How to Keep Meeting Recordings Private
Five decisions that keep recorded meetings private: consent, storage, access, retention, and when to transcribe on your own hardware.
The Scriptorium team ·
Keep a meeting recording private by deciding five things before you hit record: who has consented, where the file is stored, who can open it, how long you keep it and where it is transcribed. Tools help with the last three; the first two are on you.
1. Get and record consent
Tell participants the meeting is being recorded and what the recording is for. Rules differ by country and sometimes by state, and on an international call more than one may apply. This is a legal question; check what applies to you.
2. Decide where the file lives
A recording left in a downloads folder or a shared drive with broad access is the most common leak. Store it somewhere with limited access, and avoid forwarding it by email.
3. Limit who can open it
Give access to the people who need the record and no more. Transcripts are easier to search and quote than audio, which makes them easier to misuse; treat them with the same care.
4. Set a retention period
Delete recordings and transcripts when you no longer need them. A record kept forever is a standing liability. If your organisation has a retention policy, meeting material falls under it.
5. Choose where it is transcribed
Any cloud transcription service processes your recording on someone else's infrastructure. For sensitive meetings, run the transcription on hardware you control. private meeting transcription on your own installation keeps the audio, the transcript and the search index in your environment.
The hosted site at tryscriptorium.com processes uploads on its own server. Use it for non-sensitive recordings, and self-host for confidential ones.
Check the transcript before you share it
Automatic transcripts contain errors, and a wrong name or number in a circulated record causes real problems. Read it against the audio before it goes anywhere.