Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2, 2026

Echonour ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights. We've kept it readable — no walls of legal text.

What We Collect

When you use Echonour, we collect:

Account info: Email address and password (hashed)
Transcription data: The URLs you submit, resulting transcripts, and speaker identification data
Chat data: Your questions and AI responses when using the Chat feature
Usage data: Which features you use, transcription history, folder organization
Payment info: Handled entirely by Paddle (our Merchant of Record) — we never see or store your card details
Guest users: IP address (for free tier tracking only)

What We Store

To provide the service, we store:

Your transcripts and any edits you make
Speaker identification metadata (names, roles, timestamps)
Your library organization (folders, saved items)
Chat conversation history (questions and answers)
Cached transcripts to speed up repeated requests
Uploaded audio files (encrypted with your personal key, for playback)

Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)

You can optionally provide your own API keys for AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) to use with the Chat feature. If you do:

Encryption: Your API keys are encrypted using AES-256-GCM before storage
Access: Keys are only decrypted at the moment of use for your requests
Deletion: You can delete your stored keys anytime from settings
Visibility: We only show the last 4 characters of stored keys for verification

Private Uploads (Audio Files)

When you upload your own audio or video files for transcription:

Encryption at rest: Your audio files are encrypted using AES-256-GCM with a unique key derived for your account
Isolated access: Only you can access your uploaded audio — we use per-user encryption keys
Secure storage: Encrypted files are stored on Hetzner servers in the EU
Audio playback: When you play back your audio, it's decrypted on-demand and streamed only to you
Deletion: When you delete an upload from your library, the encrypted audio file is permanently removed

Guest users (not logged in) cannot upload files — uploads require an account for encryption key management.

How We Use Your Data

We use your data to:

Provide the transcription and chat services you're paying for
Improve speaker identification accuracy over time
Debug issues when something goes wrong
Send you important service updates (rarely)

We don't sell your data. We don't use it for advertising. Your transcripts are yours.

Where We Store It

Your data is stored on servers hosted by Hetzner in Germany (EU). Backups are stored on Hetzner Storage Box in Finland (EU). Our team has admin access for operational and debugging purposes only — we don't read your transcripts unless you report an issue and ask us to investigate.

How Long We Keep It

Transcripts and chat history are retained until you delete them. You can delete individual transcripts from your library at any time — deletions are immediate and permanent. Backups are retained for 7 days.

Third-Party Services

We use a few trusted services to make Echonour work:

AssemblyAI: Performs audio transcription
Anthropic (Claude): Speaker identification and Chat responses
OpenAI: Alternative Chat provider (if you choose or BYOK)
Google: Alternative Chat provider (if you choose or BYOK)
Paddle: Merchant of Record — processes payments, handles tax compliance, and manages refunds
Resend: Sends transactional emails

Each service has its own privacy policy. We only share the minimum data required for each service to function.

Your Rights

You can:

Access: View all your stored data in your library
Export: Download your transcripts in multiple formats (TXT, SRT, VTT, JSON)
Delete: Remove individual transcripts, chat sessions, or your entire account
Correct: Edit speaker names and transcript content

For data requests we can't handle through the app, email [email protected]

Cookies

We use minimal cookies — just what's needed for authentication and keeping you logged in. No tracking cookies, no analytics cookies, no third-party ad cookies.

Changes to This Policy

If we make significant changes to how we handle your data, we'll notify you by email before the changes take effect. Minor clarifications won't trigger notifications.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email us at [email protected].