Three GDPR problems with cloud transcription
Third-country transfer (GDPR Art. 44)
Services like Whisper API, Deepgram, or Otter.ai send audio to US servers. Without adequate safeguards (SCCs + LIA), this is a GDPR violation — especially post-Schrems II.
Missing DPA (GDPR Art. 28)
Sending recordings with personal data to a cloud service without a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is non-compliant. Most individual users and small teams skip this step and unknowingly violate GDPR.
Information obligation (GDPR Art. 13/14)
Data subjects must be informed when their voice data is processed by a third party. For client calls, patient recordings, or HR interviews, this is often impractical.
Scrieb: all three problems solved simultaneously
- No third-country transfer — data never leaves your device.
- No DPA required — Scrieb is local software, not a data processor.
- No information obligation — no third-party processing means no obligation to notify data subjects.
Who needs GDPR-compliant transcription?
⚖️
Lawyers & law firms
Client communications are protected by privilege. Uploading to cloud services violates professional duties. Scrieb transcribes locally.
🏥
Doctors & therapists
Patient data falls under special category data (GDPR Art. 9). Only local processing is unambiguously compliant.
🔬
Researchers & universities
Ethics boards often require local data handling for research interview transcripts. Scrieb meets these requirements.
👥
HR & people teams
Candidate data and employee records cannot be freely transferred to US cloud providers without proper legal basis.
Pricing
Unlimited GDPR-compliant transcriptions. No cloud subscriptions.
Frequently asked questions
- What does GDPR-compliant transcription mean?
- It means audio is processed only on your own device — no upload to third-party servers, no cross-border data transfer, no DPA required.
- Do I need a DPA to use Scrieb?
- No. Because Scrieb is local software that processes nothing externally, there is no data processing relationship with a third party. No DPA is needed.
- Is Scrieb HIPAA-friendly?
- Yes. Since no PHI (Protected Health Information) ever leaves your device, Scrieb is a HIPAA-friendly approach — no Business Associate Agreement (BAA) required.
- What is the difference between Scrieb and Whisper API?
- Whisper API (by OpenAI) sends audio to OpenAI's servers in the US. Scrieb uses the same Whisper model, but locally on your device — no upload, no US transfer.
- Can Scrieb be used in healthcare and legal environments?
- Yes. Lawyers, doctors, and therapists use Scrieb for sensitive transcriptions because no data is shared with any third party.