AI Transcription Privacy: Why Your Voice Data Matters

When you use cloud transcription, every word you speak is sent to a company's servers. That's your emails, private conversations, business strategy, medical discussions, and personal thoughts—all processed by a third party. Is that a risk you're comfortable with?

What Happens to Your Audio in the Cloud

When you use cloud transcription services (Otter.ai, built-in dictation, most voice apps), here's the typical flow:

1. Your audio is recorded locally
2. Uploaded to company servers (often AWS/Google Cloud)
3. Processed by AI models on their infrastructure
4. Transcription returned to you
5. Audio and transcription stored (retention policies vary)

The Privacy Risks

Data Breaches

Even well-intentioned companies get hacked. Voice data is particularly sensitive—it's biometric data that can be used for voice cloning, fraud, or blackmail.

Training AI Models

Many services use your data to improve their AI. Check the terms of service—your private dictation might be training the next version of their model.

Employee Access

Human reviewers often listen to transcriptions for quality assurance. Amazon, Google, and Apple have all admitted to this practice with their voice assistants.

Government Requests

Data stored on US servers is subject to subpoenas and national security requests. If it exists on their servers, it can be accessed.

Business Continuity

What happens if the company shuts down, gets acquired, or changes policies? Your data goes wherever they decide.

What You Might Be Dictating

Think about what passes through your dictation:

• Emails with confidential information
• Code comments with proprietary logic
• Medical notes and health discussions
• Legal documents and client communications
• Financial information and business strategy
• Personal journal entries and private thoughts
• Passwords or sensitive data mentioned aloud

Do you want all of this processed through servers you don't control?

The Local AI Alternative

Modern Apple Silicon Macs can run AI models locally with excellent performance. Tools like Whisper.cpp and apps like Sotto process everything on-device:

• Audio never leaves your Mac
• No internet required
• No data stored by third parties
• No training on your data
• You maintain full control

When Cloud is Acceptable

Cloud transcription isn't always bad. Consider using it when:

• Content is already public (podcast transcription)
• Accuracy is critical and local models struggle
• You're on older hardware that can't run local AI
• Team features (collaboration, sharing) are essential
• The content isn't sensitive

The Best Approach: Hybrid

Smart tools give you choice. Use local processing by default for privacy and speed, with optional cloud fallback when you need maximum accuracy:

• Default to local: Fast, private, works offline
• Cloud when needed: Heavy accents, technical jargon, noisy audio
• Your choice, every time: You decide what gets sent where

Questions to Ask Your Transcription Service

Before using any transcription service, find out:

1. Where is audio processed? (Local vs cloud)
2. How long is data retained?
3. Is data used for AI training?
4. Who has access to recordings?
5. What happens if you delete your account?
6. Where are servers located? (Jurisdiction matters)
7. Is data encrypted at rest and in transit?

Privacy-First Transcription Checklist

• ✓ Choose local AI when possible
• ✓ Read privacy policies before signing up
• ✓ Don't dictate sensitive data to cloud services
• ✓ Use end-to-end encryption when available
• ✓ Regularly delete stored transcriptions
• ✓ Opt out of AI training programs