Otter AI Keeps Joining Your Meetings Uninvited? Here’s How to Make It Stop

You join a meeting, and before anyone even says hello, your Otter Notetaker is already there, showing up under your name as an “assistant” ready to take notes. Except you didn’t invite it, and you definitely didn’t press record.

Many people try Otter.ai once to test its features and then discover it won’t stop joining their future meetings, even the ones they never meant to record.

Here’s how to stop it and take back control of your meetings and avoid the awkwardness, embarrassment, or mild panic that hits when everyone else on the call asks, “Hey, who’s Otter?” and you realize it’s joined in your name, with no obvious way to make it leave.

Why Otter AI Assistant Shows Up

Otter’s AI Notetaker connects directly to your calendar — Google, Outlook, or Zoom. Once it’s linked, it automatically scans your upcoming events for meeting links and joins them to record and transcribe in real time.

That can be handy when you actually want a transcript — but frustrating (and a little creepy) when you had no idea it was going to happen.

For example, maybe you used Otter once to transcribe an interview and didn’t realize it stays connected to your calendar after that first use, quietly waiting for the next meeting link it recognizes. Then, a month later, you open a Zoom or Teams call — and there it is again, your “note-taking assistant” suddenly joining without being invited.

Even if you’ve canceled your subscription or stopped using the app, Otter can keep showing up until you manually turn off its auto-join feature or disconnect it completely from your calendar.

How to stop Otter from joining your meetings

Step 1. Change your Otter Notetaker settings

Sign in to your Otter account at otter.ai.
Go to Account Settings → Meetings.

You can also reach this page from the Meetings tab on the homepage by clicking AI Notetaker Settings, or from the Calendar tab by selecting the gear icon in the upper-right corner.

Under Auto-join settings, choose “Meetings I manually select.”

This stops Otter from automatically joining every calendar event.

Note: Any individual meetings you previously toggled on or off will keep those settings. Review your upcoming calendar events to be sure Otter is off where you want it off.

Step 2. Review and clean up your calendar

Open your Otter Calendar view and look through upcoming events.

If any have the Notetaker icon toggled on, switch it off. This ensures Otter won’t slip into those calls uninvited.

Step 3. Disconnect Otter from your apps

If you’d rather not risk any future “surprise visits,” disconnect it from your calendars and meeting tools entirely.

For Google Calendar:

Go to myaccount.google.com/security.
Under Third-party apps with account access, find Otter.ai and click Remove Access.

For Microsoft Outlook or Teams:

Go to account.microsoft.com/privacy.
Find Otter.ai under Apps and services you’ve given access to and click Remove.

For Zoom:

.Go to zoom.us/profile/setting → Apps → Manage.
Find Otter.ai → Remove.

Step 4. Remove the browser extension

If you’ve ever installed the Otter Chrome or Edge extension, it can detect meeting links in your browser and auto-join them.

To remove it:

In your browser, open Extensions → Manage extensions → Otter.ai → Remove.
Restart your browser afterward.

Step 5. Delete your Otter account (optional)

If you’ve decided you’re done with Otter completely:

Log in to otter.ai.
Go to Account Settings → Delete Account.
Confirm through the link sent to your email.

This permanently removes your data and integrations.

How to block Otter from using your microphone

If you want to be absolutely sure Otter can’t listen through your browser, you can block its microphone access.

In Chrome (and most Chromium-based browsers like Edge, Brave, or Opera):

Go to Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Microphone.
Find or add otter.ai.
Set it to Block.

In Safari (Mac):

Go to Safari → Settings → Websites → Microphone.
Find otter.ai in the list.
Choose Deny.

In Firefox:

Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Microphone → Settings.
Locate otter.ai
Click Remove Website or uncheck Allow Audio Input.

Why This Matters

Even helpful tools can cross a line when they overstep privacy. For freelancers, consultants, and small business owners, having an app automatically record your calls without you knowing isn’t just awkward, it can violate confidentiality agreements or make clients think twice about what they share.

That’s why it’s worth checking which apps have permission to access your camera, microphone, or calendar every now and then. A quick review takes minutes but can prevent a lot of headaches later.

And if you want to take your protection further, Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security helps you safeguard your devices, data, and online accounts against scammers, breaches, and intruders, so you can focus on your business without worrying about who’s listening.

Try Bitdefender Ultimate Small Business Security free for 30 days.