1. Introduction

SpeakClear ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website (speakclear.com.au), our SpeakClear device ("Device"), and related services (collectively, the "Services"). Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access or use the Services.

We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the "Last updated" date of this Privacy Policy. You are encouraged to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of updates.

2. Collection of Your Information

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect via the Services depends on the content and materials you use, and includes:

Personal Data: Personally identifiable information, such as your name and email address, that you voluntarily give to us when you sign up for our waitlist, contact us via email or contact forms, or when you register for or subscribe to our Services. You are under no obligation to provide us with personal information of any kind, however your refusal to do so may prevent you from using certain features of the Services.

Speech and Audio Data (SpeakClear Devices):

• Offline Version: Our SpeakClear Offline Device processes speech data entirely locally on the Device itself using its embedded AI engine. No speech or audio data is transmitted from the Offline Device to our servers or any third parties for processing. Your conversations remain private to the local environment.
• Online Version: Our SpeakClear Online Device requires an internet connection to function. When active, audio data is streamed from the Device and/or connected microphone to our designated cloud-based speech-to-text processing servers (Google Cloud Platform, located in data centres around the world, with primary processing in Australian data centres where possible) solely for the purpose of generating real-time captions. This audio data is processed ephemerally and is not automatically stored by us or our service providers after the captioning is complete, except if you choose to save your recordings as described below.
• Saved Voice Recordings and Transcripts: If you choose to save voice recordings or transcripts using our services, these files will be stored securely in Google Cloud Storage with appropriate access controls. You retain full control over your voice recordings and can access, download, or permanently delete them at any time through your user dashboard. We do not use your voice recordings or transcripts for any purpose other than providing you with access to your content. Deleted recordings are permanently removed from our systems.

Derivative Data & Website Usage Information:Information our servers automatically collect when you access the website, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the website. We may also collect information about your device type and usage patterns through cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 5 below).

Device Diagnostic Data (Optional): With your consent, we may collect anonymised diagnostic data from your SpeakClear Device, including:

• Performance Metrics: CPU and memory usage, battery performance, and operational temperature data to ensure the Device operates within normal parameters.
• Feature Usage: Anonymous statistics about which features you use most frequently (e.g., which languages are selected, how often captioning is activated).
• Error Reports: When the Device encounters issues, technical error logs that help our engineers identify and fix bugs without including any speech content.
• Voice Recognition Accuracy: Aggregated metrics about recognition accuracy to improve our AI models without storing the actual speech content.

This diagnostic data collection is strictly opt-in, and you can enable or disable it at any time through your Device settings menu under "Privacy & Data Sharing." We use this information solely to improve the Device performance, fix bugs, and enhance the user experience. No diagnostic data is collected from the Offline Version unless you explicitly opt in.

3. Use of Your Information

Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customised experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Services to:

• Create and manage your account (if applicable).
• Process your subscription payments (if applicable).
• Deliver the core speech-to-text captioning service (for the Online Version).
• Manage waitlist registrations and send related updates.
• Email you regarding your account or order.
• Respond to your enquiries and provide customer support.
• Send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support messages.
• Monitor and analyse website usage and trends to improve your experience with the Services.
• Analyse anonymised diagnostic data (with your consent) to improve the performance, stability, and features of the Device and Services.
• Develop new products, services, and features.
• Prevent fraudulent transactions and protect against abuse.

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. Your information may be disclosed as follows:

By Law or to Protect Rights: If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation.

Third-Party Service Providers: We may share your information with third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including:

• Google Cloud Platform (for voice processing and storage)
• Clerk (for user authentication and account management)
• PlanetScale (for database storage of user profiles and saved transcripts)
• Upstash Redis (for caching and temporary data storage)
• Stripe (for payment processing)
• Analytics providers (to help us understand website usage)

We require these third parties to maintain the confidentiality of your information and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.

Business Transfers: We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.

5. Tracking Technologies (Cookies and Web Beacons)

We may use cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and other tracking technologies on the website to help customise the site and improve your experience. When you access the website, your personal information is not collected through the use of tracking technology. Most browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject cookies, but be aware that such action could affect the availability and functionality of the website. We primarily use essential cookies necessary for core website functionality, as well as analytics cookies to help us understand usage patterns. For authentication, we use Clerk, which may set its own cookies to maintain your session state.

6. Security of Your Information

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. For audio data processed by the Online Version, we employ measures like encryption during transit. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse.

7. Data Storage and Retention

We will only retain your personal information (such as contact details or account information) for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Specifically:

• Account Information: We retain your account information for as long as your account remains active. If you delete your account, we will delete your account information within 30 days.
• Voice Recordings and Transcripts: These remain in your account until you choose to delete them. You have full control over deletion at any time.
• Waitlist Information: If you signed up for our waitlist, we retain this information until you create an account or request removal.
• Payment Information: Your payment information is processed by Stripe and stored according to their data retention policies. We only store transaction records as required for accounting and legal purposes.

As noted above, audio data for the Online Version is processed ephemerally and not retained unless you choose to save it, and Offline Version audio data is not transmitted to us.

8. Your Rights Regarding Your Information

Under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, you may have rights regarding the personal information we hold about you, including the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your data. If you wish to exercise these rights, please contact us using the contact details below. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law.

You may opt out of receiving promotional emails from us by following the unsubscribe link in those emails. Please note that you may still receive transactional or administrative messages from us, such as those regarding your account or subscription.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under this age. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under the relevant age without parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information.

10. International Data Transfers

Your personal information may be processed in countries outside of Australia, including for the Online version processing, cloud storage, authentication, and payment processing. Our service providers (Google Cloud, Clerk, PlanetScale, and Stripe) may transfer and process your data in various global locations. We ensure these providers adhere to data protection standards equivalent to or stronger than Australian privacy laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other international frameworks. By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to these international locations. If you have concerns about international data transfers, please contact us.

11. Web Application and User Accounts

SpeakClear offers a web application that allows users to record live captions in multiple languages, save recordings, and create transcripts. When you use this application:

• Authentication: We use Clerk for secure authentication. Clerk collects certain information to create and manage your account, governed by their privacy policy.
• Account Dashboard: Your dashboard displays your saved recordings, transcripts, account information, and subscription status.
• Subscription Management: Payment processing for subscriptions is handled securely by Stripe. We do not store your full payment card details.
• Database Storage: Your user profile and references to your content are stored in PlanetScale's database service, with appropriate security measures in place.
• Cache and Performance: We use Upstash Redis to temporarily cache certain data to improve application performance. This may include session information and non-sensitive user preferences, but does not include your audio recordings or personal information.

You can manage your account, update your information, modify your content, and delete your account through the application interface. If you delete your account, all associated personal data will be removed from our active systems, though some information may remain in encrypted backups for a limited time before being purged completely.

12. Technical Infrastructure and Data Processing

Our Services are built using a modern technology stack designed to provide security, reliability, and performance. Our data handling and processing infrastructure includes:

• Databases: We use PlanetScale as our primary database for structured data and user information, and Upstash Redis for temporary caching and real-time data needs.
• Storage: User voice recordings and related media are stored in Google Cloud Storage with encryption at rest.
• API Infrastructure: We use technologies like tRPC and Tanstack Query to efficiently and securely transfer data between our servers and your browser or device. These technologies do not themselves store your data, but facilitate its secure transfer.
• Database Access: We use Drizzle ORM and other modern database tools to interact with your data securely, with strict access controls and data validation to protect against unauthorised access.

Our technical architecture is regularly reviewed and updated to maintain security and performance. We implement industry best practices for securing your data across all components of our system.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at admin@speakclear.com.au.