Granola Data Handling
Overview
Manage data lifecycle for Granola meeting data: export, retention policies, GDPR/CCPA compliance, and long-term archival. Covers individual data rights, organizational policies, and automated archival workflows.
Prerequisites
- Granola admin access (for retention policies)
- Understanding of applicable regulations (GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2)
- Export destination prepared (cloud storage, Notion, local)
Instructions
Step 1 — Understand Data Types and Sensitivity
| Data Type | What It Contains | Sensitivity | Storage |
|---|
| Meeting Notes | Your typed notes + AI-enhanced output | Medium | Granola cloud + local cache |
| Transcripts | Full text transcription of audio | High (verbatim speech) | Granola cloud + local cache |
| Audio | Raw meeting audio | Critical | Deleted after transcription (not stored) |
| Attendee Info | Names, emails from calendar events | PII | Granola cloud (People & Companies) |
| Calendar Metadata | Event titles, times, attendee lists | Low-Medium | Synced from Google/Outlook |
Key fact: Granola does not store raw audio after transcription. This is a significant privacy advantage — there is no audio file to leak, export, or subpoena.
Step 2 — Export Meeting Data
Individual note export:
- Open the meeting note in Granola
- Click the ... menu > Copy (copies as Markdown)
- Paste into your target: Notion, Google Doc, text editor
Important limitation: Granola does not currently support bulk export, PDF export, or structured file download (JSON/CSV). The available options are:
- Copy individual notes as text/Markdown
- Share to Notion (one note at a time via native integration)
- Share to Slack (one note at a time)
- Enterprise API (read-only access to workspace notes)
Workaround for bulk access — local cache:
"""Export Granola meetings from local cache to Markdown files."""
import json
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime
CACHE_PATH = Path.home() / "Library/Application Support/Granola/cache-v3.json"
OUTPUT_DIR = Path.home() / "Desktop/granola-export"
OUTPUT_DIR.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
def export_from_cache():
raw = json.loads(CACHE_PATH.read_text())
state = json.loads(raw) if isinstance(raw, str) else raw
data = state.get("state", state)
docs = data.get("documents", {})
exported = 0
for doc_id, doc in docs.items():
title = doc.get("title", "Untitled").replace("/", "-")
created = doc.get("created_at", "unknown")[:10]
content = doc.get("last_viewed_panel", {})
text_parts = []
if isinstance(content, dict):
for node in content.get("content", []):
if node.get("type") == "paragraph":
for child in node.get("content", []):
text_parts.append(child.get("text", ""))
elif node.get("type") == "heading":
level = node.get("attrs", {}).get("level", 1)
prefix = "#" * level
for child in node.get("content", []):
text_parts.append(f"\n{prefix} {child.get('text', '')}\n")
filename = f"{created}_{title[:60]}.md"
filepath = OUTPUT_DIR / filename
filepath.write_text(f"# {title}\n\nDate: {created}\n\n{''.join(text_parts)}")
exported += 1
print(f"Exported {exported} meetings to {OUTPUT_DIR}")
export_from_cache()
Enterprise API export:
curl -s "https://api.granola.ai/v0/notes" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $GRANOLA_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" | python3 -c "
import json, sys
notes = json.load(sys.stdin).get('notes', [])
for note in notes[:10]:
print(f\"{note.get('id', 'N/A')}: {note.get('title', 'Untitled')} ({note.get('created_at', 'N/A')})\")
print(f'Total accessible notes: {len(notes)}')
"
Step 3 — Configure Retention Policies
Settings > Data Retention (Business/Enterprise):
| Data Type | Recommended Retention | Rationale |
|---|
| Meeting notes | 1-2 years | Long-term reference value |
| Transcripts | 90 days | Storage efficiency, lower PII risk |
| Audio | Deleted after processing | Granola default, not configurable |
| Attendee info | Retained with notes | Needed for People & Companies CRM |
Per-workspace overrides (Enterprise):
- HR workspace: 90-day notes, 30-day transcripts
- Executive workspace: Custom (legal hold capable)
- Sales workspace: 1-year notes, 90-day transcripts
- Engineering workspace: 2-year notes, 90-day transcripts
Step 4 — GDPR Compliance
Required controls:
| GDPR Right | Granola Implementation |
|---|
| Right of Access (Art. 15) | Export user's data via Settings > Data > Export or Enterprise API |
| Right to Erasure (Art. 17) | Delete individual notes; request account deletion from Granola |
| Right to Data Portability (Art. 20) | Copy notes as text, or use local cache export |
| Right to Object (Art. 21) | AI training opt-out (Business/Enterprise) |
| Lawful Basis | Consent (recording notice) or Legitimate Interest (employer's business ops) |
Subject Access Request (SAR) handling:
## SAR Response Procedure
1. Receive SAR from data subject (30-day response deadline)
2. Verify identity of the requester
3. Search Granola for all notes containing the requester
- People view: search by name/email
- Enterprise API: query notes by attendee email
4. Export relevant notes (copy as text)
5. Redact third-party PII from the export
6. Deliver export to requester within 30 days
7. Document the SAR and response in compliance log
Data Processing Agreement:
- Request DPA from Granola at security@granola.ai or via Settings
- Required for any organization processing EU personal data
- DPA covers Granola as a Data Processor
Step 5 — CCPA Compliance
For California consumer data:
- Disclosure: Update your privacy policy to mention Granola as a meeting recording tool
- Opt-out: Provide mechanism for meeting participants to opt out of recording
- Deletion: Honor deletion requests by removing notes containing the individual
Step 6 — Archival Workflow
For long-term retention beyond Granola:
Trigger: Schedule by Zapier — 1st of month
Step 1 — Granola: List notes from past month
(via Enterprise API or folder trigger accumulation)
Step 2 — Google Drive: Create folder
Name: "Meeting Archives / YYYY-MM"
Step 3 — Google Drive: Upload files
Content: Note markdown for each meeting
Step 4 — Slack: Notify admin
Message: "Monthly meeting archive created: X notes archived"
Alternative: local cache backup
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/backups/granola"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
cp "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Granola/cache-v3.json" \
"$BACKUP_DIR/cache-v3-$(date +%Y%m%d).json"
echo "Granola cache backed up"
Output
- Data export procedures documented and tested
- Retention policies configured per workspace and data type
- GDPR/CCPA compliance controls implemented
- SAR handling procedure established
- Archival workflow automated (monthly)
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|
| Cannot export notes | No bulk export feature | Use local cache export script or Enterprise API |
| SAR deadline at risk | No process owner | Assign dedicated compliance contact |
| Retention policy not applied | Enterprise feature required | Upgrade to Enterprise, or manually manage |
| Archive missing notes | Cache didn't contain all notes | Use Enterprise API for complete workspace data |
| Deletion incomplete | Backup retention period | Allow 30 days for Granola to purge from all backups |
Resources
Next Steps
Proceed to granola-enterprise-rbac for role-based access control configuration.
