Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 17, 2026

1. What we collect

We collect the minimum data needed to run the Service:

  • Account data: email address, name (optional), password hash (bcrypt), or Google account ID if you sign in with Google.
  • Content data: YouTube URLs you submit, audio/video files you upload, the derivative transcripts and summaries we generate, the chunks and embeddings we use for search and chat.
  • Subscription data: Stripe customer ID, subscription tier, subscription status, period dates. Card numbers are stored only by Stripe — we never see them.
  • Usage data: anonymized event logs (page views, button clicks) via PostHog. IP addresses are stored only transiently for rate-limiting.
  • Integrations: Notion integration secret and database ID (if you connect Notion); Discord webhook URL (if you connect Discord). These are stored encrypted at rest.

2. How we use it

  • Operate the Service: process videos, run AI summaries, build your personal knowledge base.
  • Provide account support and notifications (welcome email, payment-failed reminders, channel-subscription alerts).
  • Bill for paid subscriptions via Stripe.
  • Aggregate anonymized usage analytics to improve the product. We do not sell personal data.

3. Who we share data with

We use a small set of subprocessors, each with their own security commitments:

  • Vercel — hosting & serverless functions (US data center).
  • Neon — Postgres database (US-East).
  • Stripe — payment processing.
  • Resend — transactional email.
  • PostHog — product analytics (US-hosted; events are pseudonymized).
  • DashScope (Alibaba) — Paraformer audio transcription and embedding model. Audio is sent transiently and not retained by DashScope per their API terms.
  • DeepSeek — LLM for summary, outline, and chat. Transcripts are sent transiently.
  • Anthropic / OpenAI — optional LLM providers used in some code paths.
  • YouTube — public video metadata and captions are fetched via YouTube's public endpoints.

We never sell your data. We disclose data only when legally required by valid court order.

4. Cookies

We use a session cookie for authentication (set by NextAuth) and a small set of first-party analytics cookies via PostHog to count visits and feature usage. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

5. Your rights

  • Access — see every video, transcript, and summary tied to your account from your dashboard.
  • Export — download any summary as Markdown / push to your own Notion / Obsidian.
  • Delete — email us to request full account deletion; we erase or anonymize within 30 days.
  • EU/UK residents (GDPR) — you also have rights to rectification, portability, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

6. Data retention

Account-linked data is retained while your account is active. If you cancel and the account is unused for 6 months, we may delete inactive data after notice. Backup snapshots are rolled-over within 30 days.

7. Security

Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (Neon AES-256). Passwords are hashed with bcrypt. Third-party tokens (Notion, Discord) are encrypted in the database. We follow least-privilege access for production credentials.

8. Children

The Service is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect their data.

9. Changes

Material changes to this policy will be announced via email or an in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect.

10. Contact

Questions or privacy requests: privacy@vidbrief.org.

See also: Terms of Service.