Privacy Policy

01Personal Information We Collect and Sources

The table below summarizes the categories of personal information YostNotes handles, the source of each, and whether it applies to the app.

02Personal Information You Provide to Us

Recordings, Transcripts, and Notes

When you record a meeting, the audio is sent to AssemblyAI to produce a transcript. The transcript is then sent to Anthropic to generate a summary. Both results are returned to the app and stored on your device. As soon as transcription completes, the app calls AssemblyAI's delete endpoint, which removes both the uploaded audio and the transcript from AssemblyAI's servers. Anthropic processes your transcript without storing a retrievable copy and keeps only short-term safety logs, described in How Long We Retain Data. Any notes you type are stored on your device and are sent to these providers only when you use a feature that processes them.

Recordings Made on the Web

A recording made in the web companion is processed by the same providers as one made on your phone, through our Cloudflare server:

1. Transcription. Your browser sends the audio to AssemblyAI. For a meeting, the audio has two channels, one for your computer's microphone and one for the call you shared, so the transcript can tell the room from the call. When transcription finishes, the transcript and audio are deleted from AssemblyAI. If your connection drops partway, they stay there until the recording resumes, then are deleted.
2. Speaker names and summary. Your browser sends the transcript text (never the audio) to Anthropic. Anthropic suggests speaker names from names said in the conversation, and writes the title and summary.
3. Delivery. Your browser encrypts the finished note with your CloudSync key and sends it to your phones through CloudSync, as the app does.

The original recording stays in your browser until you delete it there. Deleting it from the web companion also deletes its note from your phones and its audio from our servers.

Support Communications

If you contact us for support — for example by emailing [email protected] — we receive your name, email address, and the contents of your message. We use this only to respond to you. We do not add you to mailing lists or share support communications with third parties.

Beta Testing Interest

If you express interest in beta testing through the form on our website, we receive your name and email address solely to notify you when a beta becomes available.

CloudSync (Optional Encrypted Sync)

CloudSync is an opt-in, subscription-gated feature that lets you access your notes across multiple devices and platforms. When you enroll:

• What syncs. Notes, transcript text, summary text, flashcards, and folders — text and metadata only. Photos are never uploaded, and audio recorded on your phone remains device-local. The one exception is the encrypted audio of web recordings, described under Audio of Web Recordings below.
• How it is encrypted. All content is encrypted on your device before it leaves the app. Your passphrase is stretched using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 (600,000 iterations) to derive a key-encryption key; this key wraps a random AES-256-GCM data key. The server receives and stores only the resulting ciphertext — it never sees your passphrase, your data key, or any plaintext note content.
• Recovery key. During enrollment a one-time recovery key is generated and shown to you once. Save it somewhere safe: if you forget your passphrase, the recovery key is the only way to restore access to your encrypted data on a new device.
• Where data is stored. Encrypted ciphertext is stored in a Cloudflare D1 database pinned to the EU West (WEUR) region. Synced data does not leave the EU.
• Sign-out behavior. Signing out of CloudSync stops future uploads and leaves your local notes intact. Your encrypted ciphertext remains on the server until you delete your account.
• Account deletion. Deleting your account removes all CloudSync ciphertext from the server.

Audio of Web Recordings

Audio recorded on your phone never leaves your phone. The audio of a recording made in the web companion is the one exception: it is uploaded so your phones can play it.

• Encrypted first. Your browser encrypts the audio with your CloudSync key before uploading it, in pieces that are each tied to their note. We store only the encrypted pieces and cannot listen to them.
• Where. Cloudflare R2 storage, restricted to the European Union, alongside your other CloudSync data.
• Your phone downloads it only when you tap Download audio. It is then decrypted on the phone and kept there like a recording made on the phone.
• Limit. Up to 2 GB of web recordings' audio per account. The web companion warns you at 1.5 GB. We never delete your audio to make room.
• Deleting. Deleting the note on any device deletes its audio from our servers. Deleting the audio on a phone removes only that phone's copy.

Auto-Email Summaries (Optional)

Subscribers, including during the free trial, can have each recording's summary emailed to them. Auto-email is off until you turn it on in the app's Settings and confirm your address with a 6-digit code we email to you.

• What is sent. When a recording's note is ready, the device that finished it sends our server the note's title, date, duration, type and summary, plus a PDF of the summary if you chose that format. Our server builds the email and Resend, our email provider, delivers it. Transcripts, audio and photos are never emailed, and notes made from YouTube, web links, documents or pasted text are not emailed.
• Not end-to-end encrypted. Unlike CloudSync, this path is not end-to-end encrypted: our server and Resend handle the summary in readable form in order to send it. Our server does not store the summary. Resend keeps sent emails only as its privacy policy allows, and once delivered the email is held by your own email provider.
• What we keep. Your address, whether auto-email is on, the format you chose, and a list of which notes were emailed and when (no content), so each note is emailed only once and sending is capped at 50 emails a day. A pending verification code is stored only as a one-way hash and expires after 15 minutes.
• Turning it off. Turn it off in the app's Settings, or use the link at the bottom of any summary email. Your address stays saved so you can turn it back on; deleting your account deletes it.

The Web Companion

The YostNotes web companion at app.yostnotes.com lets subscribers record meetings on a computer and read their notes in a web browser. It works only with CloudSync: you sign in with the same Apple or Google account you use in the app, and unlock it with your CloudSync passphrase or recovery key.

What it does.

• Records. It records your computer's microphone. For a video call, it can also record the audio of a browser tab or window you choose to share, such as a Google Meet tab or a Zoom or Teams window. The video of what you share is never recorded.
• Makes notes. It turns a recording into a transcript and summary using the same providers as the app (see Recordings Made on the Web above), then sends the note to your phones through CloudSync.
• Shows your notes. It downloads your CloudSync notes and decrypts them in your browser, so you can search and read them. It cannot edit them.

What it doesn't do. It loads no analytics, advertising or third-party scripts, and sets no tracking cookies. It runs only in your browser and on our Cloudflare servers, described in Section 03 and Section 08.

03Personal Information We Collect Automatically

Beyond the audio and content described above, and the sign-in and browser data the web companion needs (below), YostNotes does not collect personal information automatically. Specifically:

• We do not embed third-party product-analytics SDKs (for example Firebase Analytics, Mixpanel, or Amplitude).
• We do not collect crash reports through third-party services. Apple may collect crash data through its standard iOS process, and Google may collect crash data through Android Vitals, each governed by their respective privacy policies.
• We do not log behavioral telemetry such as feature-usage events or session durations.

Signing In, Cookies and Your Browser (Web Companion)

Sign in. You sign in with Apple or Google. We receive only a stable account identifier from them; we do not store the name or email address of your Apple or Google account. (If you turn on auto-email, we store the address you choose for it, as described in Section 02.) If you used Hide My Email with Apple, we never see your address.

Cookies. The web companion sets two cookies, both needed for it to work and neither used for tracking.

Stored in your browser. These stay on your computer and are not sent to us:

• your CloudSync key, stored so that it cannot be read back out of the browser;
• recordings made on that computer, so a closed tab or a crash loses nothing;
• the notes the web companion downloaded, decrypted for searching and reading;
• small preferences: the microphone you chose, and that you read the recording notice.

Signing out deletes all of them from the browser. Anyone who uses your computer while you are signed in can see your notes, so sign out on a shared computer.

04Personal Information We Collect from Third Parties

We do not buy or license personal information about you from data brokers or advertising networks.

AssemblyAI (Transcription)

AssemblyAI converts your meeting audio into a text transcript and returns it to the app, after which the app deletes the audio and transcript from AssemblyAI's servers. AssemblyAI encrypts data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-128/256) and is SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 certified. It processes your audio under its privacy policy and data processing addendum.

Anthropic (AI Summaries)

Anthropic processes your transcript through its Claude Messages API to generate a summary, which is returned to the app. The Messages API is a stateless, zero-data-retention-eligible endpoint. Anthropic processes commercial API data under its privacy policy and commercial terms, and does not use it to train its models without our express permission.

Apple StoreKit

Apple's StoreKit framework processes your subscription transaction and communicates subscription status to the app and to our server, which keeps the records described in Section 05. We do not receive your payment method, billing address, or Apple ID credentials.

Our Website

Our website uses Google Analytics (GA4) to understand aggregate traffic, subject to Google's privacy policy. The website and the app are separate systems, and website analytics are not merged with app data.

05Subscriptions, Billing, and Purchases

YostNotes offers premium features through an auto-renewing subscription. Billing is handled entirely by Apple (iOS) or Google (Android) through your App Store or Google Play account respectively. We never see or store your payment details.

iOS (Apple App Store)

How auto-renewing subscriptions work on iOS, as required by Apple:

• Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, or at the end of the 14-day free trial if you do not cancel.
• The subscription renews automatically at $14.99 per month or $169.99 per year unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
• Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period.
• You manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your App Store account settings after purchase.
• Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where Apple offers a trial.

Pricing, billing, refunds, and payment records are handled by Apple under the Apple Privacy Policy and the App Store terms. Your license to use YostNotes on iOS is governed by our End User License Agreement (EULA), which also covers the Android app and the web companion, and cancellations and refunds are handled through your App Store account.

Android (Google Play)

How auto-renewing subscriptions work on Android, as required by Google Play:

• Payment is charged to your Google Account at confirmation of purchase, or at the end of the 14-day free trial if you do not cancel.
• The subscription renews automatically at $14.99 per month or $169.99 per year unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.
• Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period.
• You manage your subscription and cancel auto-renew in your Google Play account settings after purchase.
• Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription.

Pricing, billing, refunds, and payment records on Android are handled by Google under the Google Privacy Policy and Google Play terms. Cancellations and refunds are handled through your Google Play account.

Subscription and Minutes Records

The web companion has no App Store or Google Play of its own, so our server keeps a small record of your plan and your minutes, tied to your signed-in account:

We still never see your payment method, billing address or store account. These records hold no recording content.

06How We Use Your Personal Information

• To record and transcribe. Your audio is processed into a transcript so you can read and search your meetings.
• To generate AI summaries. Your transcript or audio is processed by our AI provider to produce summaries and related outputs.
• To run the app. Your notes and preferences are stored on your device to make the app work.
• To unlock subscription features. Subscription status from Apple or Google unlocks premium features while your Monthly or Annual subscription is active.
• To keep one minutes balance across your devices. Your minutes records let the app and the web companion share the same balance.
• To run the web companion. Your sign-in identifier, cookies, and CloudSync data let you record and read your notes in a browser.
• To email your summaries. If you turn on auto-email, your verified address and each recording's summary are used to send the summary to you.
• To respond to support requests. We use your contact information to reply.
• To notify beta testers. If you opted in, to send a notification when a beta is available.

07Disclosure of Your Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. Personal information may be disclosed only in these circumstances:

• Service providers. To the AI, transcription, and email providers and to Apple and Google, acting on our behalf or as platform provider, as described in this policy.
• Legal requirement. In response to a valid court order, subpoena, or other binding legal process.
• Business transfer. If Yost Group LLC is acquired, merged, or its assets transferred, personal information would be subject to the successor's privacy policy. We would notify you before any such transfer.
• Protection of rights. Where we have a good-faith belief that disclosure is necessary to prevent fraud, protect safety, or enforce our terms.

08Third Parties We Share With

These are the only third parties that handle data in connection with YostNotes. We embed no advertising networks, analytics platforms, customer data platforms, or social login SDKs in the app, and the web companion loads no third-party scripts.

09Recording, Consent, and Your Responsibilities

• Tell participants before you record, and obtain their consent where the law requires it.
• Do not record conversations you are not legally permitted to record.
• You are responsible for how you use transcripts and summaries you create.

Recording Video Calls

Recording a call records everyone on it. When you record a meeting in the web companion and share a call's tab or window, YostNotes records every person on that call as well as everyone your microphone hears. People on a call are often in other states or countries, where the law may require everyone's consent.

• Tell everyone, in the room and on the call, that you are recording, before you start.
• Get their consent where the law requires it. Saying so at the start of the recording helps show it was given.
• Follow the rules of the meeting service and of your organization; some forbid recording.

The web companion shows this notice before your first recording in each browser. Speaker names in a web recording's transcript come only from names said in the conversation, as described under Voice Data; no voiceprints are created.

Other People's Information

Recordings capture the voices and statements of other people who are not users of YostNotes. Where we process that information, we do so as a processor acting on your instructions. You act as the controller of the meeting content you choose to record.

Voice Data

YostNotes does not create or store voiceprints and does not perform biometric voice identification. Where a transcript labels different speakers, those labels come only from self or group identification spoken in the recording — such as a participant stating their name or being named by others — not from biometric analysis of voice characteristics. Because no biometric identifiers are created, biometric-specific laws such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act do not apply to this processing.

10Your Choices About How We Use Your Information

Recordings, Transcripts, and Notes

You choose when to record. You can edit, delete, or export your recordings, transcripts, and notes within the app. Deleting an item removes the copy on your device. The app already deletes your audio and transcript from AssemblyAI right after transcription. Anthropic does not keep a retrievable copy you can delete; it holds request and response data in temporary safety logs for up to 30 days, then deletes it.

Web Companion

You can delete a web recording, its note and its audio from the web companion, and delete synced audio from a phone's note menu. Signing out of the web companion removes everything it stored in that browser.

Microphone Permission

You can revoke microphone access at any time in your device's Settings app (iOS Settings or Android Settings > Apps > YostNotes > Permissions). Without microphone access, recording features will not function.

Subscriptions

You can turn off auto-renew or cancel at any time in your App Store account settings (iOS) or Google Play account settings (Android). Cancelling stops future charges; it does not delete data you created in the app.

Auto-Email

Auto-email is off unless you turn it on. You can turn it off, change the address, or change the format in the app's Settings, and turn it off from the link in any summary email. Turning it off stops future emails; emails already sent stay in your inbox.

Support and Beta

You may request that we delete any email you have sent us, and you may opt out of beta notifications at any time by emailing [email protected].

11How Long We Retain Your Personal Information

• Recordings, transcripts, summaries (no CloudSync): stored on your device until you delete them or delete the app. We hold no copy on our own servers.
• CloudSync encrypted data (if enrolled): encrypted ciphertext of your notes, transcripts, summaries, flashcards, and folders is stored on Cloudflare D1 (EU West) for as long as your account is active. Deleting your account removes all ciphertext from the server. Photos and audio recorded on your phone are never part of CloudSync and are never stored on our servers.
• Audio of web recordings on our servers: until you delete the note on any device, or delete your account.
• Web recordings in your browser: until you delete them in the web companion or sign out.
• Notes downloaded to your browser: until you sign out.
• Notes and app preferences: retained on your device until you delete them or delete the app.
• Data held by AssemblyAI: as soon as transcription completes, the app calls AssemblyAI's delete endpoint, which removes both the uploaded audio and the transcript from AssemblyAI's servers. AssemblyAI retains certain metadata for logging and billing. If a delete call fails, it is not retried, and in that rare case the audio and transcript remain subject to AssemblyAI's standard retention until removed.
• Data held by AssemblyAI for a web recording: deleted when transcription finishes, as for the app; a recording interrupted by a lost connection keeps it there until the recording resumes.
• Data held by Anthropic: the Anthropic Messages API is stateless. Each call is an independent request and response, with no stored, retrievable document and no conversation history. Under Anthropic's standard commercial retention, request and response data is retained for up to 30 days, then deleted, and is never used to train Anthropic's models without our express permission. If a request is flagged for a Usage Policy violation, or where required by law, Anthropic may retain it for up to 2 years.
• Subscription records held by Apple or Google: retained per their own schedules.
• Subscription and minutes records: while your account is active; deleted when you delete your account.
• Upload and AI request times (rate limits): deleted after 24 hours.
• Auto-email address and settings: until you change the address or delete your account. Turning auto-email off keeps the address so you can turn it back on.
• Record of emailed notes: note references and send times only, no content; deleted when you delete your account.
• Emailed summaries: not stored on our servers. Resend retains sent emails per its own policy, and your email provider keeps the emails you receive.
• Support email: retained as long as reasonably necessary to resolve your issue, then deleted.
• Beta interest: retained until you opt out, until release, or for a maximum of two years — whichever comes first.

12How We Secure Your Personal Information

• On device. On iOS, iOS Data Protection encrypts app storage at rest and the iOS app sandbox isolates YostNotes data from other apps. On Android, data is encrypted using Android's file-based encryption and isolated within the app's private storage directory.
• In transit. Audio and text sent to our AI providers are transmitted over encrypted connections (TLS). CloudSync data is also transmitted over TLS, and is encrypted on-device before transmission — the transport layer carries only ciphertext.
• At our providers. AssemblyAI encrypts data at rest (AES-128/256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+), is SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 certified, and offers a data processing addendum with Standard Contractual Clauses. Anthropic processes data under its commercial terms and security program.
• CloudSync end-to-end encryption. When CloudSync is active, note content is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM under a key only you possess (derived via PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations). Cloudflare D1 stores and transmits only ciphertext and never receives your passphrase, data key, or any plaintext. Encrypted data resides in the EU West (WEUR) region. The audio of web recordings is encrypted the same way in your browser and stored as ciphertext in Cloudflare R2, restricted to the EU.
• Auto-email. Summaries travel to our server and to Resend over encrypted connections (TLS), but this path is not end-to-end encrypted. Leave auto-email off if you want your summaries to stay within CloudSync's end-to-end encryption.
• Web companion. The web companion loads no third-party scripts, enforced by a strict Content Security Policy. Your CloudSync key is stored in the browser so that it cannot be read back out, and its cookies are unreadable by page scripts.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We recommend not recording highly sensitive conversations you would not want processed by a cloud service, and not including highly sensitive details in support emails.

13Third-Party Websites or Platforms

YostNotes may include links to external websites. Once you leave the app or the yost.group website, this policy no longer applies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites.

14Children's Privacy

YostNotes is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information, contact [email protected] and we will delete it promptly.

15Jurisdictional Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have specific rights regarding your personal information. The sections below address California (CCPA/CPRA) and the EEA, Switzerland, and UK (GDPR). Users elsewhere may contact [email protected] to exercise equivalent rights.

16California — CCPA / CPRA

This section applies to California residents under the CCPA as amended by the CPRA.

Exercising Your Rights

Email [email protected] with "CCPA Privacy Request" in the subject line. We will verify your identity and respond within 45 days, extendable as the CCPA allows.

17EEA, Switzerland & UK — GDPR

This section applies to users in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Automated Decision-Making

AI summaries are content tools and do not produce legal or similarly significant effects about you. We do not subject you to automated decisions that produce such effects.

Complaints

You may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

18Changes to This Policy

We will update this page when we make material changes and revise the Last Updated date. For significant changes, we will surface a notice inside the app on its next launch.