Meeting scheduling: access and security options

Beyond title, time, and visibility, the meeting Schedule form has a set of access and security options that apply to every meeting kind. This article covers those options; for scheduling basics, roles, and host controls, see Scheduling and running meetings.

Access options

While scheduling, under Options, you can turn on:

• Waiting Room — participants are held and admitted manually instead of joining straight in.
• Passcode — requires a numeric code from external guests and public-link joiners before they're admitted. A random passcode is generated for you; you can regenerate it or copy it to share separately from the invite link. Org members joining from inside the workspace aren't prompted for it — they're already authenticated as part of your team.
• Screen Sharing — choose whether anyone, only hosts, or (for a webinar) only speakers can share their screen.

Video and chat defaults

• Host Video / Participant Video — whether hosts and participants start the call with their camera on or off. Everyone can still turn their own camera on or off once they've joined.
• Chat — turn in-call chat on or off for the meeting.
• Recording — allow the meeting to be recorded. This is the setting that has to be on for a town hall's replay to exist afterward.

Webinar-only settings

Setting Meeting Type to Webinar (available for any meeting kind, and the way to get the full town-hall experience — see Running a town hall) unlocks three more toggles: Q&A (viewers can submit and upvote questions), Floor Control (hosts manage who can speak), and Auto-Mute Attendees (attendees join muted; only speakers and hosts can unmute themselves).

Why this matters

Not every meeting needs the same level of control. A quick internal sync doesn't need a passcode or a waiting room; a public town hall usually benefits from both. Setting these options at scheduling time means you don't have to manage access mid-call — the meeting is already configured the way you need it before anyone joins.