Privacy Policy
PodcastsAI summarizes podcasts and videos you choose. This policy explains exactly what our web app, mobile apps, and Chrome extension collect, what they do not collect, and which services process the information.
What we collect
- Links you submit. The URL of the episode or video you want summarized, so we can fetch its transcript and generate a summary.
- An anonymous installation identifier. The Chrome extension and apps generate a random identifier so anonymous usage limits apply to one installation instead of everyone sharing the same network. For product analytics, our server replaces it with a one-way keyed hash and keeps that hash for up to 90 days. The original identifier is not written to the analytics store. It is not an advertising identifier and is not linked to your browsing history.
- Product usage. Our server counts feature events such as opening a client, starting or completing a summary, searching, asking a question, using read-aloud, subscribing to a show, looking up a feed, transcribing, and exporting. Counts include the client platform, the content service (such as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or a feed), processing time, and requested audio duration. On the website, we also count the referring website's hostname and marketing source when present. We do not put submitted links, search text, questions, transcript text, or full referring addresses in the analytics store.
- An optional PodcastsAI API key. If you enter a key in the Chrome extension's options page, it is stored only in Chrome's local extension storage and sent securely to PodcastsAI when you request a summary. The extension works without a key.
- Your account, if you create one. Signing in with Apple or Google gives us a user identifier and, if you allow it, your name and email address. Sign-in is optional — the app works without an account.
- Notification token, if you enable notifications. Subscribing to a show stores an anonymous device token so we can send you a notification when a new episode is summarized.
- Questions you ask. Questions you type about an episode are sent to our summarization provider to be answered.
What we don't collect
- No advertising identifiers, and no third-party analytics or tracking software. Product analytics are stored on our own server as described above.
- No contacts, photos, location, or microphone access. The app never requests them.
- No access to your microphone and no recording of your surroundings. When an existing transcript is unavailable, our server may process the public episode audio you asked us to summarize.
Chrome extension
The extension runs only on supported YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts pages. It checks the current address locally to decide whether the page is an episode. It does not send the address anywhere until you press Summarize this episode. When you press it, the extension sends that episode address, its anonymous installation identifier, and any optional key you supplied to PodcastsAI over HTTPS. Our server counts that requested product action using the privacy-preserving analytics described above. The extension does not collect other pages from your browsing history, page contents, clicks, keystrokes, or advertising data, and it does not load third-party analytics.
The extension stores the random installation identifier and optional key in Chrome's local extension storage. Uninstalling the extension removes that local data. Completed results are held in the extension's temporary service-worker memory and are also subject to the server cache described below.
Where your summaries live
Your library of summaries is stored on your device. Generated summaries are also cached on our server for a limited period so that repeat requests are instant and so subscribed shows can be summarized before you open the app.
Who we share data with
We use a small number of processors purely to make the product work:
- Google (Gemini) — generates summaries and answers your questions from the transcript.
- Supadata — retrieves video transcripts when the primary source is unavailable.
- RunPod — processes public episode audio for transcription when an existing transcript is unavailable.
- Spotify and Apple — public APIs used to look up episode and show information.
- Kokoro and ElevenLabs — convert a summary to speech only when you tap Read aloud. Kokoro is the primary service and ElevenLabs is a fallback.
- Railway — hosts our server.
- Apple Push Notification service — delivers notifications you opted into.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.
Limited use
Information received through the Chrome extension is used only to provide and improve PodcastsAI's user-facing summary features. Our use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.
Deleting your data
You can delete your account from inside the app: open the account screen and tap Delete account and all my data. That erases the library, channel list, subscription records, and email address held against your account on our server, immediately and permanently, and clears the copy on your device. Signing out, separately, only removes the account from that device and leaves the server copy in place so signing back in restores it. Clearing your library in My Summaries deletes the summaries on your device straight away, and unsubscribing from a show removes the stored notification token for it. If you would rather not use the app, email tchuynh24@gmail.com from your account address and we will do it within 30 days. See the deletion page for the steps in full.
Aggregate analytics counters are not linked to an account. One-way installation hashes cannot be reversed or found from an email address, and are automatically removed after 90 days; aggregate event totals remain.
Children
PodcastsAI is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.
Content ownership
Summaries are generated descriptions of publicly available material. The underlying podcasts and videos belong to their creators, and PodcastsAI links back to the original source. If you are a rights holder and want material excluded, email us and we will honor the request.
Changes
If this policy changes materially, we will update the date at the top of this page and note the change in the app's release notes.
Contact
Questions about privacy: tchuynh24@gmail.com.