Stopping users with Otter.ai from joining meeting

[albert-rivas]

Lately, we have been having a lot of users join our meetings with Otter.ai and record and transcribe the meeting.  Some of those meetings are confidential and wanted to see if there is a security setting that needs to be adjusted or what can be done to stop these users from joining the meeting with otter.ai.   We started enabling waiting rooms and allowing users in one at a time but when you have meetings with 100s of individuals, it's hard to police everyone.  Is anyone else dealing with this?

[RN]

Hey @albert-rivas just to further understand, but users are joining with otter.AI enabled on their account and you are wanting to prevent users from joining or joining with otter.ai? To my understanding, Otter.ai Zoom Sync is a Business plan integration that can automatically sync and transcribe your Zoom cloud recordings, so not sure what you mean by "stopping users from joining the meeting with otter.ai."

Have you looked into Zooms Audio transcription for cloud recordings though? 

[albert-rivas]

We are wanting to stop recordings and transcriptions of our meetings as some of them are confidential.  I was looking to hopefully enable some security settings that zoom might have to stop any user that comes in with something like otter.ai or another transcribing/recording software.

Not all of our meetings are confidential but the ones that are, we want to enable any security settings to keep them confidential and not recorded/transcribed.

[Mish58]

Dear RN - the problem is to STOP people from using AI bots to automatically transcribe the meeting if it is confidential. There should be a security feature allowing meeting host to block Otter.AI and similar robots from joining meetings. 

[Mish58]

Yes I have the same problem. It gets worse - people who have the option in Otter set to automatically join all their meetings, end up having Otter attend on their behalf and then broadcasting these live notes to everybody who was invited to the meeting - breaking all kinds of confidentiality.

[albert-rivas]

That is precisely the problem.  I feel that there should be a security setting that should stop automated ai bots from transcribing the meetings we don't want to be transcribed.  I am just asking if there are any settings or anything that we can activate in zoom to stop this from happening.  it doesn't seem like there is a way to do this. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[NSIL79]

I look forward to seeing a response to this. It's such an unbelievable violation of our confidentiality that we cannot prevent it. 

[NSIL79]

YES! We have been having this issue repeatedly. I sent Otter 4 urgent emails and nobody replied to me. Absurd that they are allowed to do that. I emailed zoom with the same concerns, nobody replied. 

[Aila]

We have had a similar issue with Zoom meetings at the university.

Apparently, research students have downloaded the program for transcription. They had no idea this program would remote into any meetings (even if they had not intended to attend it - virtually or otherwise).  As one possible solution, a student deleted the program.

[Mish58]

Hi there - Yes, and it would be good to have a facility in Zoom to address this. I have had some people willing and able to either delete Otter or (simple enough) changes its settings so it doesn't automatically enter all their meetings. 

However I would like to be able to block Otter.ai on a blanket basis from confidential meetings I host.

[Frank_TB]

Please consider the following:

I can screen record anything on my computer screen using a multitude of screen tecording applications. Once I have this recording I can transcribe it using any number of methods.

Zoom may stop Otter AI, but essentially,  a determined user will succeed. I can just point my cell phone camera at my computer monitor and press record and do everything you are concerned about.

Maybe it’s time rethink how you conduct meetings and what should or should not be part of the meeting.

Everything I just said is true for Microsoft Teams meetings, Google Meet, WebEx and all of the other meeting platforms.

Hace you considered using other means such as an NDA?

Regards

[Mish58]

Great point! And what is different about Otter.AI is that it automatically joins the Zoom meeting without video, and WITHOUT its human "owner" even being present in the meeting at all. It also emails the notes to EVERY person who was INVITED to the meeting, whether they were present or not. 

[albert-rivas]

We have found that some users didn't know that otter.ai automatically joins all Zoom meetings without them even having to be present and then sends the transcription to all people invited.   We have asked that people uninstall and have created all our meetings to have a waiting room, especially with those that are more confidential to slowly let people in one at a time to try to monitor those otter.ai users. 

[albert-rivas]

That is true.  You can't stop anyone from recording conversations whether it's via video, audio or other ways.   I do feel that Zoom should have some security options to stop web applications or third-party apps to be able to do this.  It seems this is a new issue but a growing trend and issue with a lot of users.   We might have to start doing NDA's to hold people accountable for these confidential conversations but still feel that zoom should have some capabilities to assist in these security measures. 

[Mish58]

Dear Frank, you make good points - in the event that somebody is determined to break confidentiality and record by some means. I believe what is different about Otter.AI's app is that it makes perfectly well-meaning subscribers to a meeting into unwitting breakers of confidentiality and spreads unnecessary alarm amongst participants. 

My meetings, for example, are not of earth-shattering confidentiality but personal matters are discussed in ways that participants only want to share them live and in the moment. When somebody for some reason doesn't make it to the meeting, and then unknown to that person has a robot go into the meeting in his or her name and broadcast its contents - that is on a whole different level of disruption.

[grossmusic]

Telling people to rethink on the assumption that "confidential" is at a high level isn't really helpful to most users, since people in that position already know the rules for their industries. Anytime the answer to a tech issue is "rethink" in a scolding way irks the h--- out of most normal people.

Most Zoom users are doing proprietary stuff we don't want getting easily distributed to others, & we want control of who gets it. Yes, we know people can do workarounds, but Otter makes it not only too easy, but to what end other than to usurp the host? So we don't want others using Otter in a way that eblasts everyone (attended or not), but if they go through the rigmarole of recording it for themselves, that's their prerogative.
I also never want to hear from random attendees of a meeting I was at & get their notes. It's just WEIRD!

[albert-rivas]

I agree.. i hope that zoom can come up with a solution to block otter.ai and other similar third-party apps.  I think the more we voice this issue, a solution will be hopefully implemented.  I started doing those meetings with waiting rooms and you can see when an otter.ai tries to join the meeting.  It sucks for those huge meetings but so far, that's helped at least to try to mitigate the problem.

[albert-rivas]

We are also asking individuals to delete that app from their systems.  I don't think some people realize what the program really does. 🫠

[DJD321]

I'd like to summarize the problems identified in this thread in one place, and ask users to verify the accuracy. If indeed all of the below is true, it is alarming:

1. Otter automatically attends any Zoom meeting on my calendar, and records/trancribes audio?
2. Does it do so even if I do not log in to the Zoom meeting?
3. Does it notify all attendees it is doing so? It sounds like it does not identify which user is doing so -- thus the waiting room workaround, is that correct?
4. Then it emails the transcription to every person who was invited to the meeting.

Am I missing any aspect of the problem?

Possible solutions, whether implemented by Otter, Zoom (would have to be other platforms, too) or both:

a. It does not attend a meeting unless the user logs in.
b. It does not record/transcribe unless the user turns it on during a meeting.
c. The meeting host is notified WITH the user's identity and must authorize the recording.
d. The meeting host can forbid Otter. But would have to be done on every platform -- or be built into Otter.

I sure would like to see this prioritized by Otter. What's the best way to communicate with them? In the meantime, I will NOT be installing this app on my computer. And I'm glad I checked this forum before doing so. Thanks, everyone.

[DJD321]

I just uninstalled Otter from my Chrome browser, and it gave me the opportunity to describe the problems and suggest solutions. Nice. 

[Mish58]

Yes, you are right:

1. Otter automatically attends any Zoom meeting on the user's calendar, and records/trancribes audio
2. It does so even if the user does not log in to the Zoom meeting
3. It does not notify all attendees it is doing so. It shows up as a non-video participant in the meeting and sends no communication to other Zoom participants about what it is doing.
4. Then it emails the transcription to every person who was invited to the meeting.

Am I missing any aspect of the problem? - I think the above summary is pretty comprehensive.

[DJD321]

WOW.

[jacobsonds]

You can add to the list that recording and disseminating information in a healthcare setting can be a direct violation of HIPPA rules. Patient meet ups, etc need to be confidential absolutely should not be recorded in any way. I understand the statement that anyone can record the screen but the ability to restrict recording as much as possible is required in these situations.

[grossmusic]

Can't we just deny entry to an Otter AI as the host of a meeting? Unless you have 100 people entering all at once & need to "admit all," it's totally controllable. If you do have 100 people, it's likely you have an assistant in there looking for "bombers" anyhow, so it can be a non-issue.

What am I missing?

As an Otter user, I'm looking for ways to be efficient without being obnoxious to other hosts.