How to Stop Otter.ai from Joining Your Meetings
Last updated
To stop Otter from joining your meetings, open the Meetings tab on Otter’s home page, choose AI Notetaker settings and set auto-join to Meetings I manually select. To remove it from a call that has already started, anyone in the meeting can type stop otter in the chat. If the Otter belongs to someone else on the invite, they have to change their own setting.
Turn off Otter’s auto-join
- On the Otter home page, open the Meetings tab.
- Choose AI Notetaker settings.
- Set auto-join to Meetings I manually select. The same setting is under Integrations › Meetings › Default auto-join settings.
Meetings you changed by hand before keep their own setting, so check your upcoming events after switching.
Remove Otter from a meeting in progress
- Anyone in the meeting: type stop otter in the chat on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. It removes every Otter notetaker from that meeting.
- The Otter user: open the conversation in Otter and choose Stop Notetaker › Yes, turn it off.
- The host: remove it from the participant list, as with any other participant.
“stop otter” only applies to that meeting. To stop it joining the next one, the Otter user has to change auto-join.
Disconnect the calendar or delete the account
- Calendar: open Integrations and click Disconnect next to the calendar. Without a calendar, Otter has no meetings to join on its own.
- Account: Account Settings › General › Delete account. Otter only allows this if you’re the only user in the workspace.
- For a whole company: on Otter Enterprise, admins can switch the notetaker off per member under Workspace › Manage Workspace › Members.
When Otter belongs to someone else
Otter joins on behalf of the person whose calendar is connected to it. Your own Otter settings won’t stop a colleague’s or a client’s notetaker: ask them to switch auto-join to manual, or type “stop otter” when it arrives.
To keep bots out of meetings you host, use the platform’s own controls: Zoom’s waiting room, Teams’ lobby for detected bots, Google Meet’s Trusted or Restricted access. Our guide to removing AI meeting bots has the steps for each platform, and for Read AI and Fireflies.
Or skip the bot entirely
Otter joins as a participant because that’s how it gets the audio. A note taker that records on your own computer gets the same audio without a seat in the call, so nobody has to type “stop otter”.
QuietNote records your microphone and your computer’s audio on your own Mac, so no bot joins the call and nothing is added to the participant list. It transcribes on your computer with a local Whisper model, and writes the summary, decisions and action items with a local model through Ollama, unless you choose a cloud model with your own key. Each meeting is saved as a Markdown file in a folder you pick, and you don’t need an account.
It’s coming soon for macOS 14.2 or later, with Windows and Linux planned. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the day it ships; waitlist members keep 50% off for life. Whatever you use, tell people you’re taking notes where the rules require it.
Related guides
- Remove meeting botsStop Read AI, Otter and Fireflies from joining Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, and block bots when you host.
- Stop Fireflies joining meetingsTurn off Fireflies’ auto-record, invite it only when you want it, and remove it from a call that has already started.
- Remove Read AI from Google MeetTake Read AI out of a Meet call, stop it rejoining from someone’s calendar, and keep bots out of calls you host.
- Otter AI alternativesWhy people look for an alternative to Otter, what it costs, and bot-free options with their prices.
- Otter AI pricingOtter’s plans and prices, where the free plan stops, and what it does with your meetings.
Questions
Why does Otter keep joining my meetings?
Because auto-join is on for a calendar connected to Otter, yours or another invitee’s. Set auto-join to “Meetings I manually select” and check upcoming meetings you changed by hand, which keep their own setting. If it’s someone else’s Otter, they have to change it.
Does typing “stop otter” turn Otter off for good?
No. It removes every Otter notetaker from that meeting only. To stop it joining future meetings, change auto-join to “Meetings I manually select” or disconnect the calendar.
Can I stop Otter joining without deleting my account?
Yes. Set auto-join to “Meetings I manually select” under Meetings › AI Notetaker settings, or disconnect your calendar under Integrations. You keep your account and your existing conversations.
How do I stop a colleague’s Otter from joining my meeting?
Ask them to switch their auto-join to manual. In the meeting, anyone can type “stop otter” in the chat to remove it, and the host can remove it from the participant list. On Otter Enterprise, an admin can switch the notetaker off for members.
Why can’t I delete my Otter account?
Otter only lets you delete an account when you’re the only user in the workspace. Otherwise, ask the workspace admin to remove you, or simply turn off auto-join and disconnect your calendar.
Sources
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