Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 12, 2026

1. Who we are

LiveCaptions is a desktop application for macOS and Windows developed and operated by MENG-JU LEE, an independent developer ("we", "us"). You can reach us at support@livecaptions.app. This policy explains what personal data we collect when you use LiveCaptions and this website, and why.

2. Data we collect

• Account data. Your email address, used to sign you in, send sign-in links, and send important service notices. If you sign in with Google, we also receive your Google account identifier.
• Trial device check. When you claim the free trial, we store a one-way cryptographic hash (HMAC) of a device identifier (the macOS platform UUID or Windows machine GUID). We store only the hash — it cannot be reversed to identify your device — and use it solely to prevent repeated trial claims.
• Usage data. The number of seconds of live captioning you use, so we can meter your monthly quota and free trial.
• Payment data. Payments are handled by our payment provider, which acts as merchant of record. We never receive or store your card number; we only receive your subscription status from that provider.
• Diagnostics and product analytics. Unless you switch it off, the app sends anonymous diagnostic and usage data: a randomly generated installation identifier (not derived from your hardware and not linked to your account), your operating system and its version, the app version and edition, your interface and translation language settings, the capture source you selected, your country as configured in your operating system's region settings, and — when something goes wrong — crash reports and error messages with technical stack traces. We do not geolocate you: the country comes from your own system settings, not from your IP address, and we do not store IP addresses. This never includes caption text, audio, account details or your email address. You can turn this off at any time in Settings → Other.

3. Audio processing

While captioning is running, the audio captured on your device is streamed in real time to our speech recognition service provider to produce transcriptions and translations. We do not record or store your audio. Captions are displayed on your device. Audio is processed by this provider under its own terms and privacy practices.

4. Purposes and legal bases

Where the GDPR or similar laws apply, we process personal data:

• to perform our contract with you (accounts, quota metering, subscriptions);
• for our legitimate interests (preventing trial abuse, keeping the service secure and reliable, and diagnosing crashes so we can fix them — you can switch the diagnostics off in the app at any time);
• with your consent, where required.

5. Service providers and sharing

We use Google Firebase (authentication, database, hosting), our payment provider — currently Polar Software Inc., acting as merchant of record — and a speech recognition and translation service provider to run the service. For the anonymous diagnostics described in section 2 we use Google Analytics (usage statistics) and Sentry (crash reporting). These providers may process data in the United States or other countries, subject to their own safeguards for international transfers. We do not sell personal data and we do not use advertising trackers.

6. Data retention

Account and usage data are kept for as long as your account exists and deleted when your account is deleted, except that we may retain the hashed trial device identifier to prevent repeated trial claims, and records we are legally required to keep (for example, billing records).

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal data, to restrict or object to processing, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

8. Account deletion

To delete your account, email support@livecaptions.app from your account email address with the subject "Delete my account". We will delete your authentication account and associated data within 30 days, except the limited records described in section 6.

9. Cookies and local storage

This website uses no advertising or analytics trackers. The sign-in page stores your email address in your browser's local storage only to complete email-link sign-in.

10. Children

LiveCaptions is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them.

11. Changes to this policy

We will post any changes on this page with a new effective date, and notify you of material changes by email or in the app.

12. Contact

Questions about this policy: support@livecaptions.app