Call recordings and transcripts: what's kept and for how long
Every call gets a written transcript kept for the life of your account, and an audio recording that ages out on a schedule set by your plan.
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You need to go back and listen to what a customer actually said on a call from three weeks ago — or you need to know it's simply gone. Cara keeps two different things from every call, and they don't age out on the same schedule: audio goes first, on your plan's clock, and the written transcript stays far longer before it is redacted.
How it works
- Every call gets a written transcript, turn by turn, on the call's detail page. Transcripts are kept on every plan for the life of your account, with one exception: the caller's name, phone, address and the transcript text are automatically redacted about 12 months after the call, matching our Privacy Policy. The call row and its totals stay for your reporting.
- Every call also gets an audio recording. Audio ages out automatically after a number of days that depends on your plan:
| Plan | Recording audio kept for |
|---|---|
| Basic | 15 days |
| Starter | 30 days |
| Pro | 60 days |
- A daily job deletes recording audio past your plan's window from ClearLine365's storage and from the phone provider. Once that happens, the call row, its transcript, and its lead details are all untouched — only the audio is gone.
Listen to or download a recording
- Open the call from your calls list.
- Under Recording, select Play recording. ClearLine365 mints a short-lived link and plays the audio right there.
- Where a download is offered, select it to save the audio file.
What to expect
- A recording usually appears within about an hour of the call ending. A call older than that with no recording yet genuinely has none.
- Once audio ages out, the call's recording panel says Recording no longer available and states how many days your plan keeps recordings — the transcript stays right below it, unaffected.
- If your billing lapses, recording playback pauses for every call until it's resolved; the transcript is unaffected.
Limits
Recording retention counts from the day of the call, not from when you last opened it — listening to a recording doesn't reset its clock. Transcript text is on its own, much longer clock: about 12 months after a call, the transcript and the caller's personal details are redacted automatically, in line with our Privacy Policy. Deleting a lead is separate and more final: a deleted lead moves to Recently deleted, and if it isn't restored within 7 days, the call — recording, transcript, and all — is permanently removed.
Common questions
Can I get more days of recording audio?
Recording retention is tied to your plan: Basic keeps 15 days, Starter 30, and Pro 60.
Does deleting a lead delete its recording right away?
No — deleting a lead gives you a 7-day window to restore it from Recently deleted. After 7 days, the whole call record, including any recording and transcript still on file, is gone for good.