Read AI alternatives: note takers that don’t auto-join calls

Is Read AI secure? How it handles your data

• Storage: encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2 or later in transit. The privacy page doesn’t state a storage region; for EU/EEA workspace customers it cites the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers.
• Training: contributing your data to model improvement is off by default and you can change it at any time. Read says meetings, transcripts and personal information are never sold to advertisers or third parties. Sub-processors are listed at trust.read.ai.
• Compliance: SOC 2 Type II, audited annually. Read says it meets HIPAA’s technical safeguard requirements and offers a BAA on request; HIPAA is a feature of the Enterprise+ plan. A DPA is available to eligible EU/EEA workspace customers.
• Deleting: a participant who opts out has their meeting data “immediately and permanently deleted”. You can delete reports you own; deleting an account removes its reports unless a workspace retains them. No general retention period is stated.

Why people want a more private Read AI alternative

• It turns up in meetings you didn’t set up: Read joins a call when any invitee has connected their calendar to it, so colleagues and clients meet the notetaker before they meet you. Read says it is deliberately conspicuous: it asks to join, appears as a participant and posts a chat message naming who invited it.
• Five meetings a month: the free plan covers 5 meetings a month of up to 1 hour. Most working weeks pass that in a day or two.
• The audio leaves the room: everything goes to Read’s service for transcription and reports. The privacy page doesn’t say where it is stored.
• Per-user licences, no refunds: every user needs a licence, a workspace must be on one plan, and the pricing page says refunds are not offered.
• Meeting-length caps: 1 hour on Free, 4 hours on Pro, 8 hours on Enterprise.

What Read AI costs

All prices are per user per month. The pricing page lists annual billing as 25% off the monthly rate, which is how $19.75 becomes $15 and $29.75 becomes $22.50.

Every plan is covered on the Read AI pricing page, including the free plan’s limits.

Secure Read AI alternatives and their prices

Prices below are each vendor’s own starting paid plan, checked on the date at the top of this page. They change often — follow the sources at the end before you decide.

How to choose a secure alternative

• Who decides the bot joins: with Read, any invitee’s calendar can bring it. If that is the problem, pick a tool that only records when the person at the keyboard starts it: Granola and QuietNote capture from the device, and QuietNote has no calendar auto-join at all.
• Count meetings, not minutes: Read’s free plan is 5 meetings a month; Otter’s is 300 minutes; Fathom’s has no cap. Match the limit to how many calls you actually have.
• Where the audio goes: Read’s privacy page is clear on encryption and SOC 2 but doesn’t state a storage region. If data location matters, choose a tool that names it, or one that transcribes on your own computer.
• Meeting length: Read caps meetings at 1, 4 or 8 hours by plan. A day-long workshop needs Enterprise or a tool without a cap.

If a bot-free note taker is what you’re after, see how it works. Switching but Read AI keeps showing up in meetings? Our guide shows how to remove AI meeting bots.