> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cartesia.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Zero Data Retention

> Zero Data Retention (ZDR) is available to Cartesia Enterprise customers for our Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Speech-to-Text (STT) APIs.

## Overview

ZDR is part of Cartesia's broader enterprise security posture. Cartesia is GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, PCI-DSS service provider, and HIPAA compliant. For full details, visit our [Trust Center](https://trust.cartesia.ai/).

You may [opt into](https://play.cartesia.ai/settings/organization?org=privacy) Zero Data Retention if you require that we do not retain your content.

**Content** means the customer-provided or model-generated text/audio payloads.

## What is covered by ZDR?

| **Data**                | **Description**                                                                 | **Retained?**                                                                   |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Text input (TTS)        | The transcript or text you send to generate speech                              | <Icon icon="check" size="10px" iconType="solid" color="#008000" /> Not retained |
| Audio output (TTS)      | The generated speech audio returned by the API                                  | <Icon icon="check" size="10px" iconType="solid" color="#008000" /> Not retained |
| Audio input (STT)       | The audio you send for transcription                                            | <Icon icon="check" size="10px" iconType="solid" color="#008000" /> Not retained |
| Transcript output (STT) | The transcribed text returned by the API                                        | <Icon icon="check" size="10px" iconType="solid" color="#008000" /> Not retained |
| Operational metadata    | Request identifiers, usage totals, account information, and service health data | <Icon icon="xmark" size="10px" iconType="solid" color="#FF0000" /> Retained     |

ZDR applies to TTS and STT inference only. ZDR is not available for voice cloning, PVC, voice creation, or other workflows where customer-provided source material must be retained or processed differently.

We may retain non-content operational metadata needed to run the service, including request identifiers, usage totals, account information, and service health data.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Who can enable ZDR?">
    You must be on an enterprise plan to enable ZDR. Go to [play.cartesia.ai/subscription](https://play.cartesia.ai/subscription) to see what plan you are on and make changes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does ZDR apply to all TTS and STT models?">
    Yes. All models available through Cartesia's TTS and STT APIs are covered.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does ZDR affect output quality?">
    No. ZDR changes retention behavior, not model behavior.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are the trade-offs for enabling ZDR?">
    Because data is not retained, Cartesia cannot access or recover request content after the request completes. Product features that depend on retained content, such as Playground history, may not be available for ZDR-enabled requests. Troubleshooting may also be more limited, so support may ask you to reproduce the issue, share request metadata, or provide sanitized examples.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is ZDR not offered for voice cloning?">
    They require retaining uploaded audio samples or derived voice artifacts to function.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to configure ZDR per request?">
    No. Once your organization admin enables it on the [Cartesia Playground](https://play.cartesia.ai/settings/organization?org=privacy) on your Enterprise account, ZDR applies to all eligible API requests automatically.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>