Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information Open Communication Solutions LLC ("Open Communications", "we", "us") collects when you use our website (open-comms.com), our customer portal and Playground (app.open-comms.com), and our desktop app (together, the "Service"), how we use it, and the choices you have.
The short version
- We do not store recordings or transcripts of your calls on our servers. Call audio passes through our servers to be transcribed and translated, and the results are sent back to you.
- We keep what we need to run your account: your email address, your remaining hours, a record of how long your sessions were, and your purchases.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
1. Information we collect
Account information
- Email address. You sign in with a one-time code sent to your email, or with Google. If you use Google, we receive your email address and name from Google; we use the email address to identify your account and do not store your name.
- Sign-in records. One-time codes and session tokens are stored only in scrambled (hashed) form. Codes expire after 10 minutes.
Information that protects the free trial
To stop the same person from creating many free trials, when you create an account we record:
- the internet (IP) address you signed up from;
- a random identifier stored in your browser; and
- a scrambled (hashed) summary of general characteristics of your browser and device, such as screen size, time zone, language and graphics hardware. This summary cannot be turned back into those details and is not used to track you across other websites.
We also keep the IP addresses of recent sign-in requests for up to 24 hours to prevent abuse.
Usage and purchases
- Usage: the date, length and source (Playground or desktop app) of each interpretation session, and the hours you have used and have left.
- Purchases: which hour pack you bought, the amount, the date, refunds, and the reference numbers our payment processor gives us. We never see or store your card number; payments are handled by Stripe.
Call audio, transcripts and translations
When you start a session, the audio you choose to share (your screen or browser tab in the Playground, or your computer's call audio in the desktop app) is sent to our servers and passed to our speech-to-text and translation providers. The resulting text is sent back to your screen.
- Our servers process this audio and text only while the session is running, and do not save it. Recent audio (up to about a minute) may be held in memory so a passage that wasn't recognized the first time can be tried again; it is discarded during the session and never written to disk.
- Transcripts, your notes and the "Context" terms you enter stay in your own browser or on your own computer. You can download or clear them. The desktop app may also keep a log file on your computer that can include transcript text.
- Any glossary or "Context" terms you enter are sent along with the text to be translated so the translation can use them.
Technical logs
Like most online services, our servers keep technical logs for a limited time (such as IP addresses, the pages and features requested, and error messages, which can include your email address) to keep the Service running and secure. These logs do not include your call audio or transcripts.
Our website
Our main website is hosted by Squarespace, which may use cookies and collect visit statistics under its own privacy policy. If you use our contact form, we receive what you type into it.
2. How we use information
- to provide the Service: sign you in, run live transcription and translation, and keep track of your hours;
- to process purchases, refunds and invoices;
- to prevent fraud and abuse, including repeated free trials;
- to answer your questions and send messages about your account (for example sign-in codes and receipts);
- to keep the Service secure and fix problems; and
- to meet legal, tax and accounting obligations.
3. Companies that process information for us
We use the following providers to run the Service. They receive only what they need to do their job, under their own terms and privacy policies:
- Render (and its network provider Cloudflare): hosting of our servers and account database.
- Deepgram: speech-to-text (receives call audio during a session).
- Cerebras: translation (receives transcribed text and your Context terms during a session).
- Stripe: payments, invoices and refunds.
- Google: sending sign-in emails (Google Workspace) and "Continue with Google" sign-in.
- Squarespace: our main website.
- Call audio, transcripts and translations: not stored on our servers.
- Sign-in codes: until used, or 10 minutes. Recent sign-in request records: up to 24 hours. Technical logs: up to 30 days, depending on our hosting provider.
- Account, usage and free-trial protection records: while your account exists. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete them, except anything we must keep.
- Purchase records: as long as required for tax and accounting purposes (typically up to 7 years).
We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect our rights or the safety of others, or as part of a merger or sale of our business (in which case this policy will continue to apply).
4. How long we keep information
5. Your choices and rights
You can ask us to access, correct, export or delete your personal information, or ask questions about how we use it, by emailing nathanielsimon@open-comms.com We will respond within 30 days. Depending on where you live (for example California, or the European Union and United Kingdom), you may have additional rights under local law, including the right to complain to a data protection authority. We will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.
Deleting your account removes your remaining hours, which cannot be restored.
6. Cookies and browser storage
The portal stores your sign-in session and your Playground settings (languages, text size, notes) in your browser's local storage, so you stay signed in and your settings are remembered. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. Google's sign-in button may set its own cookies when used.
7. Other people on your calls
The Service processes the voices of everyone on the calls you use it with. You are responsible for having any notice or consent the law requires before you use the Service on a call (see our Terms of Service).
8. Health and other sensitive information
The Service can be used on calls where sensitive information, including health information, is discussed. We do not currently sign Business Associate Agreements, and the Service is not offered as a HIPAA-covered service. If you are subject to HIPAA or similar rules, check with your compliance team before using the Service for such calls.
9. Security
We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), store sign-in codes and session tokens in scrambled form, and keep service keys on our servers only. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting your information, we will notify you as required by law.
10. Children
The Service is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.
11. Where information is processed
We are based in the United States, and our providers may process information in the United States and other countries.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. We will change the effective date above and, for significant changes, notify you by email or in the portal.
13. Contact
Open Communication Solutions LLC
Email: nathanielsimon@open-comms.com