Privacy Policy

Overview

Background ("we", "our", "us") is a native desktop application that provides real-time meeting transcription and AI-powered insights. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights.

Data that stays on your device

Background is designed to be local-first. The following data is stored exclusively on your machine and is never sent to our servers:

• Meeting transcripts
• AI-generated insights and summaries
• Session history and metadata
• Audio recordings (if saved locally)
• Application settings and preferences

Data processed by third parties

To provide real-time transcription and AI insights, audio and transcript data is streamed to the following services during an active session:

• Speech-to-text provider — Audio is streamed in real time for transcription. Audio is processed in memory and is not stored or retained by the provider after processing.
• AI analysis provider — Transcript context is sent for insight generation. This data is processed in real time and is not stored or used for model training.

We do not sell, share, or transfer your data to any other third parties.

Account data

If you create an account, we collect your email address for authentication and communication purposes. We may also collect basic usage analytics (e.g., app opens, feature usage) to improve the product. This data is anonymised and cannot be linked to specific meeting content.

Audio capture

Background captures audio from your microphone and/or system audio only when you explicitly start a recording session. Audio capture stops immediately when you pause or end a session. We do not capture audio in the background when the app is idle.

Data retention

Since meeting data is stored locally on your device, you have full control over retention. You can delete individual sessions or all data at any time from within the app. We do not retain any meeting data on our servers.

Security

All data transmitted to third-party services is encrypted in transit using TLS. Local data is stored in an encrypted database on your device. We follow industry best practices for application security.

Your rights

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data at any time. Since most data is stored locally, you can manage it directly. For account-related data, contact us at privacy@trybackground.com.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email or an in-app notification. Continued use of Background after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, contact us at privacy@trybackground.com.