Meeting AI security: four checks before you buy

Why these come before accuracy

Transcription accuracy can be judged in a week by trialling on your own meeting audio. Security cannot be undone after signing — discovering that recordings live abroad is not a problem you fix later. Clearing the points that stall an IT or legal review first makes the whole adoption faster.

All four are documented somewhere on a vendor's site or in their terms. If they are not, ask and get the answer in writing. A vendor who will not answer can be removed from the shortlist.

1. Which country the data is stored in

Establish where audio and transcripts are stored. Some vendors state a domestic region, some let you choose, some do not disclose it. Where personal data crosses a border, data protection law typically requires consent or documented safeguards — which makes this unavoidable as soon as external participants join a recorded meeting.

If you need storage inside a specific country, a vendor based there is usually easier to document. Rimo states domestic storage and security certification; LINE WORKS AiNote is sold as a corporate offering.

2. Independent certification

Look for ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017 or SOC 2 Type II. Certification is not proof of safety; it is proof that a third party has inspected how the operation is run. In a procurement review, that inspection existing is what gets the approval through.

The name and scope of the certification — the whole company, or just this service
Expiry date and when it was last renewed
On what terms the report is disclosed, typically under NDA

3. Whether inputs are used for training

Three states exist: not used by default, used by default but switchable off, and not switchable. Only the first two are viable for business use.

The subtlety is that the transcription vendor's terms and the terms of the language model behind its summarisation are different documents. If summaries call an external API, that provider's data handling is also in scope. Ask which model powers the summary and whether the contract with that provider excludes training.

4. Retention and deletion

How long records are kept, whether deletion reaches backups, and what happens to someone's recordings when their account is deactivated. These tie directly to how you will operate the tool.

Check	What you want	How to verify
Storage region	Domestic, or region selectable	Vendor security page, or ask
Certification	ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II	Certificate number and scope, in writing
Training use	Off by default, or disableable	The relevant clause in terms and privacy policy
Underlying LLM	Provider named and contract terms disclosed	Ask for a written answer
Retention	Stated period with a deletion request path	Terms, plus the admin console
Leavers	Documented handling after deactivation	Administrator documentation

Usable as a pre-purchase checklist as it stands.

Telling participants is part of the design

Once the technical checks pass, you still need a procedure for informing participants that the meeting is recorded. Internally that usually lives in employment rules or an internal policy; with external attendees, saying it at the start and recording that you did is the common pattern. Where a bot joins the call, participants can see it in the attendee list — but being noticed is not the same as having consented.

Frequently asked questions

Does this rule out foreign vendors?

No. Cross-border transfer is permitted where the requirements are met. The question is whether you can produce the documentation to show it — which matters most when external individuals attend the recorded meeting.

Is a certified vendor safe?

Certification shows that the operation has been inspected by a third party, not that incidents cannot occur. Read it together with the storage and training clauses rather than as a substitute for them.

Do free plans have the same terms?

Often not. Data handling and retention can differ between free and paid tiers. Check the paid terms before letting a free trial turn into production use.

Meeting AI security — four things to settle before accuracy