Quick answer
Is it safe to upload a confidential recording to an online transcription tool?
It depends on the recording and on what the service does with it. A hosted tool processes your file on someone else's server, so for material covered by legal privilege, medical confidentiality or a contract that forbids it, the right answer is usually not to upload it to any hosted service, ours included. For ordinary recordings, ask six questions first. Our answers are below, and they repeat what our privacy page says.
Updated
Six questions to ask any service
These are worth asking of every online transcription tool. The right-hand column is what TryScriptorium says, with the page that says it, so you can check us rather than take our word.
| Question | What TryScriptorium says | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Where is my file processed? | On our server. The speech model is installed there and the audio is not forwarded to any third-party transcription API. | /privacy, "Where your file goes" |
| How long is it kept? | Guests: the temporary account, file and transcript are deleted automatically after 24 hours. With an account: until you delete them; an administrator can also set a retention period. | /privacy, "How long it is kept" |
| Is it used to train anything? | No. The speech model is trained in advance and is not updated from uploads. Recordings and transcripts are not routinely read or reviewed, and are not sold or shared with third parties. | /privacy, "Your files are not used to train anything" |
| Who can see it? | No other user can. Administrators see account details and file information (titles, sizes, dates); opening a recording or transcript needs a separate permission and is written to an audit log. As with any hosted service, the people who operate the server have technical access to stored data. | /privacy, "Where your file goes" |
| Is it encrypted, certified or compliant with a standard? | We make no compliance or certification claim of any kind. The file is sent over HTTPS. If you need a certification, this hosted service is not the place to look for one. | /security |
| Can I keep it off someone else's server entirely? | Yes, by self-hosting the same software on your own hardware, where no upload happens. | /self-hosted-transcription |
- Where is my file processed?What TryScriptorium says: On our server. The speech model is installed there and the audio is not forwarded to any third-party transcription API.Where to check it: /privacy, "Where your file goes"
- How long is it kept?What TryScriptorium says: Guests: the temporary account, file and transcript are deleted automatically after 24 hours. With an account: until you delete them; an administrator can also set a retention period.Where to check it: /privacy, "How long it is kept"
- Is it used to train anything?What TryScriptorium says: No. The speech model is trained in advance and is not updated from uploads. Recordings and transcripts are not routinely read or reviewed, and are not sold or shared with third parties.Where to check it: /privacy, "Your files are not used to train anything"
- Who can see it?What TryScriptorium says: No other user can. Administrators see account details and file information (titles, sizes, dates); opening a recording or transcript needs a separate permission and is written to an audit log. As with any hosted service, the people who operate the server have technical access to stored data.Where to check it: /privacy, "Where your file goes"
- Is it encrypted, certified or compliant with a standard?What TryScriptorium says: We make no compliance or certification claim of any kind. The file is sent over HTTPS. If you need a certification, this hosted service is not the place to look for one.Where to check it: /security
- Can I keep it off someone else's server entirely?What TryScriptorium says: Yes, by self-hosting the same software on your own hardware, where no upload happens.Where to check it: /self-hosted-transcription
We make TryScriptorium, so read these answers with that in mind. The privacy page is the source of record: if it and this page ever differ, it is right.
When not to upload at all
- The recording is covered by legal privilege, medical confidentiality or a duty written into a contract.
- A source's safety depends on the audio staying private.
- Your employer, client or ethics board has not agreed to an outside service processing it. Check the contract, the NDA or the protocol first.
- The recording includes payment card details, health information or other data your own policy keeps off third-party systems.
What lowers the risk if you do upload
- Use the no-account preview for a short file: it is deleted automatically after 24 hours.
- Trim the recording to the part you need before you upload it.
- Delete the file from your account as soon as you have the transcript.
- Replace names in the edited transcript before it travels anywhere else.
- Use the self-hosted version for the material that matters most.
Related reading
Questions
Does TryScriptorium use my recordings to train a model?
No. The speech model is trained in advance and is not updated from uploads.
Does my audio go to another company's transcription service?
No. Transcription runs on our own server; the audio is not forwarded to any third-party transcription API.
Is TryScriptorium HIPAA, SOC 2 or GDPR compliant?
We make no compliance or certification claim. If you need one, do not rely on the hosted service.
How do I keep a recording off anyone else's server?
Self-host the software on your own hardware; nothing is uploaded. See self-hosted transcription.
Is the transcript always right?
No. It is an automatic draft, and no accuracy percentage is promised. Noise, overlapping voices, accents and technical terms cause mistakes, so read it against the audio before you rely on names, numbers or quotes.
Try it with your own file
Upload a recording and read the transcript.