Data Privacy and Security in AI Minute-Taking: Protecting Your Condo Board Meetings

Why privacy matters more than ever

Board meetings routinely touch sensitive topics: arrears, HR, litigation strategy, security, contracts, and owner disputes. Leaks erode trust, raise liability, and can fuel community conflict. Ontario law requires corporations to keep adequate records and to provide owners access to prescribed records; meeting minutes are specifically called out and must be kept indefinitely. But audio/video recordings are not listed and can introduce avoidable risk if treated like corporate records.

What the law actually requires

• Minutes are required and must be retained (permanent record). Owners are entitled to access minutes.
• Owners are not entitled to some categories (e.g., records relating to employees, litigation, and individual units.)
• Audio/video recordings of meetings are not expressly listed as records corporations must keep. However, if the corporation treats them as part of its files, a requester might argue they are “records of the corporation.”
• Industry guidance consistently notes that minutes (not recordings) are the official, enduring record.

Key idea: Keep the minutes as the official record. Treat recordings/transcripts as temporary inputs used solely to produce those minutes.

For more on the fundamentals of what belongs in minutes, see our condo board meeting minutes in Ontario guide (format, requirements, and examples).

Why a well-designed AI workflow is more private than a human secretary

1. No outsiders in the room: Human secretaries must attend (in person or virtually), exposing confidential discussions. With AI, only the board and manager are present; the “minute-taker” is software.
2. Controlled, encrypted storage: Freelancers routinely use email attachments, personal laptops, USBs, or consumer clouds. Our system stores data in a single, controlled environment (AWS Montreal) with strict access controls and encryption at rest and in transit.
3. Policy-defined retention (and deletion): Meeting audio: retained up to forty-five (45) days. Transcripts: retained while the corporation is an active client and for up to two (2) years after account termination. Final minutes + corporation/user data: retained for as long as the corporation is a client; after off-boarding, the most recent two (2) years of finalized minutes may be retained as described in our Terms of Service. This is tighter and more auditable than typical human workflows.
4. Access is need-to-know only: Role-based access (manager/board/admin). No forwarding chains or uncontrolled duplicates.
5. No “human curiosity” risk: People can gossip or be pressured. Software cannot. Access is logged and policy-bound.
6. Canadian data residency: Hosted in AWS Montreal—important for procurement and privacy expectations in Canada.

Our in-person recording model (Desktop App)

When you record an in-person meeting using the Minutes App Desktop:

• No one outside My Condo Space can access the audio.
• Audio and raw transcript are stored only on AWS Montreal.
• Only our Whisper (speech-to-text) and GPT APIs process the raw files to generate minutes; by contract this data is not used to train models.
• We never access raw files unless the manager explicitly requests troubleshooting.

This is, in practice, the most private way to capture meetings: no outside person attends; the only corporate record that ultimately enters the corporation’s files is the minutes document.

Virtual meetings (Zoom/Teams): ownership and “record” risk

This is where confusion often starts. Here’s the clean way to think about it:

• If the corporation pays for and keeps Zoom/Teams recordings, owners may argue those files are corporate records (even though recordings aren’t listed in the regulation). That argument is stronger if the files sit in the corporation’s repository.
• If the management company’s account is used (and recordings are never filed in the corporation’s system), the files are more clearly manager tools—temporary inputs to produce minutes—not corporate records.
• If the corporation uses our Zoom account, the recording is our service input, not a corporate record. The manager receives only the generated minutes; audio is never filed with the corporation.

Best practice: Once minutes are successfully generated and received, securely delete any manager-held audio, ensuring it never enters the corporation’s files. Only the Word minutes file is saved to the corporation’s repository for review/approval at the next meeting. (A CAT decision has also confirmed that draft minutes are not records; the approved minutes are. Context still matters, so use the workflow below.)

For tips on running virtual meetings smoothly and compliantly, see How to Chair a Meeting for Clear, Compliant Minutes.

Step-by-step: Privacy-first workflow for managers

Before the meeting

• Confirm whether the meeting is in person (Desktop App) or virtual (our Zoom / manager’s Zoom).
• Reiterate to the board that minutes—not recordings—are the official record.

During the meeting

• Record via Minutes App Desktop (in person) or our/manager’s Zoom, not the corporation’s account.
• Keep the agenda structured; chairs clearly state motions, seconders, and outcomes.

Immediately after the meeting

• Confirm the minutes are generated and accessible.
• Securely delete any local/manager copies of audio so it doesn’t enter the corporation’s files.

Filing with the corporation

• Save only the Word minutes (draft) in the corporation’s repository.
• Approve at the next meeting; the approved minutes become the permanent corporate record.

How we protect your data (at a glance)

• Hosting: Data is stored in AWS Montreal (Canada).
• Encryption: TLS in transit and encrypted at rest.
• Access controls: Least-privilege, role-based access with audit-friendly logs.
• Retention: Meeting audio: up to forty-five (45) days. Transcripts: while you’re a client and up to two (2) years after account termination. Minutes + client data: retained while you’re a client; after off-boarding, the most recent two (2) years of finalized minutes per our Terms of Service.
• Processing: Only Whisper (speech-to-text) and GPT process raw files; contracts prohibit model training use.
• Human access: None by default; internal access occurs only at a manager’s explicit request for troubleshooting.

Comparison: AI minutes vs. human recording secretary (privacy lens)

Frequently asked questions

Are owners entitled to the audio or video recording?

Not by default. Recordings aren’t listed as required records. Risk arises if a corporation treats recordings as part of its files (e.g., saving them to the corporation’s repository). Keeping recordings out of the corporation’s files—and using them solely as a temporary input—avoids that risk.

How long must minutes be kept?

Indefinitely. Minutes are a permanent corporate record and owners are entitled to access.

Are owners entitled to draft minutes?

A CAT decision has confirmed draft minutes are not records; only approved minutes become records. Context matters, but this is a helpful benchmark.

What records are owners not entitled to?

Among others: records related to employees (except contracts), litigation/insurance investigations, and records about specific units/owners.

Where is the data stored?

AWS Montreal. Meeting audio: up to forty-five (45) days. Transcripts: while the corporation is a client and up to two (2) years after account termination. Minutes and client data: for as long as the corporation is a client, then the most recent two (2) years of finalized minutes post-offboarding, as described in our Terms of Service.

Who can access raw audio/transcripts?

No one outside My Condo Space. Internally, access is only for troubleshooting at the manager’s explicit request. Processing is limited to Whisper/GPT; contractually not used to train models.

Bottom line. Minutes are the only official record.

Recordings and transcripts are temporary working materials used solely to produce those minutes. We retain meeting audio for up to forty-five (45) days for transcription, quality assurance, and reprocessing; transcripts follow the retention periods in our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy; only the Word minutes file is saved in the corporation’s repository for review and approval at the next meeting. For virtual meetings, record on our Zoom (or the manager’s), and do not file recordings in the corporation’s system. This preserves confidentiality, avoids creating a corporate record of the audio/video, and keeps practice aligned with Ontario’s records regime.