Privacy Policy

Backant Inc. (the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") makes Shepetal, a dictation app for Mac, and runs the website at shepetal.backant.io (the "Site"). The Site and the Shepetal app together are the "Service". This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use the Service, how we use it and how we protect it. "You" refers to you, as a user of the Service.

By using the Service you accept this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.

I. Your voice and your text

Shepetal turns your speech into text with on-device speech recognition. Your recordings, the text made from them and your dictation history are stored on your Mac in Shepetal's folder, and we never receive them. You can delete them at any time in the app or by deleting that folder.

The first time you set up Shepetal, the app downloads its speech recognition files. Like any download, this request shares technical details such as your IP address with the server that hosts the files.

II. Information we collect

1. Your account

You sign in with your Google account. Google tells us your email address, and we store it together with the date your free trial started and whether you bought Shepetal.

2. Purchases

Payments are handled by Stripe. Your card details go straight to Stripe, and we receive the confirmation that you paid and the date of the payment.

3. The app sign-in

When you connect the Shepetal app to your account, we create an access token for it and store only a hash of that token. The app sends the token when it checks your license.

4. Cookies and logs

The Site uses a session cookie to keep you signed in. Our hosting provider records technical request logs, such as your IP address, browser type and the time of a request, which we use to keep the Service running and secure.

5. Children's privacy

The Service is not directed to anyone under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If we learn that we have, we will delete that information as soon as possible. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us at privacy@backant.io.

III. How we use and share information

We use your information to run your account, check your license, process your purchase, answer your questions and send you messages about your account. We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information.

We share information with the vendors that run parts of the Service for us, and only as far as they need it: Google for sign-in, Stripe for payments, Cloudflare for hosting and GitHub, which serves the installer downloads. They use it only at our direction.

We may share information with outside parties if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to meet any applicable legal process or enforceable governmental request; to enforce applicable Terms of Use, including investigation of potential violations; to address fraud, security or technical concerns; or to protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of our users or the public as required or permitted by law.

If we undergo a business transaction such as a merger, an acquisition by another company or the sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be among the assets transferred, and any acquirer may continue to process it as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

IV. How we protect information

We use encryption in transit, store app tokens only as hashes and limit who can access our systems. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee that your information will never be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed, and by using the Service you acknowledge this risk.

V. Your rights

You can ask us for a copy of the information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing privacy@backant.io. Deleting your account ends your trial or license on our side. Everything Shepetal stored on your Mac stays there until you delete it.

VI. Links to other websites

The Service may link to other websites, such as Stripe's checkout page. This Privacy Policy applies only to the Service, and the privacy policies of those websites apply to your use of them.

VII. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may change this policy at any time. We will tell you about significant changes by email or with a notice on the Site, and they take effect 30 days after that notice. Small changes and clarifications take effect immediately.

VIII. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, email us at privacy@backant.io.