Total nondisclosure and absolute confidentiality is the bedrock of working with other people's recordings for transcription.  Whether it is original academic research in the form of qualitative interviews or a public tribunal or inquiry when it goes into private session or PACE* interviews or counselling sessions.  Well, anything whether in the public or private domain, my standard is I'm not discussing what I'm listening to.

Woke up this morning, browsing my phone, and came across this:

The person says they aren't going to mention where they got this work but by 'platform' they mean the kind of online transcription services where you just upload your stuff and someone somewhere transcribes it. 

This is a cheap** way of getting volumes of data transcribed, but please don't use them for anything that could be remotely sensitive or compromise the personal data of the people involved. 

I am sure this transcriber would never dream of revealing the content of the interview or the identity of the people.  You should know though that these online transcription providers do not check who the people are working for them. Who knows what they can do with that information?

I am also sure that the person who wanted these transcriptions had ensured confidentiality to the people being recorded.  Well, that has been thoroughly broken by putting the recording on an online platform for anyone to listen to who happens to pick up the job.

Don't put your sensitive data on online transcription platforms.  Instead, use someone who takes confidentiality as the foundation upon which their business operates.  Get them to sign separate NDAs even. 

Security of personal data is priceless.  Don't put it 'out there' for anyone to listen to and possibly reveal its content and the identity of the participants.

You really don't know who is listening to your recordings if you use online transcription companies.

*PACE interviews are conducted under the remit of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

**I've addressed this before regarding 'ethics' but you can't be cheap with sensitive information