Privacy Policy

1. Privacy at a Glance

General Information

The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is any data that can be used to personally identify you.

2. Data Collection

What data do we collect?

We collect the following data:

• Email address (during registration)
• Uploaded audio files (podcasts)
• Generated blog articles
• Usage statistics (number of uploads, quota consumption)

3. Hosting and Infrastructure (EU)

This website uses Firebase by Google for authentication, database, and file storage. All your data (account data, audio files, generated articles) is stored exclusively on Google servers in the EU.

Services used with EU hosting:

• Firebase Authentication (user authentication)
• Cloud Firestore (database)
• Cloud Storage (file storage)
• Firebase App Hosting (web server)

4. AI Processing by OpenAI (USA)

Processing Workflow:

1. EU: You upload your audio file to our servers in the EU
2. USA: The audio file is transferred to OpenAI servers in the USA for processing
3. USA: OpenAI creates the transcript and blog article
4. EU: The results are transferred back to our EU servers and stored there
5. Automatic Deletion: The original audio file is automatically deleted from our EU storage after 30 days

Privacy at OpenAI:

We use the OpenAI API with Zero Data Retention. This means:

• OpenAI does not permanently store your data
• Your data is not used for training AI models
• The data is only used to process your request and then deleted
• OpenAI has strict privacy policies according to their Privacy Policy

Legal Basis: Data transfer to the USA is based on your consent (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a GDPR) by using the service. You can object to this processing at any time by discontinuing use of the service.

5. Your Rights Under GDPR

According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have comprehensive rights regarding your personal data:

Right to Access (Art. 15 GDPR)

You have the right to obtain information about all your personal data stored with us at any time. This includes:

• What data we store about you
• The purpose for which this data is processed
• To whom your data is disclosed
• How long your data is stored

How to exercise your right to access: As a registered user, you can view a complete overview of all stored data at any time in your account settings under "My Data".

Right to Data Portability (Art. 20 GDPR)

You have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. This allows you to transfer your data to another provider.

How to export your data: Use the export function on the "My Data" page to download all your data as a JSON file.

Right to Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)

You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten"). After deletion, all your data will be completely removed within 30 days.

How to delete your account: In the Settings you will find the option to delete your account.

Additional Rights

• Right to Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR): Correction of inaccurate data
• Right to Restriction of Processing (Art. 18 GDPR): Temporary restriction
• Right to Object (Art. 21 GDPR): Objection to data processing
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: Complaint with the competent data protection supervisory authority

Contact for Privacy Inquiries:
To exercise additional rights or if you have questions about privacy, please contact us at: info@echoscribes.com

6. Data Deletion

You can delete your account at any time in the settings. All your data (email, podcasts, articles) will be permanently deleted.

7. Cookies

This website uses only technically necessary cookies for authentication. These are required for the website to function.