Skip to main content Implement audio data handling best practices for Deepgram integrations.
Use when managing audio file storage, implementing data retention policies,
or ensuring GDPR/HIPAA compliance for transcription data.
Trigger with phrases like "deepgram data", "audio storage", "transcription data",
"deepgram GDPR", "deepgram HIPAA", "deepgram privacy".
npx skills add jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins-plus-skills --skill deepgram-data-handling ai automation claude-code devops mcp ai-agents
Deepgram Data Handling
Overview
Best practices for handling audio and transcript data with Deepgram. Covers Deepgram's built-in redact parameter for PII, secure audio upload with encryption, transcript storage patterns, data retention policies, and GDPR/HIPAA compliance workflows.
Data Privacy Quick Reference
Deepgram Feature What It Does Enable redact: ['pci']Masks credit card numbers in transcript Query param redact: ['ssn']Masks Social Security numbers Query param redact: ['numbers']Masks all numeric sequences Query param Data retention Deepgram does NOT store audio or transcripts
Deepgram's data policy: Audio is processed in real-time and not stored. Transcripts are not retained unless you use Deepgram's optional storage features.
Instructions
Step 1: Deepgram Built-in PII Redaction import { createClient } from '@deepgram/sdk';
const deepgram = createClient(process.env.DEEPGRAM_API_KEY!);
// Deepgram redacts PII directly during transcription
const { result } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url: audioUrl },
{
model: 'nova-3',
smart_format: true,
redact: ['pci', 'ssn'], // Credit cards + SSNs -> [REDACTED]
}
);
// Output: "My card is [REDACTED] and SSN is [REDACTED]"
console.log(result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript);
// For maximum privacy, redact all numbers:
// redact: ['pci', 'ssn', 'numbers']
Step 2: Application-Level PII Redaction // Additional redaction patterns beyond Deepgram's built-in
const piiPatterns: Array<{ name: string; pattern: RegExp; replacement: string }> = [
{ name: 'email', pattern: /\b[\w.-]+@[\w.-]+\.\w{2,}\b/g, replacement: '[EMAIL]' },
{ name: 'phone', pattern: /\b(\+?\d{1,3}[-.\s]?)?\(?\d{3}\)?[-.\s]?\d{3}[-.\s]?\d{4}\b/g, replacement: '[PHONE]' },
{ name: 'dob', pattern: /\b(0[1-9]|1[0-2])\/.-\/.-\d{2}\b/g, replacement: '[DOB]' },
{ name: 'address', pattern: /\b\d{1,5}\s[\w\s]+(?:Street|St|Avenue|Ave|Road|Rd|Drive|Dr|Lane|Ln|Boulevard|Blvd)\b/gi, replacement: '[ADDRESS]' },
];
function redactPII(text: string): { redacted: string; found: string[] } {
let redacted = text;
const found: string[] = [];
for (const { name, pattern, replacement } of piiPatterns) {
const matches = text.match(pattern);
if (matches) {
found.push(`${name}: ${matches.length} occurrence(s)`);
redacted = redacted.replace(pattern, replacement);
}
}
return { redacted, found };
}
// Usage after Deepgram transcription:
const transcript = result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0].transcript;
const { redacted, found } = redactPII(transcript);
if (found.length > 0) console.log('PII found and redacted:', found);
Step 3: Secure Audio Upload and Storage import { S3Client, PutObjectCommand, GetObjectCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-s3';
import { getSignedUrl } from '@aws-sdk/s3-request-presigner';
import { createHash, randomUUID } from 'crypto';
import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
const s3 = new S3Client({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION ?? 'us-east-1' });
const BUCKET = process.env.AUDIO_BUCKET!;
async function uploadAudio(filePath: string, metadata: Record<string, string> = {}) {
const audio = readFileSync(filePath);
const checksum = createHash('sha256').update(audio).digest('hex');
const key = `audio/${randomUUID()}-${checksum.substring(0, 8)}.wav`;
await s3.send(new PutObjectCommand({
Bucket: BUCKET,
Key: key,
Body: audio,
ContentType: 'audio/wav',
ServerSideEncryption: 'aws:kms', // Encrypt at rest
Metadata: {
...metadata,
checksum,
uploadedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
},
}));
// Generate presigned URL for Deepgram to fetch (expires in 1 hour)
const presignedUrl = await getSignedUrl(s3,
new GetObjectCommand({ Bucket: BUCKET, Key: key }),
{ expiresIn: 3600 }
);
return { key, checksum, presignedUrl };
}
// Upload -> Get presigned URL -> Send to Deepgram
const { presignedUrl } = await uploadAudio('./recording.wav', { source: 'call-center' });
const { result } = await deepgram.listen.prerecorded.transcribeUrl(
{ url: presignedUrl },
{ model: 'nova-3', smart_format: true, redact: ['pci', 'ssn'] }
);
Step 4: Transcript Storage Pattern interface StoredTranscript {
id: string;
audioKey: string; // S3 reference
requestId: string; // Deepgram request_id
transcript: string; // Redacted text
confidence: number;
duration: number; // Audio duration in seconds
model: string;
speakers: number;
utterances?: Array<{
speaker: number;
text: string;
start: number;
end: number;
}>;
metadata: {
redacted: boolean;
piiTypesFound: string[];
createdAt: string;
retentionPolicy: 'standard' | 'legal_hold' | 'hipaa';
expiresAt: string;
};
}
function buildTranscriptRecord(
audioKey: string,
result: any,
retentionDays = 90
): StoredTranscript {
const alt = result.results.channels[0].alternatives[0];
const { redacted, found } = redactPII(alt.transcript);
return {
id: randomUUID(),
audioKey,
requestId: result.metadata.request_id,
transcript: redacted,
confidence: alt.confidence,
duration: result.metadata.duration,
model: Object.keys(result.metadata.model_info ?? {})[0] ?? 'unknown',
speakers: new Set(alt.words?.map((w: any) => w.speaker).filter(Boolean)).size,
utterances: result.results.utterances?.map((u: any) => ({
speaker: u.speaker,
text: u.transcript,
start: u.start,
end: u.end,
})),
metadata: {
redacted: found.length > 0,
piiTypesFound: found,
createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
retentionPolicy: 'standard',
expiresAt: new Date(Date.now() + retentionDays * 86400000).toISOString(),
},
};
}
Step 5: Data Retention Policies const retentionPolicies = {
standard: { days: 90, description: 'Default retention' },
legal_hold: { days: 2555, description: '7 years for legal' },
hipaa: { days: 2190, description: '6 years per HIPAA' },
temp: { days: 7, description: 'Temporary processing' },
};
async function enforceRetention(db: any, s3Client: S3Client, bucket: string) {
const now = new Date();
// Find expired transcripts
const expired = await db.query(
'SELECT id, audio_key FROM transcripts WHERE expires_at < $1 AND retention_policy != $2',
[now.toISOString(), 'legal_hold']
);
console.log(`Found ${expired.rows.length} expired transcripts`);
for (const row of expired.rows) {
// Delete audio from S3
try {
await s3Client.send(new DeleteObjectCommand({
Bucket: bucket, Key: row.audio_key,
}));
} catch (err: any) {
console.error(`S3 delete failed for ${row.audio_key}:`, err.message);
}
// Delete transcript from database
await db.query('DELETE FROM transcripts WHERE id = $1', [row.id]);
console.log(`Deleted: ${row.id}`);
}
return expired.rows.length;
}
Step 6: GDPR Right to Erasure async function processErasureRequest(userId: string, db: any, s3Client: S3Client, bucket: string) {
console.log(`Processing GDPR erasure request for user: ${userId}`);
// 1. Find all user transcripts
const transcripts = await db.query(
'SELECT id, audio_key FROM transcripts WHERE user_id = $1', [userId]
);
// 2. Delete audio files from S3
for (const row of transcripts.rows) {
if (row.audio_key) {
await s3Client.send(new DeleteObjectCommand({ Bucket: bucket, Key: row.audio_key }));
}
}
// 3. Delete transcripts from database
const deleted = await db.query('DELETE FROM transcripts WHERE user_id = $1', [userId]);
// 4. Delete user metadata
await db.query('DELETE FROM user_metadata WHERE user_id = $1', [userId]);
// 5. Audit log (keep for compliance — does not contain PII)
console.log(JSON.stringify({
action: 'gdpr_erasure',
userId: userId.substring(0, 8) + '...', // Partial for audit
transcriptsDeleted: deleted.rowCount,
audioFilesDeleted: transcripts.rows.length,
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
}));
return { transcriptsDeleted: deleted.rowCount, audioFilesDeleted: transcripts.rows.length };
}
Output
Deepgram built-in PII redaction (pci, ssn, numbers)
Application-level PII redaction (email, phone, DOB, address)
Secure audio upload to S3 with KMS encryption
Transcript storage pattern with retention metadata
Automated retention enforcement
GDPR erasure workflow
Error Handling Issue Cause Solution PII still visible Deepgram redact not set Add redact: ['pci', 'ssn'] to options S3 upload fails Missing KMS permissions Add kms:GenerateDataKey to IAM role Retention not enforced Cron not running Schedule retention job, add monitoring Erasure incomplete Transaction failed Use database transactions for atomic delete
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