Is Otter AI Safe? (And Is Fireflies AI Safe?) Privacy, AI Training and the Lawsuit (2026)

Otter AI keeps your data away from outsiders by the usual business measures, but it is not a private choice for your meetings. Otter trains its own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts, its Notetaker can join every meeting on your calendar and share the notes with the guests, and a federal judge let a privacy class action against it go forward on August 13, 2026.

Fireflies AI passes the same business checks and says it doesn't train AI on your meetings, but by default it emails the recap to everyone on the invite and leaves notes open to anyone with the link. Both answers are below in full, with every fact taken from Otter's and Fireflies' own privacy policies, security pages and help centers, court records and news reports, checked on October 19, 2026. For prices and plans side by side, see Otter vs Fireflies. We make Scribbl, an AI note taker with nothing joining the call, and near the end we explain why it's the more private choice for Google Meet, Zoom and Teams.

Is Otter AI safe?

For keeping your data away from outsiders, yes. Otter has what security reviews usually ask for: an outside SOC 2 Type II audit, AES-256 encryption, a published list of subprocessors, two-factor sign-in on every plan, and a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement on Enterprise.

What makes people ask whether Otter is safe is something else: what Otter itself does with your meetings, and what its bot does in other people's meetings. Otter trains its own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts. Its Notetaker can join every meeting on your calendar, including ones you skip, and share the notes with the guests. And in a federal class action, people who were recorded by Otter in meetings they never set it up for allege that it captured their conversations and voices without consent. Otter denies that, and the case hasn't been decided.

Otter AI security at a glance

Does Otter use your meetings to train AI?

Yes, its own AI. Otter's privacy policy (effective June 16, 2026) lists "training our proprietary AI technology on de-identified audio recordings" and on transcriptions, which it says "may contain Personal Information." It gives the legal basis as consent or legitimate interests.

• How Otter says it protects that data. Otter's Privacy and Security page says it uses "a proprietary method to de-identify user data before training our models," that training data is encrypted, and that people don't manually review your recordings or transcripts for training. De-identified means details that identify people have been removed.
• Outside AI companies. Otter says its AI service providers don't train their models on your data and don't store what Otter sends them.
• Data labeling companies. The privacy policy says Otter shares data with labeling providers that use it "to create training and evaluation data."
• Opting out. Neither page describes a setting that turns training off. The privacy policy only offers a general right to withdraw consent you gave. If this matters to you, ask Otter in writing at privacy@otter.ai.
• Your voice. Otter learns speakers' voices so it can label them in future transcripts, and workspace members' voice profiles are shared across the workspace. Otter's help center says you can't delete a speaker yet. Enterprise admins can ask their account manager to turn speaker learning off (Speaker Identification Overview, Disable Speaker Learning).

Training on meeting content, and voiceprints taken from people who never signed up, are two of the main claims in the Otter lawsuit.

Otter Notetaker: auto-join and consent

The bot. Otter Notetaker joins Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls as a participant named "[Your Name]'s Notetaker (Otter.ai)" (Otter Notetaker Overview, updated October 12, 2026). Otter's desktop app for Mac and Windows can also record without the bot.

Auto-join. Once you connect a Google or Microsoft calendar, Notetaker can join any event with a meeting link, and Otter says you can send it "even if you're unable to" attend. You choose from up to five auto-join settings: meetings with a video link, meetings you host, external meetings, internal meetings, or meetings you pick by hand (Automatically add Otter Notetaker). Otter's guide for admins lists "Meetings with a video conference link" as the default for workspace members (Recording Permissions with Otter, updated August 24, 2026).

To stop it, go to the Meetings settings and choose Meetings I manually select. Events you changed one at a time keep their own setting, and turning auto-join on for one event in a recurring series turns it on for the whole series, so check your calendar too (Choose which meetings Otter Notetaker records).

What other people see. Otter's help center describes two notices during the meeting: the Notetaker in the participant list, and a message in the meeting chat with a link to the live transcript. Before the meeting, Otter can email guests that the meeting will be recorded, but that's a setting you turn on, and only Enterprise admins can require it for everyone (Enforce pre-meeting recording notifications). If someone objects, Otter's guide says the host can remove Notetaker from the meeting.

Whose job consent is. Otter's Privacy and Security page says users "must always ask for consent and indicate when they are recording and transcribing," and its own guide notes that California, Illinois and Florida require everyone's permission. So does the law in other places; see do you have to tell people you're recording and is it legal to record a meeting. Whichever tool you use, tell everyone you're recording.

Who can see your Otter notes?

You, anyone you share with, and possibly every guest on the calendar invite.

• Auto-share. Otter can share meeting notes automatically with calendar guests. You pick the default under Default audience for shared notes; to keep notes private, choose Don't share - keep my notes private (Turn off auto-share).
• Per-meeting overrides. A meeting you set up on its own keeps its sharing settings even after you change the default. Otter has a help article for exactly this: "Otter is still automatically sharing conversations after I turned off the settings" (help, updated October 7, 2026).
• Links. Otter supports public and link-based sharing. Its HIPAA guide tells healthcare customers to turn those off (HIPAA | Otter.ai).
• Company accounts. If your employer provides Otter, your employer controls the data, and its admins set auto-join, sharing and retention.

This is how the best-known Otter story happened. In September 2024, engineer Alex Bilzerian received an Otter transcript after a Zoom call with investors that included hours of their private conversation after he left, and the email went to everyone on the invite (UC Today, April 30, 2026, citing The Washington Post). Otter replied at the time that users control sharing permissions.

How to delete your Otter data

• One conversation. Open the three-dot menu and click Delete. It's unshared from everyone right away, sits in Trash for 30 days, then is permanently deleted. Empty the Trash to delete it sooner (Delete a conversation).
• Your account. Account Settings, then General, then Delete account. This only works if you're the only user in your workspace; otherwise ask your admin (Delete your Otter account). Turn off auto-join and disconnect your calendar first.
• Automatic deletion. Custom data retention is set by Otter for a workspace through your account manager (Set a custom Data Retention policy).
• Someone else's recording of you. The person who recorded you owns it. Otter's privacy policy lists privacy@otter.ai for privacy requests.

The Otter lawsuit

Otter is a defendant in In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation, No. 5:25-cv-06911, a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Four suits filed in August and September 2025 were combined in October 2025. The complaint alleges that Otter Notetaker joined meetings through account holders' calendars, recorded people who didn't use Otter without their consent, captured their voiceprints, and used their conversations to train Otter's speech recognition and machine learning models.

On August 13, 2026, Judge Eumi K. Lee let the federal wiretap, California Invasion of Privacy Act and Illinois biometric privacy claims go forward and dismissed others. Otter's answer, filed September 17, 2026, denies the claims. The ruling doesn't decide whether Otter broke the law, and the case is in discovery, with a class certification motion due by May 13, 2027. For the claims, the ruling, the timeline and what comes next, see Otter AI lawsuit.

Is Fireflies AI safe?

Fireflies is secure by the usual business measures, and it says it doesn't train AI on your meetings. The privacy questions are about its defaults: who gets the recap, who can open the notes, and the bot in your calls.

AI training. Fireflies' privacy policy (updated September 28, 2026) says it doesn't use personal information for AI model training, and its security guide says meeting audio, video, transcripts and summaries are "never used to train any AI models." Its security page puts it more loosely: "We don't train on it by default." If your company needs this in a contract, ask Fireflies to put it in writing.

The bot and auto-join. Fireflies Notetaker joins calls as a participant. Its auto-join setting can send it to all calendar meetings with a web conferencing link, only meetings you own, only meetings with teammates, or only when you invite fred@fireflies.ai (auto-join settings). Fireflies' own guide to its notetaker says it can also email participants an hour before the meeting, with an opt-out link, when its meeting compliance notice is on (Fireflies blog, September 27, 2022).

Recaps and sharing. By default, Send email recap to is set to Everyone on the invite, which Fireflies describes as all calendar invitees, internal and external (recap email settings). Separately, the default privacy for every meeting is Teammates & anyone with link. Choose Only participants, Only teammates or Only me in Recording & Privacy to narrow it (privacy settings). On Enterprise, a Super Admin can get full access to every meeting in the workspace.

People who were recorded. If you were on a call someone else recorded with Fireflies, its privacy policy says to ask the meeting host to delete the recording. Account data is deleted within 30 days after an account is closed.

Fireflies lawsuits. Fireflies faces proposed class actions under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, which allege its Notetaker captured meeting participants' voiceprints without the written notice and consent that law requires. Fireflies has asked the court to dismiss them, and no court has ruled on the claims.

• Fricker v. Fireflies.AI Corp., No. 1:26-cv-02675 (N.D. Ill.), filed March 10, 2026 and combined with Martinez v. Fireflies.AI Corp. on June 4, 2026. Fireflies moved to dismiss on July 15, 2026, arguing among other things that an Illinois court has no jurisdiction over it for these claims. The court docket showed no ruling on that motion as of October 19, 2026.
• Parrinello v. Fireflies.AI Corp., No. 3:26-cv-02479 (N.D. Cal.), filed March 23, 2026, a nearly identical case, has been on hold since April 24, 2026 while the Illinois case goes forward.
• An earlier Illinois case, Cruz v. Fireflies.AI Corp., filed December 18, 2025, was voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff on March 11, 2026.

For how Fireflies compares on features and price, see Scribbl vs Fireflies and Fireflies alternatives.

Settings to check before your first Otter or Fireflies call

1. Auto-join: set the bot to join only meetings you pick, then check events you changed one by one.
2. Auto-share and recap emails: in Otter, set Default audience for shared notes to Don't share. In Fireflies, set Send email recap to to Only me.
3. Link access: in Fireflies, change the default from Teammates & anyone with link. In Otter, avoid public links for sensitive calls.
4. Notices: turn on Otter's Send pre-recording emails, or Fireflies' meeting compliance notice.
5. AI training: with Otter, ask privacy@otter.ai in writing if you don't want your meetings used to train its AI.
6. Consent: tell everyone you're recording, every time.

Scribbl vs Otter vs Fireflies: privacy side by side

Feature	Scribbl	Otter	Fireflies
Anything in the participant list?	No, on Google Meet, Zoom and Teams	Yes, "[Your Name]'s Notetaker (Otter.ai)"	Yes, Fireflies Notetaker
Recordings private by default	Yes	Depends on your auto-share default	No: teammates and anyone with the link
Your meetings used to train AI	Not for anyone other than you	De-identified recordings and transcripts train Otter's own AI	Says no
A bot joins from your calendar on its own	No bot	Yes	Yes
Privacy class action pending	None	Yes, core claims going forward	Yes, Illinois biometric privacy claims

Scribbl: the more private choice

This section is about our own product. Scribbl is an AI note taker for Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, built so your meetings stay yours:

• Nothing joins the call. Google Meet runs from a Chrome extension (AI note taker for Google Meet), and Zoom and Teams run from Scribbl Desktop for Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows (Zoom, Teams). No bot sits in the participant list, and nothing shows up in meetings you didn't attend. You still tell people you're recording, the way you would yourself in any meeting.
• Private by default. Your recordings are private by default, and nobody sees a meeting unless you choose to share it.
• Your meetings don't train anyone else's AI. Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you, so there's no opt-out to hunt for and no request to email.
• You keep the whole meeting. Every meeting comes back with the video, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items. On Pro, connect Scribbl to ChatGPT or Claude and ask about past meetings.

What that means next to Otter and Fireflies: both put a bot in your calls that can join from your calendar on its own. Otter trains its own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts, and Fireflies leaves notes open to anyone with the link unless you change it. Both are defending privacy class actions. With Scribbl, nothing joins the call, recordings are private by default, and your meetings don't train AI for anyone other than you.

Who should pick Scribbl: people whose meetings are on Google Meet, Zoom or Teams, who want the video of each meeting, and whose clients or company would rather not see a bot in the call. The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with 10 meetings a month. Pro is $13 per user per month billed annually, or $20 monthly (pricing).

For more on Otter, see the Otter lawsuit, Scribbl vs Otter and Otter alternatives. For the same check on another note taker, see is Fathom safe.

FAQ

Is Otter AI safe?

Otter is secure by the usual business measures: it has a SOC 2 Type II report, encrypts stored data with AES-256 on Amazon Web Services in the western United States, and offers HIPAA with a Business Associate Agreement on its Enterprise plan. It is not the most private choice. Otter trains its own AI on de-identified recordings and transcripts, its Notetaker can join every meeting on your calendar and share the notes with the guests, and a federal judge let a privacy class action against it go forward on August 13, 2026.

Is Fireflies AI safe?

Fireflies is secure by the usual business measures: it lists SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR and ISO/IEC 42001, and encrypts data with AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit. It says it doesn't train AI on your meeting content. Check two defaults before you use it: recap emails go to everyone on the invite, including people outside your company, and meeting notes are open to teammates and anyone with the link. Fireflies also faces Illinois biometric privacy class actions over voiceprints.

Does Otter use my recordings to train its AI?

Yes. Otter's privacy policy, effective June 16, 2026, says it trains its own AI on de-identified audio recordings and on transcriptions, which may contain personal information. Otter says its outside AI providers don't train on your data. Neither the privacy policy nor Otter's Privacy and Security page describes a setting to opt out.

Does Otter join meetings automatically?

It can. Once you connect a Google or Microsoft calendar, Otter Notetaker can join every event with a Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams link, even when you don't attend. Otter's help center lists meetings with a video conference link as the default auto-join setting for workspace members. To stop it, set auto-join to Meetings I manually select, and check events you changed one by one, because those keep their own setting.

Can other people tell when Otter is recording?

Otter Notetaker appears in the participant list as your name plus Notetaker (Otter.ai), and it posts a message with a link to the live transcript in the meeting chat. Pre-recording emails to guests are a setting you turn on, and only Enterprise admins can require them for everyone. Otter's Privacy and Security page and help center put getting consent on you, so tell everyone you're recording.

Is Otter being sued?

Yes. In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation, No. 5:25-cv-06911, is a proposed class action in federal court in Northern California that alleges Otter Notetaker recorded people without their consent and used their conversations to train Otter's AI. On August 13, 2026, the judge let the federal wiretap, California privacy and Illinois biometric claims go forward. Otter denies the allegations, and no court has ruled that it broke the law.

Is Otter HIPAA compliant?

Otter says it is HIPAA compliant, but only on the Enterprise plan, where you sign a Business Associate Agreement through your account manager. Otter's own HIPAA guide tells healthcare teams to control auto-join and turn off public and link-based sharing, because those features can expose patient information.

Does Fireflies use my meetings to train AI?

Fireflies says no. Its privacy policy, updated September 28, 2026, and its security guide say meeting audio, video, transcripts and summaries are never used to train AI models, and that AI vendors such as OpenAI and Anthropic keep none of your data after processing. Its security page puts it this way: we don't train on it by default.

How do I delete my Otter recordings?

Delete a conversation from its three-dot menu. It moves to Trash and is permanently deleted after 30 days, or right away if you empty the Trash. You can delete your whole account in Account Settings under General if you're the only user in your workspace; otherwise your admin handles it.

Is there an AI note taker that doesn't join the call?

Yes. Scribbl, which we make, takes notes in Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams with nothing joining the call, so no bot sits in the participant list, and you still get the video recording, a transcript with speaker names, AI notes and action items. Recordings are private by default, and Scribbl doesn't use your meetings to train AI for anyone other than you. The free plan includes Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with 10 meetings a month.

Sources

Every fact above was checked on these pages on October 19, 2026.

• Otter legal and security pages: privacy policy (effective June 16, 2026), Privacy and Security, pricing
• Otter help center, security: Data security and privacy policies (September 3, 2026), HIPAA | Otter.ai (September 29, 2026), Speaker Identification Overview (September 18, 2026), Disable Speaker Learning (October 7, 2026)
• Otter help center, the bot and consent: Otter Notetaker Overview (October 12, 2026), Automatically add Otter Notetaker to your meetings (October 3, 2026), Choose which meetings Otter Notetaker records (September 21, 2026), Recording Permissions with Otter (August 24, 2026), Enforce pre-meeting recording notifications (April 1, 2026), Otter Desktop App (October 15, 2026)
• Otter help center, sharing and deleting: Turn off auto-share (August 13, 2026), Otter is still automatically sharing conversations after I turned off the settings (October 7, 2026), Delete a conversation (October 9, 2026), Delete your Otter account (October 17, 2026), Set a custom Data Retention policy (October 16, 2026)
• Fireflies: privacy policy (September 28, 2026), security page, How Fireflies.ai keeps your information safe, auto-join settings, recap email settings, privacy settings, How to Invite the Fireflies AI Notetaker (September 27, 2022)
• Court records: In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation, No. 5:25-cv-06911 (N.D. Cal.), including the August 13, 2026 order; Fricker v. Fireflies.AI Corp., No. 1:26-cv-02675 (N.D. Ill.); Parrinello v. Fireflies.AI Corp., No. 3:26-cv-02479 (N.D. Cal.); Cruz v. Fireflies.AI Corp. (C.D. Ill.), via Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Insider (December 24, 2025) and the Justia docket (dismissal, March 11, 2026)
• News: UC Today, When the Meeting Ended, Otter Kept Listening (April 30, 2026)
• Scribbl: pricing