Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 31, 2026

aloud is built to be private, and to give you a choice about where your data goes. You can run it locally with your own providers, so nothing touches us at all; or you can use aloud server, our optional hosted service that connects you to AI and voice providers without us keeping your sessions. This policy explains, plainly, what happens to your data in each case.

The short version

• There are two ways to run aloud. Run it locally / bring-your-own and your content goes only to the providers you choose; aloud receives nothing. Use aloud server and your content passes through our service only to reach those providers; we don't retain your session content.
• We don't sell your data; we don't use it for advertising; we don't use your conversations to train AI; and on aloud server, we don't retain your conversation data at all.
• aloud server needs an account and credits; for that we process the minimum required: sign-in details, your credit balance and usage, and payments handled by our payment processor.
• Wherever your platform allows it, you can run aloud fully on your own, keeping everything on your device.

Two ways to use aloud

• Local / bring-your-own. On supported platforms (such as the desktop app), aloud runs on your device and connects directly to the providers you configure with your own credentials, or fully on-device. There is no aloud server in the middle, no account, and we receive nothing.
• aloud server. Our optional hosted service for platforms or situations where running your own isn't practical, such as the web app and, in the future, mobile apps. You sign in, optionally buy credits, and aloud server relays your audio and text to third-party AI and voice providers on your behalf, returning the result. We don't store your session content.

What aloud processes, and where it goes

Your voice

Your microphone audio is used to transcribe what you say into text. In local mode, transcription runs on your device where supported and the audio is not sent anywhere. With aloud server, your audio is relayed through our service to a speech-to-text provider to transcribe it, then discarded. We don't record your audio, and we don't store it.

Your words and the AI facilitator

To generate responses, aloud sends your transcribed messages and the conversation so far to a language-model provider:

• Local / on-device providers: your words never leave your device.
• Providers you connect yourself (e.g. Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Venice, Groq): your text goes directly to that provider's API under their privacy policy and terms. aloud neither receives nor stores it.
• Via aloud server: your text is relayed through our service to the language-model provider and is not stored by us.

Spoken responses

Facilitator responses are turned into speech. Depending on your setup this happens on your device (system voices), via a cloud voice service you connect, or via aloud server, which relays the response text to a text-to-speech provider. We don't store the audio or text.

Saved sessions

aloud can save your session transcripts and a short summary locally on your device so you can revisit them. They stay on your device unless you choose to export or share them. There is no cloud sync, and aloud server does not store your transcripts or summaries.

App updates

aloud may check for new versions (a basic network request that does not include your session content).

aloud server: accounts, credits, and what we keep

If you use aloud server, we process a limited amount of information to run the service. None of it includes the content of your sessions.

• Account. The sign-in details needed to give you an account (such as an email address). Keep your credentials secure; they identify your credit balance.
• Credits and usage. Your credit balance and a metered record of usage (for example, the amount of audio or text processed) so we can charge credits accurately and prevent abuse. This is operational metering for billing and reliability, not behavioral profiling, and it does not include the content of your sessions.
• Payments. If you buy credits, payment is handled by our third-party payment processor. We don't receive or store your full card details.
• Operational logs. We may keep minimal, short-lived technical logs (for diagnostics, security, and abuse prevention) that do not contain your session content.

We don't retain the content of your sessions on aloud server. None of it. Your audio, your words, and the AI's responses pass through only to reach the providers that fulfill them; nothing is stored on our side afterward.

Your own API keys

On some platforms you can supply your own provider API keys instead of using credits. On local platforms those keys stay on your device. On the web app, where requests must be relayed through aloud server, your key is sent to our server and used only transiently, in memory, to make the request to your provider. We don't store it, and we don't log it.

What we don't do

• No advertising or ad networks.
• No selling or sharing of your personal data.
• No using your conversations to train AI models, and no retaining them on aloud server, at all.
• No third-party analytics or behavioral tracking. (aloud server meters credit usage only as needed to run the service.)
• No accounts at all in local mode; accounts exist only for aloud server.

Third-party services

Whenever your content is processed by an AI or voice provider, whether you connect it yourself or aloud server relays to it, that provider handles your data under its own privacy policy and terms. Please review the policy of whichever provider applies; aloud is not responsible for how third parties handle data sent to them.

When you use aloud server, we aim to be transparent about which providers we rely on. We currently use providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, Venice, and Groq for language models, and dedicated speech-to-text and text-to-speech providers for transcription and voice; payments are handled by a third-party payment processor. We'll keep this list current as our providers change.

Your control

• Run aloud locally (where your platform allows) to keep everything on your device.
• Choose on-device providers for maximum privacy if your hardware is capable.
• Your credentials and settings live on your device in local mode. Clear them anytime.
• Delete saved sessions from your device whenever you like.
• For aloud server, you can close your account and request deletion of the account data we hold; email us at the address below.

Children's privacy

aloud is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time; the "last updated" date above will change. Significant changes will be reflected here.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or want your account data deleted? Email lexkrusz@gmail.com.