, Article 4, point 11).

The difficulty lies in the words "freely given": a candidate who fears jeopardising their application does not refuse easily. How you ask the question therefore matters as much as the question itself.

How do you prove that consent?

The controller must "be able to demonstrate that the data subject has consented" (GDPR, Article 7, paragraph 1).

Consent timestamped when the interview starts makes it possible to keep that proof.

Can the candidate withdraw their agreement?

Yes.

The GDPR provides that "it shall be as easy to withdraw as to give consent" (Article 7, paragraph 3).

Can you reject a candidate who refuses the recording?

No.

Refusing a recording says nothing about the application. Treating it as a signal would also make the consent not freely given.

---

How long should you keep the recording of an interview?

For as long as necessary for the purpose pursued, and no longer.

The GDPR requires data to be "kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed" (Article 5, paragraph 1, point e). Recruitment also has a benchmark of its own.

How long should you keep the application file?

Two years after the last contact. The CNIL states that the file "may be kept for 2 years after your last contact with the recruiter, or longer if you have given your formal agreement".

The starting point is the last contact, not the date of the interview.

Do you have to keep the audio as long as the grid?

Nothing requires it.

Once the minutes have been reviewed and the grid filled in, the original recording may no longer have the same usefulness.

For recordings of calls at work, the CNIL retains a maximum period of six months, and up to one year for analysis documents.

What about the interviews of unsuccessful candidates?

They follow the same rule as the file.

An effective policy must provide for:

interview → minutes → decision → deletion of the audio → expiry of the file.

---

Who can access the minutes of an interview?

Only the people involved in the decision.

The recruiter, the manager concerned, and the recruitment committee. Not the whole team, nor the candidate's future colleagues.

Who can view the audio, the transcript and the grid?

The three files do not necessarily meet the same need.

You can, for example:

• share the grid with the recruitment committee;
• limit access to the transcript;
• keep the audio only for genuinely justified needs.

Should the data be encrypted?

Security must be appropriate to the risk.

The GDPR requires "appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk, including inter alia as appropriate: (a) the pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data" (Article 32, paragraph 1).

---

What are the candidate's rights?

The people recorded have the rights provided for by the GDPR.

Can they request access to their data?

Yes.

The candidate has "the right to obtain from the controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning him or her are being processed" (GDPR, Article 15, paragraph 1). This may concern the audio, the transcript, the minutes and the evaluation grid.

Can they request rectification?

Yes.

The data subject has "the right to obtain from the controller without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning him or her" (GDPR, Article 16).

This is particularly important with an automatic transcript.

An AI can mistranscribe:

• a proper name;
• a qualification;
• a date;
• a technical answer;
• the identity of the person who spoke.

Can they request erasure?

Yes, under the conditions laid down by the GDPR.

The data subject has "the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay" (GDPR, Article 17, paragraph 1).

The CNIL also recommends informing the candidate of this right at the time of the interview.

Can they object to the recording?

Yes, and in an interview this takes the form of a refusal, before or during the exchange.

The data subject has "the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1)" (GDPR, Article 21, paragraph 1).

You then stop the recording and take notes.

How quickly must you respond?

In principle, within one month. The controller responds "without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request" (GDPR, Article 12, paragraph 3).

---

What obligations apply when the AI takes the notes?

The AI adds a processing operation on top of the simple recording.

The way it works can be summarised as follows:

audio → transcript → analysis → minutes → evaluation grid.

What does the AI actually do?

It can:

• transcribe the interview;
• identify the speakers;
• pick out the strengths;
• pick out the points to explore further;
• produce minutes;
• fill in an evaluation grid.

Can the decision rest on this summary?

The summary is a support, not a decision.

It is reviewed and corrected before being passed on to the people who decide.

Where is the data stored?

This is one of the first questions to ask your provider.

At Leexi, recordings, transcripts and minutes stay in the Paris region, on AWS. Above a certain volume of licences, hosting at Scaleway can be chosen.

Who processes the data?

The provider of the tool acts as a processor within the framework provided for by the GDPR.

Your applicant tracking software is a second processor. Leexi's compliance file details its own processing chain.

In Leexi's case, OpenAI provides the language model and Leexi runs it via Azure France, in a closed circuit.

Do you need a DPA with the provider?

Yes, when the provider acts as a processor.

Article 28 of the GDPR provides that "processing by a processor shall be governed by a contract or other legal act […] that is binding on the processor with regard to the controller and that sets out the subject-matter and duration of the processing, the nature and purpose of the processing, the type of personal data and categories of data subjects and the obligations and rights of the controller" (paragraph 3).

Does the AI use your interviews to train its models?

That depends on the provider.

At Leexi, conversations do not train any model, on all accounts.

---

How do you ask a candidate for their agreement before recording?

You can use simple, precise wording.

At the start of an interview

"Before we start: I'm recording the interview and an AI assistant writes the minutes, so that I can listen to you instead of taking notes. The minutes are shared with the people involved in the decision. Your data is kept for two years after our last contact, and you can ask for it to be deleted at any time. Is that OK with you?"

For a technical interview

"As with the other candidates, I'm recording our conversation so that I can go back over your technical answers with the team. If you'd rather I took notes by hand, that's possible and it changes nothing about your application."

For a final interview

"The conversation is being recorded and the minutes will go to the recruitment committee. You can ask me for a copy of what concerns you. Is that all right?"

---

What mistakes should you avoid?

1. Asking the question in a way that makes refusing awkward

"You don't mind, do you?" doesn't really leave a choice.

2. Not announcing the retention period

The CNIL makes it a condition of keeping the file, not optional information.

3. Letting the evaluation grid circulate widely

It is an assessment of a person; it is restricted to those involved in the decision.

4. Using a minutes template designed for another purpose

A badly chosen template introduces unrelated sections and attributes to the recruiter actions that belong to the candidate.

5. Keeping the interviews of unsuccessful candidates indefinitely

Two years after the last contact, unless there is formal agreement for a longer period.

6. Not checking that the assistant is actually present

An assistant excluded from the meeting produces no minutes, and the interview is lost.

---

How do you record an interview with Leexi?

Once the GDPR framework is defined, using the tool comes down to a few steps.

1. Join the interview

Leexi can join your video interviews from your calendar. For a face-to-face interview, the recording can be started from the mobile app, and the rules for in-person meetings apply.

2. Adapt the minutes to the type of interview

The format can be configured depending on whether it is a first conversation, a technical interview or a final interview.

3. Produce the evaluation grid

The grid covers in particular the strengths, the points to explore further and the points requiring attention. The full workflow is described on the page AI note-taking for recruitment.

4. Collect consent

Consent can be recorded and timestamped, and the settings can be adapted per team and per country.

5. Control the data

Leexi states in particular hosting in the Paris region, a Scaleway option, model execution via Azure France in a closed circuit, encryption of data in transit and at rest, and no training on your conversations.

---

What difficulties do users actually encounter?

Legal questions are not the only difficulties encountered in practice.

Out of 1,141 support tickets received between January and June 2026, 4 concern recording recruitment interviews. The reasons include the minutes template not producing what the recruiter expects, information given to the candidate that does not appear in the minutes, and an assistant excluded from the meeting.

None of these tickets asks whether recording is allowed.

This gives another reading of the problem:

the question is not only "am I allowed to record?"

You also need to know:

which template is applied → what appears in the grid → who receives it → how long it is kept.

---

Recording a recruitment interview: what to remember

Before recording an interview, check these six points:

• Agreement: did the candidate say yes, without refusing costing them anything?
• Announced period: do they know how long their data is kept?
• Legal basis: is consent indeed the basis you rely on?
• Retention: is the audio deleted once the grid is filled in?
• Access: who receives the evaluation grid?
• Processors: do you know who processes the data, including your applicant tracking software?

If an AI is involved, add a seventh point:

does the candidate know that an AI system processes the recording to produce the minutes?

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to record a recruitment interview?

Yes, with the candidate's agreement, obtained before the recording, and provided you inform them of the retention period of their data.

How long can you keep a candidate's interview?

The CNIL retains two years after the last contact with the recruiter, unless the candidate formally agrees to a longer period.

Can a candidate ask for a copy of their minutes?

Yes, under the right of access provided for by the GDPR. This may cover the minutes and the evaluation grid concerning them.

Can a candidate refuse the recording?

Yes, and that refusal must have no consequence for their application.

Can a candidate ask for their interview to be deleted?

Yes, under the conditions laid down by the GDPR's right to erasure.

Can the generated summary be the basis for the decision?

It serves as a support. It is reviewed and corrected before being passed on to the people who decide.

Can you compare candidates on the basis of the minutes?

Yes, provided all interviews follow the same structure, which a common minutes template makes possible.

---

In summary

Recording a recruitment interview is possible.

But the right reflex is not only to ask:

"Am I allowed to record?"

You should instead check the whole chain, all the way to the grid that will be used to decide:

ask for agreement → announce the period → record → transcribe → produce the grid → restrict access → delete.

It is this complete chain that must be governed by your data protection policy.

Do your interviews deserve structured minutes? Try Leexi on your next interview

Sources

Texts taken from primary sources on 22 August 2026.

• GDPR, Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 21, 28 and 32
• French Criminal Code, Article 226-1
• CNIL, Recruitment and retention of the application file
• CNIL, Listening to and recording calls in the workplace
• European Artificial Intelligence Regulation, Article 50

This page describes the applicable framework. It does not constitute legal advice.