Key takeaways
- Zoom Phone lists calls with duration and a Recorded column under Phone system > Logs > Calls, and the Phone System usage report gives total call time; you convert recorded durations to hours.
- Zoom Phone keeps recordings, voicemail and call logs with no time limit unless auto-delete is on, when the default becomes 180 days (adjustable from 1 to 4,000), so check that setting first.
- Admins export the call list to CSV and download each recording as an MP3 on the Recordings tab; Zoom describes only one-at-a-time downloads, so thousands of files mean asking Zoom support about bulk options.
- You don't need to export anything to apply: have your recorded hours, years on Zoom Phone and seat count ready, and the data vendor anonymizes the records before any AI lab sees them.
01
What is Zoom Phone data, and why do AI labs and data vendors buy it?
The short answer
Zoom Phone data is the record of a company's business calls on Zoom's phone service: a log entry for each call and, where recording was on, the audio of the conversation. AI labs (companies that build and train AI models) and data vendors (companies that anonymize business records and package them for those labs) buy a copy because each recording comes with a call path showing how the call was routed, answered and transferred, which ties the audio to a queue, a site and an outcome.
What a Zoom Phone account records
Zoom Phone is the calling part of Zoom, either bundled into a Zoom Workplace license or bought as a standalone plan. A company's phone users, its call queues (waiting lines that pass callers to the next free employee) and its sites (office locations with their own phone settings) all generate call records. Each call has a direction, a length, a result, and a flag for whether it was recorded.
Zoom can record a call automatically or let a person start recording by hand, which Zoom calls an ad hoc recording. Voicemail messages are also stored with the account.
Why a recorded phone call teaches an AI model something
An AI model learns by studying a very large number of examples and finding the patterns in them, and those examples are called training data. A recorded call shows a customer's request and the employee's response from start to finish, and the call path shows whether the first person who answered could handle it or had to pass it on.
AI labs now want to train AI agents, software that carries out a job step by step, and an agent learns a job from records of that job being done. A data vendor can turn anonymized calls into worked examples that an agent studies like an answer key. The full mechanism is in AI training data: why AI companies want your company's data.
How Zoom Phone fits into a dataset
Zoom Phone is one of several apps in a company's dataset, which usually also includes email, documents and meeting recordings. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to. The price covers the whole dataset, not each app on its own, and what your data is worth explains what moves it. If your company also records video meetings, the Zoom meetings page covers those separately.
02
Where does Zoom Phone show how much data you have?
The short answer
Zoom Phone lists every call with its duration and whether it was recorded under Admin Center > Product configuration > Phone system > Logs, and the Phone System usage report shows total call time. Account owners and admins can open both. Convert the recorded durations to hours for the total of recorded audio.
How to count your recorded hours
- Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an account owner or admin and go to Admin Center > Product configuration > Phone system > Logs.
- On the Calls tab, set the From and To dates, read the Duration and Recorded columns, and click Export to CSV to save the filtered list as a spreadsheet file.
- Open the Recordings tab to see every recording made by phone users and call queues. You can filter it by date range and by recording type.
- For overall totals, go to Admin Center > Reports > Usage Reports > Phone System. It shows total calls and Total Call Time for each user or call queue.
- Add up the durations of the calls marked as recorded and divide the seconds by 3,600 to get hours.
Zoom's articles on call history logs and recording logs describe each screen. The call log also lets you filter by direction, extension type, voicemail and call result, which helps if you want to total only certain queues.
Which role and license you need
| Requirement | What it takes |
|---|---|
| Role | Account owner or admin. |
| License | A Zoom Workplace license that includes Phone, or a standalone Zoom Phone plan. |
| For recordings to exist | The recording policy settings, automatic or ad hoc, must have been turned on. The Recordings tab also needs a Pro, Business or Education account. |
Why the total depends on one setting
Zoom Phone keeps recordings and logs for as long as the account exists, unless an admin has turned on auto-delete. When it is on, anything older than the chosen period has been deleted, so check the setting before assuming the history is complete. The diagram shows the difference.
03
What should you know about your Zoom Phone data before you apply?
The short answer
Have three facts ready: how many hours of recorded calls your account holds, how many years you have used Zoom Phone and how many licensed users it has. They go into the data manifest, the written summary of which apps hold your records, how many years each covers and roughly how much. You don't need to run an export to find them.
The hours of recorded calls
Total the durations of calls flagged as recorded in the call log export and divide the seconds by 3,600. Look at the auto-delete setting first, because with it on the log shows only the last stretch you configured, and the hours you report would fall short of what the account once recorded.
The years of history
The years of history start on the date Zoom Phone was added to your account. Zoom's retention page explains that the oldest records you can see depend on the auto-delete setting, so the start date is the more reliable figure.
The number of seats
A seat is a user with a Zoom Phone license. Common area phones, which are shared devices such as a lobby phone, and call queues are not seats, so leave them out.
What you don't need to do first
You don't need to export anything to apply, and you don't need to clean or scrub an export. Applying through micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to, shares no data, and the vendor anonymizes the records before anyone else sees them. Nothing moves until a lawyer-reviewed license is signed. The application, the intro call and each later step are laid out in how to sell your company's data.
04
How do you export your Zoom Phone call logs and recordings?
The short answer
An account owner or admin exports the call list as a CSV file from Phone system > Logs > Calls, then downloads each recording from the Recordings tab as an MP3 file. Zoom describes downloading recordings one at a time, so for thousands of files you ask Zoom support about bulk options. If auto-delete is on, export before the deletion period runs out.
Who can export
The account owner or an admin with the privilege to edit account settings can open the logs. Admins can also give other roles access to recordings for specific users, call queues or sites.
Exporting the logs and recordings: the steps
- Go to Phone system > Logs > Calls in the Admin Center, set one date range and click Export to CSV. Repeat for each range. The Phone System usage report can also export up to 100,000 call records as a CSV file.
- Open the Recordings tab and click Download beside each recording to save it as an MP3 file.
- For a large archive, ask Zoom support about bulk download options.
What the export includes and leaves out
- Each recording on the Recordings tab is a single audio file. A recording marked single-sided leaves out the external caller's audio.
- Transcripts appear only if transcription was enabled in the policy settings.
- Recordings sent to the Trash can be recovered. Once they are deleted from the Trash they cannot be.
- Zoom's help pages describe downloading one recording at a time, and the recording usage report covers at most one month in a run.
What auto-delete does to an export
With auto-delete on, the log shows a timer for when each entry will be deleted, and the recording log shows an auto-delete status for each recording. An admin can switch auto-delete on or off in Admin Center > Settings > Zoom Phone > Advanced. Deletion can be soft, which may be restorable, or permanent. Call records for Zoom-assigned numbers (not bring-your-own-carrier numbers) are kept for at least two years no matter what, as the retention policy article states.
Sources: Zoom Support, Managing retention policy for Zoom Phone, Viewing Zoom Phone call history logs and Viewing Zoom Phone recording logs. Steps checked against these pages in November 2026.
05
What stays private when Zoom Phone data is licensed?
The short answer
The company decides which queues, sites and users are in scope, and the data vendor replaces names, phone numbers and other personal details with consistent stand-ins before an AI lab sees anything. The company keeps ownership of its Zoom Phone records, and the license covers defined material for a defined use.
You choose what is in scope
The company decides which call queues, sites and users are exported. Admins filter the logs before anything is downloaded, so a queue such as HR can be left out entirely.
Names and numbers are replaced before a lab sees them
Anonymization means replacing every detail that identifies a person, such as a name, a phone number or an email address, with a stand-in that is the same every time it appears. A call still reads in order, so a lab can learn from it, but it no longer says who was speaking. The data vendor also deletes records too sensitive to clean safely instead of anonymizing them. The method, including how you review samples, is in how company data is anonymized for AI training.
Ownership and payment
Licensing gives the buyer limited rights to a copy, while the company keeps ownership of the originals. The terms that matter, such as exclusivity, permitted use and deletion, are covered in data licensing. micro1 pays in full within 30 days of accepting the data, usually as a single payment.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does Zoom Phone delete recordings on its own?
Not by default. Recordings, voicemail and call logs are kept with no time limit unless an admin turns on auto-delete, which then defaults to 180 days and can be set from 1 to 4,000.
Can we see when a Zoom Phone recording will be deleted?
Yes. The recording log shows an auto-delete status for each recording, and the call log shows a timer for when each entry will be deleted.
Who can download company recordings in Zoom Phone?
Account owners and admins can reach every recording of phone users and call queues on the Recordings tab. Admins can also give other roles access to specific users, queues or sites.
Can we download all Zoom Phone recordings at once?
Zoom's help pages describe downloading one recording at a time. For thousands of files, ask Zoom support about bulk download options.
Are call logs kept even if auto-delete is on?
Call records for Zoom-assigned numbers are kept for at least two years regardless, and Zoom cannot delete them sooner, even on request. Records for bring-your-own-carrier numbers do not carry that guarantee.
Do we need to export Zoom Phone before we apply?
No. The application shares no data. You only need your approximate recorded hours, your years on Zoom Phone and your seat count for the intro call. The full export is needed later, after you sign the license.
What is Zoom Phone data worth to AI labs and data vendors?
Zoom Phone recordings are priced as part of a whole dataset rather than on their own. Companies are paid $100K to $2M or more per dataset, according to micro1, and the price depends on the years of history and how completely the records show each job. What your data is worth explains the factors.
Bottom line
Know what is in Zoom Phone, then see what it is worth
You don't need to export anything to apply. Apply in two minutes, describe your records on the intro call, and micro1, the data vendor we typically refer companies to, prices the whole dataset and sends an offer 1–2 days later.
Not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures come from micro1's published pages and public reporting as of November 2026.