> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ccv.brown.edu/ai-tools/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ccv.brown.edu/ai-tools/data-privacy/transcribe-data-handling-level-3/data-security-best-practices.md).

# Data Security Best Practices

Although Transcribe is now approved to handle data under [Level 3 of Brown's Data Risk Classification](https://it.brown.edu/policies/data-risk-classifications), it is still recommended to engage in best data security practices to ensure the security of research data. These include:

* **Do NOT include identifiable information in file names.** The names of the files uploaded for transcription is considered metadata and and may exist in logs that are stored long-term, even though the files and transcription themselves can be deleted permanently. Please ensure that the filenames do not contain any identifiable information before uploading the files. Use pseudonyms whenever necessary.
* **Do NOT name jobs with identifiable information.** The users can choose names for transcription jobs if they prefer, if they choose to override the names automatically given by the system. In choosing these names, please do not include any identifiable information.
* **Download the transcriptions after the jobs are done.** Transcribe is not designed to store transcripts long-term, so please [download the transcripts](/ai-tools/services/transcribe/downloading-transcriptions.md) after the transcription jobs are finished to avoid potential data loss.
* **Delete transcription jobs when no longer needed.** Please delete the transcription jobs once you have downloaded the transcripts, especially if your audio files contain sensitive information.


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