Privacy Policy for SpeechCircle
Effective Date: May 8, 2025
Welcome to SpeechCircle! This Privacy Policy describes how SpeechCircle (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information in connection with your use of our Chrome extension (“Extension”) and our website located at speechcircle.app (“Website”), including any services, features, and content offered (collectively, the “Services”).
Your privacy is important to us. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. By using our Services, you agree to the collection, use, and sharing of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, do not use our Services.
Contact Us:
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: [email protected]
1. Information We Collect
We collect information in the following ways:
A. Information Collected Through the SpeechCircle Chrome Extension:
Audio Data and Transcriptions:
- When you activate the Extension by clicking the record button on a supported AI platform (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc.), the Extension will access your microphone to capture audio.
- A clear visual indicator will be displayed when the microphone is active and recording.
- This audio data is temporarily sent to our server solely for the purposes of:
- Accurately measuring the audio’s duration.
- Forwarding the audio data to third-party speech-to-text transcription services, specifically OpenAI and/or Google Cloud, to convert your speech into text.
- We do not store your raw audio data on our servers after the transcription is processed and returned. The audio data is deleted from our servers immediately after the transcription is obtained.
- Third-Party Transcription Services:
- OpenAI: When your audio is processed by OpenAI for transcription, OpenAI may retain the audio data and its transcription for up to 30 days for purposes such as monitoring for misuse or policy violations, after which it is deleted from their systems unless legally required to be held longer. We encourage you to review OpenAI’s Privacy Policy: https://openai.com/policies/row-privacy-policy/
- Google Cloud: When your audio is processed by Google Cloud (e.g., using Gemini foundation models) for transcription, Google may cache inputs and outputs (including audio prompts) for up to 24 hours to improve response times for repeated requests. Google may also log prompts (text or audio) to monitor for policy violations, which is separate from model training. We encourage you to review Google’s Privacy Notice: https://cloud.google.com/terms/cloud-privacy-notice
- Transcribed Text: The text generated from your audio is not stored by our servers or in your browser’s local storage by us. It is returned to you and inserted directly into the text input field of the AI platform you are currently using.
Extension Usage Data (Anonymized):
- We collect anonymized information about your interaction with the Extension, such as logs, crash reports, frequency of button clicks, and navigation within the Extension.
- This data is used to improve the functionality and user experience of our Extension.
- We use the following third-party analytics services for this purpose:
- Umami Analytics: Umami is a privacy-focused analytics tool. You can learn more about Umami’s data practices here: umami.is/privacy
B. Information Collected Through the speechcircle.app Website:
Account Information:
- When you create an account on our Website, we collect your email address and password (which is stored in a hashed format).
- We also store information related to your subscription status and current usage of the Services.
Subscription and Payment Information:
- We use Stripe as our third-party payment processor. When you subscribe to a paid plan, Stripe processes your payment information. We do not directly collect or store your full credit card numbers.
- Stripe provides us with certain information related to your subscription, which we store, including:
- Stripe Customer ID
- Subscription ID
- Status of the subscription (e.g., active, canceled)
- Price ID of the subscription
- Subscription start and end dates
- Whether the subscription is set to cancel at the period end
- The brand of the payment method (e.g., Visa, Mastercard)
- The last 4 digits of your card
- Current billing period start and end dates
- We encourage you to review Stripe’s Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/privacy
Website Usage Data (Anonymized):
- We collect anonymized information about your interaction with our Website, such as pages visited, time spent on pages, navigation paths, and general user engagement.
- This data is used to improve the functionality and user experience of our Website.
- We use the following third-party analytics services for this purpose:
- These analytics solutions may collect information such as IP addresses (which may be anonymized by the service), browser type, operating system, and referring URLs as part of their standard operations.
Cookies and Similar Technologies:
- We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate and personalize our Website. This includes:
- Essential Cookies: For user authentication, session management, and security.
- Preferences Cookies: To remember your settings and preferences.
- Analytics Cookies: For Umami Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to help us understand how our Website is used.
- You will be presented with a cookie consent banner upon visiting our Website, where applicable by law, allowing you to manage your cookie preferences. For more details, please see Section 7 (“Cookies and Tracking Technologies”).
User Communications:
- If you contact us via email (e.g., at
[email protected]) or other communication channels, we will collect your email address, the content of your communication, and any attachments you provide. We may retain these communications indefinitely to address your inquiries, provide support, and improve our Services.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:
- To Provide and Maintain Our Services:
- To enable the core functionality of the SpeechCircle Extension, including capturing audio and facilitating its transcription.
- To create and manage your account on our Website.
- To process your subscriptions and payments.
- To Improve Our Services:
- To understand how users interact with our Extension and Website using anonymized analytics.
- To identify and fix bugs, crashes, or other technical issues.
- To develop new features and functionalities.
- To Communicate With You:
- To respond to your inquiries, comments, and support requests.
- To send you important notices regarding your account, subscription, or changes to our Services or policies.
- To send you marketing communications, if you have opted in to receive them (you can opt-out at any time).
- For Security and Compliance:
- To protect the security and integrity of our Services.
- To prevent fraud and abuse.
- To comply with applicable legal obligations, legal processes, or governmental requests.
- To enforce our Terms of Service.
3. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:
- With Third-Party Service Providers:
- Transcription Services: As described above, we share audio data with OpenAI and/or Google Cloud for transcription purposes. Their use of your data is governed by their respective privacy policies.
- Payment Processing: We share necessary information with Stripe to process your payments. Stripe’s use of your data is governed by its privacy policy.
- Analytics Providers: We share anonymized or pseudonymized data with Umami Analytics and Microsoft Clarity to help us understand usage patterns and improve our Services. Their use of data is governed by their respective privacy policies.
- Hosting and Infrastructure: We may use third-party hosting providers to store data and run our Services. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information.
- For Legal Reasons:
- We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- Comply with a legal obligation or a request from law enforcement or other government officials.
- Protect and defend our rights or property.
- Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Services.
- Protect the personal safety of users of the Services or the public.
- Protect against legal liability.
- Business Transfers:
- In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our Website of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.
4. Data Security
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect the information we collect from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include HTTPS for data in transit and appropriate safeguards for data at rest.
However, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information. You are also responsible for keeping your password confidential.
5. Data Retention
We retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
- Audio Data (Our Servers): Deleted immediately after transcription.
- Transcribed Text (Our Servers): Not stored.
- Account Information: Retained as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you Services.
- Subscription Information: Retained for the duration of your subscription and for a reasonable period thereafter for record-keeping, accounting, and compliance purposes.
- Anonymized Usage Data: May be retained indefinitely for analytical purposes.
- User Communications: May be retained indefinitely to provide ongoing support and maintain a record of interactions.
You can request the deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting us at [email protected]. Please note that some information may be retained for legal or legitimate business purposes even after your account is deleted.
6. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your location and applicable laws (such as GDPR for users in the European Economic Area or CCPA/CPRA for California residents), you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These may include the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Request deletion of your personal information.
- Object to or restrict the processing of your personal information.
- Request portability of your personal information.
- Withdraw consent (where processing is based on consent).
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable laws. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
As mentioned in Section 1.B, we use cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your web browser.
Types of Cookies We Use:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies: These are essential for you to browse the Website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site and managing your session.
- Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow our Website to remember choices you make (such as your username or language preferences) and provide enhanced, more personal features.
- Performance/Analytics Cookies: These cookies are used by us and our third-party analytics providers (Umami, Microsoft Clarity) to collect information about how visitors use our Website, such as which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. This data is typically aggregated and anonymized.
Your Choices:
- Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. You may be able to refuse or delete cookies. However, if you choose to block or delete cookies, some parts of our Website may not function properly.
- Our Website provides a cookie consent mechanism that allows you to manage your preferences for non-essential cookies, where required by law.
8. Children’s Privacy
Our Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 13 (or a higher age threshold as required by applicable law in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child, please contact us at [email protected].
9. International Data Transfers
Your information, including personal data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.
If you are located outside the United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including personal data, to countries like the United States (where services like OpenAI, Google Cloud, Stripe, Microsoft Clarity are based) for processing. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.
We will take steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and that appropriate safeguards are in place for such transfers.
10. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email (sent to the e-mail address specified in your account), by means of a notice on our Website prior to the change becoming effective, or as otherwise required by law. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices. Your continued use of the Services after any changes to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such changes.
11. Links to Other Websites
Our Services may contain links to other websites or services that are not operated by us (e.g., links to OpenAI, Google, Stripe, AI platforms you use the Extension on). If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.
