Data protection in live translation: what happens to the khutbah
The audio of the khutbah goes directly from the mosque’s browser to the speech recognition and translation service, in its EU region - not via Miskio’s servers. Miskio does not store any audio recordings. What is stored is the translated text, for 90 days; published summaries stay in the archive until the mosque withdraws them.
- No audio recording at Miskio
- Audio processed in the EU region
- Texts deleted after 90 days
Updated
- Audio
- Goes from the mosque’s browser directly to the speech recognition provider (a US company, processing in its EU region), not via Miskio. Miskio does not store any audio recordings; according to the provider, the audio is not stored permanently there either.
- Text
- The transcript and the translation are stored for 90 days and then deleted automatically. In the phone view the transcript can only be read during the khutbah and for two hours afterwards.
- Summary
- Created at the mosque’s request by an AI provider based in France, only becomes public once approved and is meant to contain no names or announcements. On the Pro and Max plans the same provider also translates every sentence into the additional reading languages.
- Database
- Frankfurt am Main (EU).
- Cookies
- No tracking, no advertising cookies. The public display pages (wall, phone view, archive) set no cookies at all.
- Confirmation before the start
- Before every session the mosque confirms that the imam and the congregation have been informed about the recording, the storage and a possible publication.
- Contract
- The mosque is the controller, Miskio processes on its behalf: a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR, part of the terms and conditions.
- Labelling
- The wall and the phone view point out that the translation is created automatically and can contain errors.
Where does the audio of the khutbah go?
The imam’s voice is recorded in the mosque’s browser and streamed directly to the provider of speech recognition and translation. The audio does not pass through Miskio’s servers. Only text comes back: the transcript and the translation. Processing takes place in the provider’s EU region; the audio is processed transiently and not used for training.
In all honesty: the speech recognition provider, the database provider (the database is in Frankfurt) and the hosting provider are US companies. For the first two, the transfer relies on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses - they are not certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. For hosting, the Data Privacy Framework applies, supplemented by Standard Contractual Clauses. The names are in the data processing agreement that every mosque receives, and we give them to anyone who asks. The same information is in the privacy policy (in German).
What is stored - and for how long?
| What | Where | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Audio recording | Nowhere at Miskio | Not stored |
| Transcript and translation | Database in Frankfurt | 90 days, then deleted automatically; publicly readable on the wall only during the khutbah, on phones during the khutbah and for two hours afterwards |
| Technical error logs | Database in Frankfurt | 90 days, then deleted automatically |
| Published summary | The mosque’s public archive | Public until the mosque withdraws it; stored until the mosque deletes it |
| The mosque’s account | Database in Frankfurt | Until the account is deleted, at the latest 30 days after the mosque asks for deletion |
Names from announcements (deaths, donations, dates) can sit in the transcript for a while. The published summary is meant to contain no names: the AI is instructed to render only what the sermon teaches, and the mosque checks the text before publishing it. If the mosque pastes in a text of its own, it takes care of this itself.
Who is responsible - and what does the mosque have to do?
For the content of the khutbah, the mosque is the controller within the meaning of the GDPR; Miskio processes it on the mosque’s behalf, as set out in the data processing agreement (in German). The mosque ensures lawfulness towards the imam and the people named in announcements. In practice this means:
- Inform the imam in advance and get their agreement.
- Inform the congregation, for example with a notice or an announcement.
- Make announcements with names (get-well wishes, deaths, donations) before or after the translation: the transcript can be read on phones for two hours.
- Tick the confirmation before the start in the operator app honestly - without it no translation can be started.
The wall and the phone view carry a note that the translation is created automatically and can contain errors. The text is stored for 90 days; it is publicly readable only during the khutbah and, on phones, for two hours afterwards.
What does this mean for members of the congregation who read along?
The wall, the phone view and the archive need no account and set no cookies. As with any website, the hosting provider processes technical access data; the details are in the privacy policy (in German).
Where is the binding version?
In the privacy policy, the terms and conditions and the data processing agreement. All three are in German, and the German version is the binding one. If you have questions before the mosque decides, write to team@miskio.de - we answer them before the first test.
This article is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Whether your congregation needs further documents is something it clarifies internally or with its data protection adviser.
Every generation.One Friday.
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or by email: team@miskio.de