The three records serve different purposes
The recording contains the conversation as spoken. The transcript provides the words used to generate the draft. The final note contains the account you choose to put in the clinical record. They can differ considerably in length and detail.
For example, a therapy discussion may include several descriptions of a family dispute, while the note documents the relevant theme and agreed next step. Keeping the transcript retains those fuller descriptions. Keeping only the note retains the edited account. Neither is equivalent to retaining the audio.
Recognizing those differences makes the retention question more useful than a general setting labelled delete recording.
What Astralcyte keeps by default
Astralcyte permanently removes temporary audio once a complete transcript exists. It does not offer playback or audio export. The transcript and note remain encrypted on the device by default, as described in the security policy.
You can choose to keep the transcript with the note, delete it after note approval, or decide for each session. These choices concern the copy held by your practice. The privacy policy explains that the application never sends the recording, transcript, or note to the company.
What you gain by keeping the transcript
While finishing a draft, the transcript lets you refer back to the words the app used. It can also provide the input for another draft or a different note format without recording the discussion again. If that is part of how you use the tool, retaining it has a clear practical purpose.
After approval, consider whether that fuller account remains useful or required as part of your records. The decision can differ from how long you keep a final note, and it should fit your practice's record policy rather than merely accept a software default.
What deletion does and does not settle
Deleting the transcript removes that local working record. It does not mean the final note disappears, nor does it establish what copies might remain in earlier backups or exported bundles. If a backup contains a transcript, the backup has its own retention arrangements.
An active legal matter can also change what must be preserved. Rule 37(e) of the US Federal Rules of Civil Procedure addresses loss of electronic information that should have been preserved for litigation; get advice for an actual preservation question before changing deletion practices.
Keep AI assistance without giving the company another record
Whether you retain the local transcript or delete it after approval, Astralcyte's provider does not receive it. You can use the recording to prepare a draft, finish the note in your usual format, and keep the records your practice needs without creating an additional transcript on the scribe company's servers.
That separates two decisions that are often bundled together in online tools: getting useful drafting assistance and allowing a provider to hold the underlying conversation.