The short answer
That depends on what you need. This page gives no verdict. It repeats what Otter's own documents say, without testing them.
Otter's help center says it stores data with Amazon Web Services in the AWS region West, United States, with AES-256 server-side encryption. Otter's privacy and security page says it has a SOC 2 Type 2 report and works with an independent auditor to maintain it.
Otter's privacy policy lists training its own AI on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions among its uses of data. Its help center documents a setting called Help improve Otter, and says that with Don't allow sharing selected, future conversations will not be used for training. It also says Enterprise workspaces are opted out of AI model training by default.
What Otter says it collects
- Audio recordings, and text, images or videos you upload. The policy says OtterPilot may take automatic screenshots, and that this happens only in virtual meetings.
- Speaker identification information, which the policy says Otter generates from recorded conversations to help tag speakers in the transcript.
- Registration, usage and device information, cookies, approximate location, and information from platforms you connect, such as a calendar.
Otter's privacy and security page says recording starts only when you or a meeting participant presses Record or invites Otter to the meeting. It says conversations are accessible only to you and the people you choose to share them with.
Otter's privacy policy, effective June 16, 2026, lists the information it collects. The list includes:
The security Otter states
- Storage on AWS S3 with AES-256 server-side encryption. The help center gives the location as the AWS region West, United States.
- A SOC 2 Type 2 report that Otter says it maintains with an independent auditor, and security policies it says are based on the ISO 27001/2 framework.
- Otter says it has built GDPR and CCPA standards into its data practices and follows HIPAA requirements for health-related information. Its privacy policy says it complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.
- Otter says all employees go through a background check and sign a confidentiality agreement, that employee computers are secured with device management, and that two-factor authentication is available on all plans.
- Otter says it requires the customer's explicit consent before its employees or support team open a transcript or recording to troubleshoot a problem.
These are Otter's own statements, from its privacy and security page unless noted. This page repeats them without testing them.
What Otter says about training its AI
Among the purposes Otter's privacy policy lists is training its own AI technology on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions, which the policy notes may contain personal information. The FAQ on Otter's privacy and security page says user data is de-identified before training, that the training is automatic and recordings and transcripts are not manually reviewed by a human, that the training data is encrypted, and that no customer data is used to train the models of its outside AI providers.
The help center documents a setting called Help improve Otter. Otter says Allow sharing gives Otter and its service providers permission to access all the conversations in your account for training and product improvement, including human review. It says that with Don't allow sharing, future conversations will not be used for training and access to past conversations is removed.
Another help page says Enterprise workspaces are opted out of AI model training by default. The privacy policy says that, depending on where you live, your rights include objecting to processing and withdrawing consent, and that you can use them by emailing privacy@otter.ai.
How Otter says the Notetaker joins and notifies people
Otter's help center says the Notetaker can automatically join calendar events that have a valid Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams link. It lists up to five auto-join settings, depending on the account, from Meetings with a video link to Meetings I manually select. It also says the desktop app can record supported meetings without the Notetaker joining, and that you are then responsible for notifying participants and getting any required consent.
Otter's guide to recording permissions says the Notetaker joins as a named participant that everyone can see in the participant list, and that in Zoom and Microsoft Teams the host can remove it like any other attendee. The Notetaker settings page says that with Send live transcript and summary on, it posts a chat message with a link to the live transcript a few minutes after joining, and that with Send pre-recording emails on, it emails all calendar guests 5 to 10 minutes before the event.
The same guide says recording laws vary by location, and that some places require every participant to be notified and to give permission. Otter's privacy and security page says users must follow local laws and always ask for consent.
Settings Otter documents, and how to delete data
Choose when the Notetaker joins
The help center says to go to Integrations, Meetings, open Default auto-join settings and select Meetings I manually select. It says events you changed by hand before keep their setting.
Meeting notices and sharing
The help center describes three settings in Account Settings, Meetings. Send live transcript and summary posts the chat message described above. Send pre-recording emails notifies calendar guests before the meeting. Under Default audience for shared notes, the Don't Share option keeps notes private.
Set the training permission
The help center says that on the same page, under Feedback and Training, Help improve Otter can be set to Allow sharing or Don't allow sharing, and that you can change it at any time.
Delete conversations
The help center says a deleted conversation moves to Trash for 30 days, after which the conversation and its data are permanently deleted from Otter's servers. It says Empty Trash Now deletes everything in Trash immediately.
Delete the account
The help center says to first turn off Notetaker auto-join, disconnect your calendar, export what you want to keep and cancel any subscription. It says Delete account is in Account Settings, General, and is available only when you are the only user in the workspace. It says the account, conversations and data are then permanently deleted from Otter's servers, and that Otter keeps certain limited account information, such as email, for accounting and administrative purposes.
These steps come from Otter's help center. The labels are the ones on its help pages on the day this page was checked.
About the publisher's own app
This section is about Fraze, the app made by Inkvi LLC, the publisher of this page. Fraze is a Mac and Windows app that shows live captions for audio playing on your computer or coming from your microphone, and can translate them. It runs on your computer, and no audio or transcript text is uploaded. It needs a free account.
Fraze has no summaries, no speaker labels, no file transcription, no sharing links and no mobile app, and it works live only. It does not notify anyone that you are captioning, so telling the other people on a call is up to you. Nothing here is a claim that Fraze meets any law or standard.
Questions
Is Otter.ai safe to use for confidential meetings?
That depends on what you need, and this page gives no verdict. Otter's documents say stored data is encrypted with AES-256 on AWS in the United States, that Otter has a SOC 2 Type 2 report, and that its staff need the customer's explicit consent before opening a transcript or recording. Otter's privacy policy lists AI training on de-identified recordings and on transcriptions, and its help center documents a setting under which, Otter says, your conversations are not used for training.
Does Otter.ai use my recordings to train its AI?
Otter's privacy policy lists training its own AI on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions among its uses of data. Its help center says that with Help improve Otter set to Don't allow sharing, future conversations will not be used for training, and that Enterprise workspaces are opted out of AI model training by default.
How do I delete my Otter.ai recordings and account?
Otter's help center says a deleted conversation stays in Trash for 30 days and is then permanently deleted, and that Empty Trash Now deletes it immediately. It says Delete account is available only when you are the only user in the workspace.