Privacy Policy

At Ask Etta ("we," "us," or "our"), we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our voice AI assistant service (the "Service") available at asketta.com.

Please read this privacy policy carefully. By using Ask Etta, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access or use the Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

We collect information you voluntarily provide to us:

• Email Address: Only if you purchase a premium subscription. Used to send your activation code and important account updates.
• Payment Information: Processed securely by Stripe, our payment processor. We never see, access, or store your credit card details.

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Device Identifier: A randomly generated identifier stored locally on your device to manage rate limits and the 3-device limit for premium accounts. This is not linked to your identity.
• Usage Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand general usage patterns (pages visited, session duration, device type). This data is aggregated and not linked to individual users.
• Server Logs: Standard web server logs including IP address, browser type, and access times. These are retained for 30 days for security purposes.

1.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

We want to be clear about what we do not collect:

• Your conversations - Your questions and Etta's answers are stored only on your device in local storage. We never see, access, or store this content on our servers.
• Your voice recordings - Voice is processed entirely by your browser's Web Speech API. Audio never leaves your device or reaches our servers.
• Your location - We don't request, track, or store your geographic location.
• Your contacts, photos, or other personal data
• Browsing history outside of our site

2. How Your Questions Are Processed

Understanding how Ask Etta works helps you understand our privacy practices:

1. Voice to Text: When you speak, your browser's built-in Web Speech API converts your voice to text. This happens entirely on your device - audio never reaches our servers.
2. Question Transmission: The text of your question (not audio) is sent to our servers over an encrypted HTTPS connection.
3. AI Processing: We route your question to an AI service (via OpenRouter) to generate a response. The AI providers have their own privacy policies (see Section 7).
4. Response Delivery: The answer is sent back to your device over encrypted HTTPS.
5. Local Storage: The question and answer are saved to your device's local storage. We do not retain copies on our servers.

Important: We do not log, store, or retain the content of your questions or Etta's answers on our servers. The only record of your conversations exists on your own device.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the limited information we collect for the following purposes:

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

4.1 We Do NOT Sell Your Data

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. This is a firm commitment.

4.2 Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf:

• Stripe (payments) - Processes subscription payments. They never share your payment details with us.
• OpenRouter/AI Providers (AI processing) - Routes questions to AI models to generate responses.
• Vercel (hosting) - Hosts our website and serverless functions.
• Upstash (database) - Stores activation codes and email-to-code mappings.
• Resend (email) - Sends transactional emails (activation codes, receipts).
• Google Analytics (analytics) - Collects anonymized usage statistics.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, such as in response to a valid subpoena, court order, or government request. We will notify you of such requests unless legally prohibited from doing so.

4.4 Business Transfers

If Ask Etta is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred. We will provide notice before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Data Retention

6. Your Rights and Choices

6.1 Access and Control

You have the right to:

• Access your data: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct your data: Request correction of any inaccurate information.
• Delete your data: Request deletion of your personal information.
• Data portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

6.2 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@asketta.com. We will respond within 30 days.

6.3 Managing Local Data

Since conversations are stored on your device, you can:

• Clear conversation history anytime through the app's History menu
• Clear all Ask Etta data by clearing your browser's local storage for asketta.com

6.4 Opting Out of Analytics

You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

7. Third-Party Services and AI Providers

Ask Etta relies on third-party AI services to generate responses. When you ask a question, the text of your question is sent to these providers. We use OpenRouter, which routes requests to various AI models.

Important considerations:

• AI providers may have their own data retention and privacy practices
• We cannot control how third-party AI providers handle data after transmission
• We recommend not sharing sensitive personal information (Social Security numbers, passwords, medical records) with Etta

Relevant privacy policies:

• OpenRouter Privacy Policy
• Stripe Privacy Policy
• Vercel Privacy Policy
• Resend Privacy Policy
• Google Privacy Policy

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption in transit: All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Encryption at rest: Stored data is encrypted using industry-standard encryption
• Access controls: Strict access controls limit who can access systems and data
• Regular security reviews: We regularly review and update our security practices
• No password storage: We don't use passwords - authentication is via activation codes

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children's Privacy

Ask Etta is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@asketta.com.

If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete such information from our systems promptly.

10. International Users

Ask Etta is operated from the United States. If you are accessing the Service from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States.

By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.

10.1 For Users in the European Economic Area (EEA)

If you are in the EEA, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the rights described in Section 6. Our legal basis for processing your data is:

• Contract performance (providing the Service)
• Legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, service improvement)
• Consent (where specifically requested)

10.2 For California Residents

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have additional rights:

• Right to know what personal information is collected
• Right to know whether personal information is sold or disclosed
• Right to say no to the sale of personal information (we don't sell your data)
• Right to delete personal information
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:

• Posting the new Privacy Policy on this page
• Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy
• For premium subscribers, sending an email notification for significant changes

Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" (DNT) feature. We currently do not respond to DNT signals as there is no industry-standard approach. We will update this policy if a standard is established.