Is it safe to upload a video to a transcription site? Here is what their own terms say
For an ordinary video, it is fine to upload. The big services encrypt your files so they are not public. But private does not mean they leave your file alone. Rev says in its terms that speech to text uploads may train its models, and Otter trains on de-identified user data. Descript uses your projects to improve its service unless you turn that off. If you have medical, legal, HR or unreleased product recordings, you should transcribe them on your own computer instead.
You have a recording and a deadline, and a transcription site is just a drag and drop away. But you need to know where this file actually goes and who gets to do what with it. The honest answer is on the service's own terms page, and most people never open it.
For a normal video, uploading is fine, but for a recording with patient details, a client's secrets, an HR complaint or an unreleased product, you should keep it on your own computer. I will explain why this is the case using what the services themselves have written.
I will give a bit of background first. When you upload, a copy of your file lives on the company servers. What happens to it is decided by the terms you accepted with one click. Three things in those terms matter more than anything on the homepage. You need to see if your file trains their AI, if a person can listen to it, and how long they keep the file.
What do transcription sites actually do with your video?
I read the published pages of three well known services on 28 September 2026. They are not hiding anything. All three services encrypt files and keep them away from the public. But the difference is what they are allowed to do with your file after you upload it.
| Service | Does your upload train their AI? | Can a person hear it? | Where they say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otter | Yes, after they de-identify it, and the training is automatic | Staff only with your explicit consent | Otter privacy and security page |
| Rev | Speech to text uploads may be used for continuous training of their speech models, not for generative AI | Yes on human transcription orders, done by freelancers under NDA | Rev terms of service |
| Descript | Projects may be used to improve the service, unless you turn off Share Data with Descript | Only with your consent or when the law requires it | Descript privacy policy |
The part that caught my attention was in Rev's terms. When you upload, you give Rev a worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, copy and create derivative works from your content. This is normal legal wording for a service that has to process your file. But it is a lot wider than most people think when they drag a video onto a website.
What does de-identified training mean for my recording?
De-identified means the company takes away the account information before the file goes into training. Your name is not attached to it anymore. But the words inside the recording are still there. If a doctor says a patient's name, or a manager names the person being let go, that information is still in the audio.
This is the argument in a class action filed against Otter in California in 2025. The complaint says Otter never explains what de-identification involves and that confidential information is not removed. This is a lawsuit and not a final ruling. You can read Computerworld's report on the case which covers both sides, but it shows this is a real issue.
Human transcription is a different service. When you order this, a real person listens to your entire file. Rev says every transcriptionist signs an NDA, and this is completely fine for a podcast. But for a medical or legal recording, it means one more person outside your company has heard the audio.
Which videos should never go to a transcription site?
- Medical recordings must stay local unless you have an agreement. In the US, a healthcare provider needs a business associate agreement with any outside service that handles patient information. You can read the HHS guidance on business associates to understand this. If your plan does not sign one, you cannot upload the file.
- Keep legal and client work private. This includes a privileged conversation or anything under an NDA. Your NDA might forbid handing the material to any third party, and a transcription site is a third party.
- Do not upload HR recordings. Complaints, interviews and disciplinary meetings hold other people's personal details. These details are not yours to give away.
- Keep unreleased products on your own computer. This covers demos, roadmaps and launch plans. Once a file has trained a model, deleting your account does not take it back out.
How do I check a transcription site before I upload?
- Open the terms of service, not only the privacy page. Search the page for train, improve and licence.
- Search for human, freelancer and subcontractor, so you know whether a person can listen to your file.
- Look for an opt out setting and switch it off before your first upload, like Share Data with Descript.
- Check how deletion works. Otter, for example, moves a deleted conversation to the trash and deletes it for good after 30 days.
- For work files, ask whether your company has approved the service. That answer matters more than any setting.
What is the safe way to transcribe a sensitive video?
You can transcribe files on your own computer so the data never leaves. The free VideoDoc browser version does this for your own files. Your browser runs the speech model right on your hardware, and nothing is uploaded to the internet.
The desktop app does the same thing for long recordings and folders, and it can black out faces in the saved frames and in the document. The app downloads its speech model once. After that, your file is transcribed with the network switched off. I made a list of every connection it makes and what it sends in my post on what local really means.
Running things locally is slower on a laptop with no graphics card. A cloud service is also still better for live meeting notes and for a team sharing an archive. A skilled human transcriptionist will beat any model on a noisy recording. Local processing only protects the file if your own computer is safe. Terms do change, so you should treat my reading from 28 September 2026 as a starting point and check the page again before you upload anything.
Try it on a recording you would rather not upload.
Free in your browser for your own files. Pro is one payment for a lifetime licence on 2 machines, on Windows and Apple Silicon Macs.
Quick questions
Do transcription sites use my recordings to train AI?
Many services do this in some form. Rev says in its terms that speech to text uploads may train its speech models, and Otter trains on de-identified user data. Descript uses your projects to improve its service unless you turn off the Share Data with Descript setting.
Do transcription sites keep my video after it is transcribed?
They usually keep the file until you delete it. Otter keeps a deleted conversation in the trash for 30 days before removing it. Rev says in its privacy policy that data is kept as long as it is needed for the purposes in the policy.
Is it safe to upload a confidential recording to a transcription site?
It is only safe if the service has signed what your work requires, like a business associate agreement for patient data, and your company has approved it. If neither is true, you should transcribe the file on your own computer.
How can I transcribe a video without uploading it?
You can use a tool that runs the speech model on your own computer. The free VideoDoc browser version does this for your own files, and the desktop app does the same for long recordings and whole folders.
Before you do your next upload, open the terms page of the site and search for the word train. This only takes two minutes, and then you will know for sure.
I am a telecom engineer and business analyst from Pakistan, and I build small honest desktop tools under Designesh. I made VideoDoc because I wanted my AI to read the lectures I study from. Everything here is tested on my own machine first.