Otter.ai sued for allegedly recording private conversations without consent
The lawsuit claims that Otter.ai used these recordings—captured without consent—to train its transcription tool, Otter Notebook.
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AI-powered transcription service Otter.ai is facing a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that the company deceptively and surreptitiously recorded private conversations held on platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
The lawsuit claims that Otter.ai used these recordings—captured without consent—to train its transcription tool, Otter Notebook. It further alleges that the company failed to notify or obtain permission from meeting participants before recording and sharing the conversations with its platform.
As per Otter's privacy policy, it trains its AI using meeting transcripts, but only after users permit it by checking a box that allows Otter and third parties to process private conversations for training and product improvement purposes. However, the lawsuit argues that many users were still misled.
In recent months, Otter has faced privacy concerns related to its growing use in workplaces. The company has highlighted that around 25 million people rely on its AI transcription tools, which have processed over one billion meetings since its launch in 2016, according to a media report.
Justin Brewer, the plaintiff, argued that he felt his privacy was seriously violated after discovering that Otter had recorded a confidential conversation without his knowledge. Other users have also shared similar experiences and grievances about Otter’s recording features on social media platforms such as X and Reddit.
One user complained that the company shares user data with third parties, while another claimed that Otter sometimes joins meetings automatically when linked to workplace calendars—without obtaining consent, the report added.
The lawsuit also noted that Otter does not seek approval from all meeting participants, typically asking only the host for permission when an account holder joins a call.
Although the company claims it anonymizes meeting audio before using it to train its AI, the lawsuit challenges this assertion, pointing to a lack of public transparency around the anonymization process.
