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To provide transcription services, Gladia processes several types of data:
  • Audio input: Audio files or audio streams provided for transcription
  • Transcription output: Text, timestamps, words, utterances
  • API Metadata: Request IDs, timestamps, processing status
  • Logs: Operational logs for system reliability
The duration for which your data is stored depends on your plan type. You have two main options for data retention:
  • Standard data retention: Your data (such as audio files, transcripts, and metadata) remains accessible for a set number of days, up to a maximum allowed by your plan. The minimum retention value is 0, which means your data is deleted within 24 hours. The maximum and default value is 12 months.
  • Zero data retention: Data storage is minimized at all stages, avoiding temporary storage whenever possible. All data is deleted immediately after processing.
Only Enterprise users are eligible for custom data retention and the zero data retention option.
To enable usage tracking, Gladia retains essential API metadata: request ID, timestamp, processing status and audio duration. Immutable logs are also maintained, for a limited period, to ensure service quality and reliability.

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Zero Data Retention behavior

When Zero Data Retention is enabled, Gladia processes data ephemerally; no data is stored at rest.
Enabling Zero Data Retention is a breaking change if your integration relies on file upload (/v2/upload) or result retrieval via polling (GET /v2/pre-recorded/:id). Review the restrictions below and update your integration before enabling ZDR.

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Disabled endpoints

  • File upload is disabled: The /v2/upload endpoint is fully disabled. Any request to this endpoint will fail. The asynchronous API must use an external audio file URL (e.g. an S3 presigned URL or any publicly accessible URL) passed directly as audio_url to POST /v2/pre-recorded.
  • Result polling is disabled: Transcription results cannot be retrieved via GET /v2/pre-recorded/:id. The only way to receive results is through callbacks.

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No data stored

  • No audio files are stored: Files cannot be retrieved through the API or in Gladia’s playground.
  • No transcripts are stored: Transcription results are not visible in the API or in Gladia’s playground.
  • No metadata retrieval: Transcription API calls, audio duration, and other metadata cannot be retrieved through the API or in Gladia’s playground.
Once the result is delivered via callback, the audio, transcript, and metadata cannot be accessed.

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Migration checklist

Before enabling Zero Data Retention, make sure your integration meets the following requirements:
1

Host audio files externally

Replace any usage of /v2/upload with an external storage provider. Pass a publicly accessible or signed URL (e.g. AWS S3 presigned URL, GCS signed URL) as audio_url when creating a transcription job.
2

Set up a callback endpoint

Configure a callback URL in your transcription requests to receive results, since polling and the playground will not be available. See callback configuration for setup details.
3

Remove polling and GET calls

Remove any code that retrieves transcription results via GET /v2/pre-recorded/:id or relies on the Gladia playground for debugging. Results are delivered exclusively through callbacks.