Implement audio data handling best practices for Deepgram integrations. Use when managing audio file storage, implementing data retention, or ensuring GDPR/HIPAA compliance for transcription data. Trigger: "deepgram data", "audio storage", "transcription data", "deepgram GDPR", "deepgram HIPAA", "deepgram privacy", "PII redaction".
Installation
Details
Usage
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npx agent-skills-cli listSkill Instructions
name: deepgram-data-handling description: | Implement audio data handling best practices for Deepgram integrations. Use when managing audio file storage, implementing data retention, or ensuring GDPR/HIPAA compliance for transcription data. Trigger: "deepgram data", "audio storage", "transcription data", "deepgram GDPR", "deepgram HIPAA", "deepgram privacy", "PII redaction". allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(aws:), Bash(gcloud:) version: 1.0.0 license: MIT author: Jeremy Longshore jeremy@intentsolutions.io compatible-with: claude-code, codex, openclaw tags: [saas, deepgram, data, compliance, privacy]
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 | Default behavior |
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])[\/.-](0[1-9]|[12]\d|3[01])[\/.-](19|20)\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 β 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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