Deleting Sessions Content and Zoom Recordings in Panopto

Tags panopto
Why would you want to "expire" content in Panopto? Primarily because class-related Zoom recordings and similar materials are often sensitive, and should not be shared beyond a given class' enrollment. Since it is easy to accidentally copy such materials into, for example, a fresh Canvas site for the future offering of a course, we strongly recommend deleting or making such content unavailable once its utility in the current term has passed. This guide is intended to explain two methods for "expiring" content in Panopto so that it is rendered inaccessible to past course and new courses alike.

How does Panopto retain content? How does it copy between courses in Canvas?

By default, Dartmouth's retention policy in Panopto is to retain information indefinitely (This may be subject to change in the future - any such change would be communicated widely and in a timely manner).

Any Zoom content that is imported into Panopto will remain accessible to anyone who has viewing privileges to it. These viewing privileges are usually set at the folder level. For example, a course folder will allow all students enrolled in a given Canvas course access. What happens if such a course is copied into a fresh Canvas site, for a re-teaching of the course, is that the new student cohort will now also be given access to the content in the existing course folder. That's fine for instructor-created materials, but violates students' expectations for privacy for Zoom class recordings. That's why it is very important to make sure that access to Zoom class recordings "expires" at the end of the course for which they were created.

Methods for Expiring Content in Panopto

Panopto has several methods that allow you to take control of your content and expire it as needed.

Method #1 - Delete Content

The simplest way to remove content access is to delete the content. If you see a session listed from a folder listing, mouse over the session and click the Delete button.

A screenshot showing the mouse-over behavior in Panopto with the option for Delete.

If you are not in a folder listing for the sessions, navigate to the gear icon to access the Settings.

A screenshot showing the gear icon to access the session settings.

(A.) Click the Manage tab. Then click (B.) Delete under the Delete Session heading.

A screenshot showing the Manage tab in Panopto with the option to "Delete Session Contents".

Your session will now move to the recycling bin.

Method #2 - Set Availability Dates for the Session

To enable the availability dates for the session, navigate to the gear icon to access the Settings or click on Settings from a session folder listing.

To enable the content retention policy, navigate to the gear icon to access the Settings or click on Settings from a session folder listing

(A.) Under the Overview tab (B.) Find the availability dates and set them to a restricted time range.

A screenshot showing the Overview tab in Panopto and the session availability dates options.