Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

SpeakKey (the website speakkey.com and the SpeakKey apps for Android and iPhone) is provided by Waive Technology Pty Ltd (ABN 24 698 686 510), Australia (“SpeakKey”, “we”, “us”). This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We handle personal information under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Questions or requests: support@speakkey.com.

2. Information we collect

• Account information: your name, email address and sign-in details. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email address from them (with Apple’s Hide My Email, a private relay address). Passwords are held by our sign-in provider as a one-way hash; we never store your password (it passes through our servers only to sign you in).
• Recordings: audio you record or upload to create documents.
• Photos: pictures you take or share to turn into documents.
• PDF forms: fillable or flat PDF forms you upload to use as templates, and the filled forms we create from your dictation.
• Generated documents: the transcripts, notes, letters and other documents we create for you, and any edits you make to them.
• Templates and macros: templates, prompts, dictation tips and macros you create.
• Template Builder conversations: the messages, voice instructions and photos you send to the Template Builder assistant, and its replies.
• Live Type vocabulary: words you add so Live Type recognizes them, stored with your account so they work on every device you use.
• Gallery posts: templates you publish to the public template gallery (name, description, instructions or form setup, and your display name if you choose to show it), your likes, and reports you make about other templates.
• Health information: anything you dictate, photograph or type can include health information about you or about other people (for example, a clinician dictating patient notes). We treat it as sensitive information (see section 5).
• Approximate location: the country (and sometimes city) worked out from your IP address, stored with usage sessions and, for sign-ins on a computer using your phone, in a security log (see section 8).
• Device and diagnostic information: device type and model, operating system and browser, app version, IP address, and error and crash reports.
• Usage information: screens and features you use, when you sign in, how long processing takes, and typing statistics (for example, how many characters were typed and how long it took — not what was typed).
• Bug reports and support messages: what you send us when you report a problem or email support. A bug report can include text you dictated, device details (such as model, system version, app version, free storage and time since restart) and app logs.
• Purchases: if you buy from us (for example, a SpeakKey USB Stick), payments are handled by our payment provider, Stripe, which collects your card details and, for hardware, your shipping address. We never receive or store your full card number; we keep records of your purchases and your account’s status.

3. How we use your information

• To provide SpeakKey: turning your recordings, photos and forms into documents, typing them onto your computer, Live Type, templates, macros, the gallery, sharing and email.
• To run your account, process payments and fulfil hardware orders.
• To keep SpeakKey secure and working: preventing abuse, investigating misuse, diagnosing errors and applying usage limits.
• To send service emails, such as confirmations, security alerts and the documents you ask us to email.
• To understand how SpeakKey is used and improve it (usage analytics, which you can turn off — see section 6).

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

4. AI processing and other service providers

• AI service providers: to turn your recordings, photos and forms into documents, we send them, with the template instructions and any vocabulary that goes with them, to third-party AI service providers that process them for us. The Template Builder sends your messages and attachments to these providers too, and the text of a template you publish to the gallery may be checked by an automated moderation service. Providers receive only what each request needs, not your account.
• Live Type: SpeakKey doesn't store Live Type audio; it's sent to a speech-recognition service to turn it into text. Your voice (with your Live Type vocabulary as recognition hints) streams directly from your phone to that third-party service, and the text it returns is typed onto your computer. SpeakKey keeps only how long each session lasted. The service may keep the audio for a limited time under its own terms, for example to monitor for abuse.
• Other service providers: cloud hosting, database and file storage; sign-in; payments (Stripe); email delivery; and error monitoring. They process information only to provide their services to us.
• We may also disclose information when the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users or the public.

5. Health and other sensitive information

Dictated content often includes health information, which is sensitive information under the Privacy Act. By using SpeakKey to record, photograph or type such content, you consent to us collecting and handling it as described in this policy, including the AI processing in section 4. If you dictate information about other people (for example, patients or clients), you are responsible for having the right to do so under your own legal and professional obligations. SpeakKey is not a medical device and does not give medical advice, and it is not your system of record: if you must keep records (for example, clinical records), keep the final document in your own records system.

6. Your choices: AI processing and usage analytics

• AI processing: before you first use a feature that needs AI processing, the SpeakKey app asks your permission on a “Before you start” screen. You can withdraw it at any time in the app’s Settings (AI processing); features that need AI processing then stop until you allow it again. Withdrawing doesn’t undo processing that has already happened.
• Usage analytics: “Share usage analytics” is on by default. If you turn it off in the app’s Settings, we stop recording usage analytics for your account, in the apps and on the website (the screens and features you use, your sign-in sessions and similar events). We still keep what we need to run the service, such as processing records used for usage limits, and error reports that help us fix problems.
• We keep a record of these choices (what you chose, the version of the notice you saw, when, and on which platform) for as long as your account exists.

7. Where your information is processed

Our main database and file storage are hosted in Sydney, Australia. Some processing happens outside Australia, including in the United States: AI processing and Live Type speech recognition, payments, email delivery and error monitoring. Information sent overseas is transferred over encrypted connections.

8. How long we keep information

• Documents: you decide. By default documents are kept until you delete them and filled PDF forms are deleted after 7 days; you can change both in your account settings, and each template can set its own period. Expired documents are deleted, with their recordings, photos and PDF files, by a daily clean-up.
• Recordings, photos and forms are kept with the document they belong to and deleted with it (some intermediate copies are deleted sooner). Unsaved Template Builder conversations are deleted automatically when they expire; those that produced a saved template are kept with your account.
• Account and usage information is kept while your account exists and deleted with it; we keep only de-identified, aggregate statistics.
• Security log: when you sign in on a computer using your phone, we log the computer’s IP address, approximate country and browser. Each entry is kept for 12 months to help investigate misuse, even if you delete your account, then deleted. Your phone’s country is used only for the sign-in check and is not stored.
• Backups: encrypted database backups are kept for up to 12 months and used only to recover from a disaster. Deleted information remains in them until each backup expires.
• Payment and tax records are kept for as long as the law requires (typically 5 to 7 years).
• Our standard server request logs are kept for their normal, limited retention period.

9. Deleting your information and your account

• You can delete any document, template or macro at any time.
• You can delete your account yourself: in the Android or iPhone app open Account → Delete account, or on the web open Account Settings → Security → Delete account. speakkey.com/delete-account explains the steps and what is removed and kept. Deletion is immediate and permanent and also removes templates you published to the gallery.
• If you can’t sign in, email support@speakkey.com and we’ll help.

10. Security

• Information is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and stored encrypted.
• Your recordings, photos and documents are kept in private, per-account storage that other users cannot access.
• Access to our systems is limited and protected, and we use rate limits and other measures to protect the service.

11. Cookies

The website uses session cookies to keep you signed in; they are essential and expire after 24 hours. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

12. Access, correction and complaints

You can see and edit most of your information in the app and on the website. To ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or to correct it, email support@speakkey.com; we will respond within 30 days. If you have a privacy complaint, email us first; if you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au).

13. Age requirement

SpeakKey is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18; if you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We will tell you about material changes through SpeakKey or by email before they take effect, and the apps will ask again where your permission is needed. The current version is always at speakkey.com/privacy.