Privacy policy

This Website Privacy Notice (the “ Notice ”) explains how we collect, use and more generally process your personal data in connection with your relationship with us when you visit or purchase from the websites offered by us (the “Services”).

The Services are provided or controlled by the following entities and their affiliates (i) PLAUD Inc. (located at 8 The Green, Ste A, Dover, Kent County, Delaware 19901, US) (the “ we ”).

Here is a summary of the information contained in this Notice. This summary is to help you navigate the Notice and it is not a substitute for reading everything. You can view the particular sections for more detailed information.

1 What data do we collect about you? If you register an account to use the Service, we will need some personal data from you to set this up. We will also collect and create personal data about you when you use certain functions of the Website (e.g., when you buy some products on our website). If you need to get in touch with us, we will also collect and retain some information so that we can get back in touch with you and address any concerns. For more information, please refer to 1 What data do we collect about you?

2 How do we use your data? We process your personal data to manage the contract you have refused/agreed to and to provide functions related to account management, online shopping, and other services in the website. We also process your personal data to communicate with you in response to any support requests, to ensure the secure and stable operation as well as continuous improvement of the Services, and to investigate any reported illegal content in our Services in compliance with our legal obligation. For more information, please refer to 2 How do we use your data?

3 How do we retain and protect your data? We store your personal data on servers located in the United States, and we take every reasonable step to ensure that your personal data is only processed for the minimum period necessary for the purposes set out in this Notice. Besides, we have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your personal data. For more details on the location and duration of the retention of your personal data, please refer to 3 How do we retain and protect your data?

4 How will we disclose and transfer your data globally? We may disclose your personal data to affiliates and some third-party service providers (e.g., IT services, business support, and customer services) who help us deliver Services in relation to the App. We may also be required to disclose certain personal data about you in response to any legal procedures or requests from regulatory authorities, for audit purposes, in the event of mergers, acquisitions, sale of assets, or transfer of services, and in other circumstances specified under 4 How will we disclose your data? Due to the international operation of our business, your personal data may be accessed from and transferred to jurisdictions outside of where you are located. In the event of a cross-border transfer of personal data, we take appropriate measures to provide an adequate level of protection for your personal data. For more information, please refer to 5 How will we transfer your data around the world?

5 What are your rights regarding the processing of your personal data? Depending on where you are, you may have certain rights with respect to your personal data, such as rights of access and data portability, to correct or delete your personal data, to withdraw your consent, restrict or object to our processing of your personal data, or to lodge complaints with an applicable authority for any breach of data protection laws. For more information, please refer to 6 What are your data subject rights and choices? In particular, if you are a California resident, certain state data privacy legislations may entitle you to additional rights as detailed under 8 Notice to California Residents.

6 How do we protect minors? We do not aim to provide services for minors, and we do not intentionally collect or maintain information from minors. For more information, please refer to 7 How do we protect minors?

7 Contact Us. If you have any questions or comments regarding this Notice and/or other privacy practices, want to exercise any rights you may have, or would like to contact our Data Protection Officer, please contact us by using the information detailed under 10 How to contact us?

This Privacy Notice applies only to our Services and does not address the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties. Our Services may contain links to other websites or integrate with services operated by third parties (such as payment processors or social media platforms). We are not responsible for the data collection, usage, disclosure, or security policies or practices of these third parties, including how they define personal data or use it. The inclusion of a link or integration within our Services does not imply endorsement of the linked or integrated site or service by us. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites or services you interact with before providing them with your personal data.

1 What data do we collect about you?

1.1 Information We Obtain About You

When you visit our site, we will only collect and use your personal data for the following purposes as described in this Notice. Personal data means information about any individual, or from which any individual is directly or indirectly identifiable.

We may collect personal data from and about you, including information that you provide, and automatically collect information. We also create personal data about you in certain circumstances, such as records of your interactions with us, and details of the usage information of your device. We may collect and process the following data:

• Contract Management Information: version number of this Notice you are aware of, your consent or rejection of specific services or functions, version number of the service contract you agree to or refuse; and the timing of your aforementioned actions.
• Account Information: account name (email address), password (encrypted), avatar, nickname, country/region you selected during account registration, email verification code, and account ID.
• Order, Shipping Information: customer total orders, customer paid orders, customer total payment, customer first order date, customer last order date, order notes, billing information (such as first name, last name, full name, company, address, city, state code, zip, state name, postcode, country code, country name, email, and phone), and shipping address.
• Subscription Management Information: membership plan type, purchase channel (e.g., website or app store), start and end dates, renewal status, payment attempts (for paid plans only), redemption or coupon codes, and subscription identifiers.
• Services Usage Information: IP address, operational behavior data collected through your interaction with our Services (such as clicks, search, time stamp, browsing history, video playback records and buffering situation, and purchase history).
• Review Information and Feedback Information: product review information (such as name, email, review title, text and photos you submitted as review content, rating records, review like and dislike history), and the information you provided to us when you use feedback-related services in the Services.
• Customer Service Related Information: such as information used to verify your identity (email address and order number), communication records (including call recordings) automatically stored or collected, contact information (name, phone numbers, mobile numbers, and mailing information used for after-sales service) you choose to provide to us, and other information required for handling your requests.
• Feature Trial Experience Information: email address provided by you, audio recording files uploaded by you, and the result texts generated from the processing of audio recording files.

Information We Obtain by Automated Means

When you interact with our websites, we use automatic data collection tools like cookies in our websites to collect data and related information. A “cookie” is a text file that websites send to a visitor’s computer or other Internet-connected device to uniquely identify the visitor’s browser or to store information or settings in the browser. To understand exactly how we use these technologies, including a list of cookies and how to manage them, please click here to read our detailed Cookie Policy.

2 How do we use your data?

The purposes for which we process personal data, subject to applicable law, and the legal basis on which we perform such processing, are as follows:

• Contract Management: We process Contract Management Information to provide you with records related to contract management, such as records of your agreement/refusal actions, version numbers of contracts/privacy notice related to you, time, etc.
• Subscription Management: We process your Subscription Management Information to provide, verify, and maintain your membership services; manage renewals and cancellations; send required renewal or expiration notices; handle billing or refund requests; and synchronize subscription status between your website account and our mobile application.
• Account Management: We process your Account Information to provide you with functions related to user account management, such as account registration, account deletion, account login, and modification of account information.
• Ensure Security, Stable Operation: We process your region, network provider, device type, operating system, browser type, screen resolution, view history, access source, access date, mouse clicks, mouse hovers, dwell time, video playback to identify the abnormal status of your account, ensure the stability and security of our Services, and plan improvements or upgradation of our Services. We have legitimate interests in carrying out the processing to ensure the security and ongoing stability of the Services (to the extent that such legitimate interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights, or freedoms).
• Marketing and User Preference Analysis: We process some of your Account Information such as email and address, Order Information and Services Usage Information, to provide you with marketing campaigns and analyze user preferences. We will ask for your consent before conducting this processing activity as required by applicable law.
• Customer Service and Support: When you consult any issues via online customer service, or use hotline services for inquiries or complaints, we will process some of your Account Information and Customer Services Related Information. Additionally, we may also collect other information provided by you to offer services such as troubleshooting and online customer support. The processing is necessary for the performance of our contract with you.
• User Survey: We process your email to send you a survey questionnaire. In addition, we will also complete the survey activity based on your name and Feedback Information. We will ask for your consent before this processing activity.
• Feature Trial: for our “try now” feature, we use the email address you provide to send trial results. We process the uploaded audio recording files on the cloud to generate result texts via transcription and summarization. This demonstrates our service capabilities during the trial. Once the result texts are generated, the cloud does not retain your audio files. We send you a link to these results via email, allowing you to conveniently access and evaluate if our full service suits your needs.
• Investigations: we process some of your Account Information when it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (especially in respect of applicable employment law); or we have a legitimate interest in carrying out the processing for the purpose of detecting, and protecting against, fraud (to the extent that such legitimate interest is not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights, or freedoms).
• If you believe there is illegal content in our Services, you can report it to us. When you submit a report, we may collect and store your name, email address, and other relevant information related to your report in compliance with our legal obligations.

3 How do we retain and protect your data?

Your data will be processed on servers located in the United States. We will only retain your personal data for the time necessary to achieve the purposes stated in this Notice.

We will process and store your data during the period that we maintain an ongoing relationship with you. Most of your personal data will be associated with your account. When you delete your account, the personal data associated with your account and related Services will be deleted or anonymized, unless local applicable laws require our continued processing of such data.

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized access, and other unlawful or unauthorized forms of processing, in accordance with applicable law. When using an account, it is important that you select a strong password and do not share it with others. If you have any concerns that your account or personal data has been put at risk, for example, if someone could have found out your password, please contact us by using the contact details provided in Section 9 below. Please note, the Internet is an open system, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we will implement all reasonable measures to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to us using the internet – any such transmission is at your own risk, and you are responsible for ensuring that any personal data that you send to us are sent securely.

4 How will we disclose your data?

Third-party service providers who provide us with IT services (including IT-related cloud services), business support, and customer services may need to process your data. These third parties will process your personal data on our behalf under relevant contracts. We may disclose personal data with our affiliates for legitimate business purposes and the operation of the App, in accordance with applicable law. In addition, we may only disclose your data under the following circumstances:

• In response to any legal procedures or requests from regulatory authorities, we may disclose your data in accordance with applicable laws or legal processes.
• During the provision of services by external auditing firms, legal advisors, or other professional consultants, we may disclose your data to them as necessary based on specific circumstances.
• Your data may also be disclosed to relevant third parties in the event of mergers, acquisitions, sale of assets, or transfer of services to other companies.

When transmitting or disclosing your data, we will adhere to relevant legal obligations to ensure adequate protection for the transfer of such data by providing the same level of protection equivalent to that required in your jurisdiction.

5 How will we transfer your data around the world?

Since we maintain servers located in the United States, your personal data may be processed on servers located outside of the country where you live. For example, personal data of Japanese users may be stored in the United States, that of Canadian users may be stored in the United States. Because of the international nature of our business, your personal data may also be accessed by our affiliates or be transferred to third-party customer service providers and third-party SDK providers, in connection with the purposes set out in this Notice. For this reason, we transfer personal data to other jurisdictions that may have different laws and data protection compliance requirements to those that apply in the jurisdiction in which you are located. Data protection laws vary among countries, with some providing more protection than others. Regardless of where your personal data is processed, we apply the same protections described in this Notice.

In the event of an international transfer of personal data, when required by applicable law, we will provide an adequate level of protection for your personal data using various means, including where appropriate, relying on a formal decision that a certain country ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data, or implementing the European Commission approved Standard Contractual Clauses and UK International Data Transfer Agreement between our affiliates and third parties (where applicable) or any other lawful approach that permits the lawful transfer of personal data from those countries.

6 What are your data subject rights and choices?

You may have the following rights and choices regarding your personal data:

6.1 Data Access
You may access your account-related personal data. If you have any other requests relating to access to your personal data, please contact us.

6.2 Data Correction
You may correct some of your account-related personal data. If you have any other requests relating to the correction of your personal data, please contact us.

6.3 Data Portability
You may contact us to request the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and device-readable format and have it transferred to another controller, to the extent applicable.

6.4 Data Deletion
You may request to delete all your personal data by deactivating your App account. We will delete your personal data after you deactivate your account as introduced under Section 3 of this Notice. Additionally, you may also request deletion of the personal data you provide by contacting us. If some of your personal data cannot be deleted, we will inform you of the reasons for not taking action.

6.5 Withdrawal of Consent
Where we process your personal data on the basis of your consent, you may withdraw your consent by contacting us.

6.6 Objection to Processing
Subject to applicable law, you may object to the processing of your personal data based on our legitimate interests where there are grounds relating to your particular situation by contacting us. If we cannot take action on your request, we will inform you of the reasons.

6.7 Restriction to Processing
If you would like to restrict our processing of your personal data, please contact us by contacting us. You have the right to restrict the processing of your data where one of the following applies:

• The processing is unlawful and you oppose the erasure of relevant personal data;
• For the purpose of establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, you request us to retain your personal data that we were supposed to delete;
• Your objection regarding the accuracy of your personal data is pending our verification;
• Your request to object to the processing of your personal data is pending our verification.

6.8 Other Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be entitled to additional rights in relation to your personal data. For example, you may also have the right to lodge complaints with an applicable data protection authority if you consider that the processing of your personal data infringes any applicable data protection laws (for example, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the Australian Privacy Principles, and any other Australian registered APP codes). For California residents, please find more details of your rights in Section 8 below.

If you would like to contact us to exercise one or more of these rights, to ask a question about these rights or any other provision of this Notice or about our processing of your personal data, or to file a complaint about how we process your personal data, you may use the contact details provided in Section 9 below. When submitting a right request, please specify the scope and basis of your request and provide us with the necessary information to verify your identity. We may contact you to confirm your identity in order to handle your request. We will respond to your request or complaint in due course under applicable data protection laws.

7 How do we protect minors?

Our services are exclusively for adults. If you do not meet the legal age requirement for adults in your jurisdiction, please do not use our services. If you are uncertain about meeting the age requirement, kindly consult your guardian for verification.

If you are a parent or guardian and become aware that a minor is using our services, please contact us to stop relevant provision of Services by using the contact details provided in Section 9 below.

8 Notice to California Residents

If you are a California resident, the California Privacy Rights Act (“ CPRA ”) or other California privacy laws described below require us to provide you with the following additional information:

a) Collection and Use of Your Personal Data. We collect personal data from and about you in the preceding 12 months as described in Section 1 above.

b) Disclosure of Personal Data. We disclose personal data with third parties for business purposes in the preceding 12 months as below:

Categories of personal data	Disclosed to which categories of third parties
All categories detailed in Section 1 above except for certain operation information that is only cached on the device	Cloud storage services provider and our affiliates
Information that is automatically collected or created when providing hotline services, such as communication records, name, phone numbers, email address, and other data you choose to provide for handling your requests.	Customer support services provider
Video file	AI - capability - providing company
Customer Service Related Information that is detailed in Section 1 above	Online customer services SDK provider

c) Your California Rights and Choices. As a California resident, you may be able to exercise the following rights:

• the right to know any or all of the following information relating to your personal data we have collected and disclosed in the last 12 months, upon verification of your identity:
  • The specific pieces of personal data we have collected about you,
  • The categories of personal data we have collected about you,
  • The categories of sources of personal data,
  • The categories of personal data that we have disclosed to third parties for a business purpose, and the categories of recipients to whom this information was disclosed,
  • The categories of personal data we have sold and the categories of third parties to whom the information was sold, and
  • The business or commercial purposes for collecting or selling personal data.
• the right to correct any inaccurate personal data we have about you.
• the right to request deletion of personal data we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
• the right to opt-out of the sale and/or the sharing of your personal data and sensitive personal data to third parties now or in the future.

You also have the right to be free of discrimination for exercising these rights. However, please note that the exercise of these rights may limit our ability to process personal data. For example, if you submit a deletion request, we may no longer be able to provide you with our products and services or engage with you in the same manner.

d) Limit the Use of Sensitive Personal Data.

Under California law (CPRA), you can ask us to limit how we use or disclose your sensitive personal data, with some exceptions. Your App account password is one type of sensitive personal data. We use your password only for these essential reasons:

• To authenticate your access to your account.
• To maintain the security and integrity of your account and our App.
• To enable your use of App features and services that require user authentication.

Because using your password for these reasons is vital for our App to function properly and to keep your account secure, California law (specifically, CPRA §7027(m) and similar exceptions) means that the right to limit use does not apply to how we use your password for these essential purposes.

We do not "sell" or "share" your password or other sensitive personal data (as "sell" and "share" are defined in the CPRA). If you have concerns about other types of sensitive personal data that we may process and you want to ask us to limit its use (where the law permits), please contact us using the details in Section 9.

e) Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Data.

Under the CCPA/CPRA, California residents have the right to direct a business that sells or shares personal information about the consumer to stop doing so. While we do not "sell" your personal information for monetary value, we do engage in activities that may be considered "sharing" under the CCPA/CPRA definition. "Sharing" under the CCPA/CPRA includes disclosing, making available, or transferring personal information to a third party for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes.

• Our Practices Regarding "Sharing": The "sharing" activities we engage in primarily relate to online advertising technologies and marketing practices:
  • We utilize third-party online tracking technologies, such as cookies, pixels (e.g., from Meta/Facebook, Google), and similar tools, provided by our advertising and analytics partners. When you interact with our Services online, these tools automatically collect your online identifiers (like cookie IDs, IP addresses) and the internet or other electronic network activity information (e.g., pages visited on our site, products viewed, interaction data). This information is shared with our partners to enable us and them to deliver targeted advertisements to you on other websites and online platforms based on your interests derived from your activity across different sites (i.e., cross-context behavioral advertising), and to help us measure the performance of our advertising efforts.
  • We may also share certain identifiers, such as your email address with advertising platforms (e.g., Meta/Facebook, Google) to create custom audiences for our marketing campaigns or to enable these platforms to identify lookalike audiences (other consumers who might be interested in our products).
• How to Exercise Your Right to Opt-Out of Sharing: As a California resident, you have the right to opt-out of the "sharing" of your personal information described above. You can exercise this right by clicking on the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link located in the footer of our website homepage.
• Information Regarding Minors Under 16 Years of Age
  • Our website and services are not directed to individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 16. Furthermore, we do not knowingly "sell" or "share" (as those terms are defined under the California Privacy Rights Act - CPRA) the personal information of consumers we know to be less than 16 years of age. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from an individual under the age of 16 without legally required consent, we will take steps to delete such information in accordance with applicable law.

f) Opt-Out Preference Signals (e.g., Global Privacy Control)

In addition to exercising your opt-out rights via the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link available on our website footer, where technically feasible, we also process opt-out preference signals, such as Global Privacy Control (GPC), that certain web browsers or browser extensions may automatically send.

Our Response to GPC Signals: When our website detects a GPC signal from your browser, we will recognize it as a valid request originating from that browser to opt out of the "sharing" of personal information (as "sharing" is defined by the CPRA and detailed in Section 8.e of this Notice). In response, we will take necessary technical measures for that browser to disable online tracking technologies or cookie activities that result in such "sharing."

Please note that GPC signal preferences are typically set and applied at your browser level. Their continued effectiveness may be influenced by factors such as your specific browser settings and whether you clear your cookies. This mechanism is primarily applicable to website interactions conducted through a browser.

g) To submit your California Consumer Rights Requests.

You may submit a request to exercise your California Consumer Rights by contacting us using the contact details provided in Section 9 below. We will need to verify your identity before processing your request, which may require us to request additional personal data from you or require you to log into your account, if you have one. In certain circumstances, we may decline or limit your request, particularly where we are unable to verify your identity or locate your information in our systems, or as permitted by law. Subject to certain restrictions, you can have an agent exercise your rights for you. If you have an agent exercising your rights, we must be provided with your written authorization allowing that person to make such a request on your behalf. We reserve the right to deny the agent’s request if we are not reasonably able to confirm proper authorization and/or verify your identity as the requestor.

h) Appeal.

You may appeal our refusal to take action on a request by contacting us using the contact details provided in Section 9 below. If your appeal is denied and you are a California resident, you may contact the California Attorney General about the results of the appeal by submitting a complaint by clicking here: https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company

i) California’s “Shine the Light” Law.

California's “Shine the Light” law (Civil Code Section §1798.83) provides certain rights to California residents who have an established business relationship with us with regard to the disclosure of certain types of personal data to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose personal data to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

j) Notice of Financial Incentive

We may offer you certain benefits, such as discounts or extra service quotas (collectively, "Incentives"), when you provide us with personal information (like your email address), for example, when you sign up for our marketing communications or participate in specific promotional programs. Your participation is entirely voluntary. This notice explains these incentive programs.

1. Overview of Our Incentive Programs
   When we offer an Incentive, we will describe the specific terms at that time. Generally, these Incentives involve you providing your personal information (like email address, etc.) in exchange for a benefit. For example: When you subscribe to our marketing emails through pop-up, you may receive an extra 600 minutes of transcription quota. Your email address will be used to send marketing communications and to confirm and issue this extra quota. You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.
2. How to Participate (Opt-In)
   You can opt-in by following the instructions provided when an Incentive is offered. This typically involves providing your personal information in the designated form and clicking the confirmation button (e.g., "Subscribe," "Sign Up", etc.). By taking such action, you are affirmatively opting into the described incentive program.
3. Your Right to Withdraw
   You can withdraw from any incentive program at any time without penalty. Withdrawal will not affect any Incentives you lawfully received before withdrawing, but will terminate your future participation in the program. To withdraw:
   • For Incentives related to marketing emails: Click the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any marketing email from us.
   • Alternatively, or for other situations: Contact us using the details provided in Section 9 ("How to contact us?") of this Privacy Notice, clearly stating that you wish to withdraw from a specific financial incentive program.
   We will process your withdrawal request promptly in accordance with applicable law.

9 EU Representative under Article 27 GDPR

In accordance with Article 27 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Plaud Inc. has appointed Prighter Group as its official representative in the European Union. Prighter serves as our point of contact for data subjects and supervisory authorities in the EU regarding all matters related to data protection and this Privacy Policy.

EU Representative Contact Details:
Prighter Group
Website: https://prighter.com
Contact Portal: https://app.prighter.com/portal/plaud
If you are located in the European Union and wish to exercise your data protection rights under the GDPR, you may contact our EU representative through the above portal or using the contact details provided there.

10 How to contact us?

We are committed to protecting the security of our systems and the privacy of your personal data. If you have any concerns related to security vulnerabilities, privacy practices, or your data protection rights, or if you wish to contact our Data Protection Officer, please contact us using the information below.

Country/Region	Controller Entity	Contact Details	Email Address
North America and South America	PLAUD Inc.	8 The Green, Ste A, Dover, Kent County, Delaware 19901	PrivacyUS@plaud.ai
European Region and the United Kingdom	PLAUD Inc.	8 The Green, Ste A, Dover, Kent County, Delaware 19901	PrivacyEU@plaud.ai
Japan	PLAUD Inc.	8 The Green, Ste A, Dover, Kent County, Delaware 19901	PrivacyJP@plaud.ai
Other countries or regions	PLAUD Inc.	8 The Green, Ste A, Dover, Kent County, Delaware 19901	Privacy@plaud.ai

11 How do we update this Notice?

We will update this Notice in a timely manner, and we recommend that you regularly check the latest version of this Notice via “Privacy Notice” in the website footer. If there are any substantial changes to this Notice, depending on the nature of such changes, we will notify you in advance through pop-ups, push notifications, emails, and other appropriate means.