Ethical Stack.

ElevenLabs API

A hosted API for speech synthesis, transcription, voice agents, dubbing, sound effects and music.

Score calculation

(2 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 3) ÷ 5 = 2.6

5 of six dimensions rated. Unrated dimensions are excluded from the average.

Full scoring method ↗
Setup details

First-party ElevenLabs API routes and selectable current audio models.

What fits your needs

First-party ElevenLabs API routes and selectable current audio models.

What it does

A hosted API for speech synthesis, transcription, voice agents, dubbing, sound effects and music.

See the evidence

Route

Hosted REST and streaming APIs; specific models and inputs vary by endpoint.

See the evidence
Tradeoffs to expect

Terms and data

This is a hosted product. Review the applicable data-use, retention and model terms before sending recordings or production prompts.

See the evidence
How to switch

Get started

Use the official product or API documentation to select the relevant model and delivery route.

See the evidence
Practical questions

Rights and permissions

Check whether submitted recordings and transcripts are used for service improvement, how to disable it, how long content is kept, and how deletion works for both source audio and outputs.

See the evidence

Data path

Audio, prompts or transcripts are sent to the hosted service; connected LLMs, telephony and storage can have their own retention and training terms.

See the evidence

Energy practices

2/10↑

The public service documents a hosted route, but no comparable energy or clean-electricity report was found.

See the evidence

This hosted audio service profile scores disclosed deployment choices and operating controls, not measured energy savings. The reviewed product and company materials do not publish request-level electricity, an attributable data-center energy mix, or verified clean-power procurement for this service.

1 + 1 reporting + 0 electricity + 0 controls = 2/10. This grades documented practices and transparency.

Comparable per-minute or per-generation electricity, water use, lifecycle emissions and independently verified clean-power sourcing are not published in these sources.

Reporting1/3
The official documentation identifies the hosted runtime boundary. It does not quantify electricity or lifecycle impact for this route.
Electricity sourcing0/3
No attributable clean-electricity procurement or hourly matching evidence was found in the cited primary material.
Resource controls0/3
No documented user controls for reducing energy demand were found in these product sources.

Water disclosure

Water reporting has not been assessed for this choice.

Training data

—Depends on the model↑

The selected route can include several models, and the vendor has not published a complete audio-training rights audit here.

See the evidence

This assessment covers ElevenLabs API rather than claiming permission for an unnamed or changing model. The vendor’s terms explain how it may handle user-submitted prompts, recordings and outputs; those input rules don’t settle rights to the original model training recordings, compositions, lyrics or performer voices.

The serving model and release, training source ledger, composition and sound-recording permissions, performer consent or compensation, and removal outcomes remain unclear.

Your data & privacy

5/10↑

Submitted text, audio and outputs may be used to improve models unless you turn off sharing.

See the evidence

ElevenLabs says certain submitted data may be used to improve audio models; enterprise data is excluded by default, and account data-use opt-out applies prospectively. API Zero Retention Mode is enterprise-only and endpoint-specific: it covers eligible generation calls, but not uploaded Music audio, Music finetunes and their retained trained models, cloning samples, or Dubbing inputs/outputs. ElevenAgents normally retains transcripts and recordings for two years, configurable per agent; its optional per-agent ZRM limits stored call data and restricts Realtime availability to v1 Max in US/EU workspaces. Voice cloning uses voice verification, but the company says it cannot guarantee the source recording belongs to the requester. Check the exact route, deletion behavior and settings before submitting recordings.

Retention depends on route: ElevenAgents defaults to two years; eligible enterprise API requests may use ZRM, but clone samples, Music finetunes, and Dubbing remain outside coverage. Voice-captcha cannot guarantee ownership of the source recording.

Openness

2/10↑

The application, hosted API and model serving are proprietary; public technical docs cover integration and selection.

See the evidence

Official materials describe ElevenLabs API and how to use its hosted features, but do not publish its complete application or serving implementation under an open-source license. Public API documentation does not make the hosted model weights or full production stack inspectable.

Complete source code, model weights, training recipe and independent reproduction are unavailable for this hosted service.

Worker protections

1/10↑

ElevenLabs publishes public company and careers information, but the reviewed pages don’t show worker protections across its AI supply chain.

See the evidence

The reviewed company and product material provides some public visibility into the organization, but not independently verified evidence on annotation, moderation, contractor pay, worker representation, grievance handling or remedies. This score reflects what the vendor documents, not a finding that workers are mistreated. These findings concern the developer or operator. This product’s use in a particular deployment needs separate evidence.

1 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 1/10. Documented worker protections; missing disclosure is an evidence gap.

Contractor conditions, worker voice and remedy, supply-chain coverage and independent worker-level assurance are not established in these sources.

Pay & conditions0/3
No clear public evidence on pay or working conditions across employees and contractors was found in the reviewed company and product pages.
Worker voice & remedy0/3
No worker grievance, representation or remedy process was found in the reviewed public pages.
Evidence & follow-through0/3
No independent worker-level implementation audit was found in the reviewed public pages.
Workers rubric ↗

Military ties

3/10Limited defense work↑

ElevenLabs reports deploying a voice agent for admissions at Ukraine’s Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko University.

See the evidence

ElevenLabs’ case study says it deployed an agent at VIKNU to answer prospective-cadet admissions questions about entry requirements, physical standards, degree programs and institute life. The institute trains future officers, so this is a bounded noncombat administrative deployment at a military educational institution. The source doesn’t show combat operations, targeting or military intelligence use. These findings concern the developer or operator. This product’s use in a particular deployment needs separate evidence.

1 + 0 use restrictions + 0 enforcement & oversight + 2 relationship disclosure = 3/10. Known defense ties lower this rating; safeguards can improve it within the relationship’s cap.

The customer contract, exact service components and safeguards for this deployment are not published in the case study; the report doesn’t confirm wider military deployments.

Use restrictions0/4
The case study doesn’t show a specific military-use restriction for this deployment.
Enforcement & oversight0/3
No independent oversight or military-use review is described for this admissions agent.
Relationship disclosure2/2
ElevenLabs publicly names the military institute and describes the deployed admissions workflow and use case.

The vendor reports a live admissions information agent for a military institute that trains officers; the described task is administrative rather than combat or operational military support. The relationship limits this grade to 6/10.

Military rubric ↗

BDS targets

Not listed↑

ElevenLabs was not named in the two official BNC technology and corporate target lists checked.

See the evidence

The official BNC corporate boycott and pressure guide and its No Tech campaign page do not name ElevenLabs among the current targets listed there. BDS uses selective, campaign-based targets; absence from these two lists is neither approval nor a broad assessment of company relationships. These findings concern the developer or operator. This product’s use in a particular deployment needs separate evidence.

This categorical check covers only the two linked BNC lists as reviewed on the date shown; local campaigns and future list updates may differ.

More from ElevenLabs

All sources

Side by side