Privacy Policy

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal information and service-related information processed through ReadThisAloud.com, ReadThisAloud customer accounts, the ReadThisAloud Windows application, license and activation services, payment-related account functions, support interactions, and cloud-enabled narration services controlled by or provided on behalf of ReadThisAloud.

This Policy does not govern independent third-party websites, products, or services that ReadThisAloud does not control. Those third parties maintain their own privacy practices and terms.

2. Who We Are and Our Privacy Role

ReadThisAloud is based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Depending on the context, ReadThisAloud may act as a business, controller, service provider, or processor of personal information as those terms are used under applicable privacy laws.

For example, ReadThisAloud generally determines how account, subscription, licensing, security, support, and website information is used to operate the service. When a business customer provides employee or organizational content for narration, the business customer may determine the purpose of that processing and ReadThisAloud may process the content on the customer’s behalf, subject to applicable agreements.

3. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you use ReadThisAloud. It may include:

• Account information: name, email address, account identifier, password-related authentication records, account status, and preferences.
• Subscription and transaction information: plan, billing frequency, purchase date, renewal status, transaction identifiers, tax-related information, refund status, and limited payment-related information received from Stripe.
• License and device information: license identifiers, activation records, device identifiers or device fingerprints, operating-system version, application version, installation status, activation dates, and deactivation history.
• Usage information: narration usage totals, characters or service units processed, voice selected, request timestamps, feature use, error events, and service-performance metadata.
• Technical information: IP address, browser type, device type, network information, security logs, authentication events, referring pages, and website/application diagnostics.
• Customer Content: documents, text, or portions of text you provide when requesting narration or related Reader functionality.
• Support information: messages, screenshots, diagnostic files, attachments, application logs, document samples you intentionally provide for troubleshooting, and records of support interactions.
• Communications information: information contained in sales, billing, support, account, or other communications with ReadThisAloud.

We seek to collect and retain only information reasonably necessary to provide, administer, secure, support, and improve ReadThisAloud and to meet legal, accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, and contractual obligations.

4. Customer Documents, Text, and Other Customer Content

Your Customer Content remains yours. ReadThisAloud does not acquire ownership of your document simply because you open it, paste it, or request narration through ReadThisAloud.

The application may access and process text from supported files, including PDF, Word, TXT, or pasted content, so that it can display, navigate, segment, highlight, and narrate the material.

ReadThisAloud’s service is designed so that text needed for narration is transmitted for processing and is not maintained by ReadThisAloud as a permanent customer-document repository. Operational systems may temporarily hold data in memory, queues, buffers, transient caches, request payloads, or diagnostic processes as technically necessary to complete the request, secure the service, or troubleshoot a customer-authorized support issue.

ReadThisAloud may retain non-content operational records associated with narration, such as account or license identifier, timestamp, voice or service selection, amount of text processed, usage totals, request status, error code, and other metadata needed for billing, metering, fraud prevention, service reliability, and support.

If you voluntarily send ReadThisAloud a document, screenshot, sample text, or diagnostic package for Support, that material may be retained with the support case for as long as reasonably necessary to investigate, document, and resolve the issue and to protect ReadThisAloud in the event of a dispute.

5. Natural Voice and Microsoft Azure Speech Processing

ReadThisAloud uses cloud-based speech technology to provide supported natural narration. ReadThisAloud may use Microsoft Azure Speech Services or successor providers as part of the speech-processing infrastructure.

When narration is requested, the text necessary to synthesize the requested speech may be transmitted through ReadThisAloud-controlled systems to the applicable cloud speech provider. Protected Azure subscription credentials, private API keys, and backend service secrets are intended to remain on controlled server infrastructure rather than being distributed to customer computers.

For Microsoft Azure’s real-time text-to-speech service, Microsoft currently states that it does not retain or store text provided for real-time speech synthesis and does not store audio generated through the real-time synthesis API. Microsoft also states that customer data is not used to improve its Speech models. Provider practices can change, and specific batch, customization, debugging, or future features may have different processing or storage behavior.

If ReadThisAloud materially changes its speech architecture in a way that changes how Customer Content is stored or used, ReadThisAloud will update this Policy or provide another appropriate notice as required by law.

6. Generated Audio and WAV Exports

Audio produced during a reading session may be delivered to the application for playback. When you choose to export narration to WAV, the exported file is generally saved to the location you select on your computer or storage system.

ReadThisAloud does not claim ownership of Generated Audio solely because it was created through ReadThisAloud, subject to your rights in the underlying content, the EULA, applicable law, and applicable third-party service terms.

You are responsible for securing exported audio files on your own devices and for determining whether you have the legal right to retain, distribute, publish, transmit, monetize, or otherwise use the resulting audio.

7. Account, Authentication, Licensing, and Device Data

ReadThisAloud may process account, authentication, license, and device information to create accounts, prevent unauthorized access, enforce seat and device limits, validate subscriptions, detect misuse, restore legitimate access, and provide customer support.

Device and licensing records may include identifiers that help distinguish one authorized installation from another. These records are not intended to give ReadThisAloud remote ownership of your computer; they are used to administer the software license, protect ReadThisAloud against license abuse, and help customers manage permitted device changes.

Security logs may be retained for a period longer than ordinary usage records when reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, credential abuse, suspicious access, chargebacks, license circumvention, security incidents, or legal claims.

8. Payments, Billing, and Stripe

ReadThisAloud uses Stripe to process supported online payments. When you enter payment-card information through a Stripe-enabled checkout, Stripe receives and processes the payment information necessary to complete the transaction.

ReadThisAloud is not designed to receive or store your raw full payment-card number or card security code on its own application servers. ReadThisAloud may receive limited payment and transaction information from Stripe, such as payment status, card brand, last four digits, expiration information, transaction identifier, customer identifier, billing name or address, tax information, refund status, and fraud or risk signals where provided.

We use transaction information to provide subscriptions, issue receipts, manage renewals and cancellations, process refunds, respond to disputes and chargebacks, detect fraud, reconcile accounting records, and satisfy tax and legal requirements.

Stripe independently processes personal information under its own privacy terms and may use information as necessary to provide payment, fraud-prevention, tax, and related financial services.

9. Website Technologies, Cookies, and Local Storage

ReadThisAloud.com may use cookies, session storage, local storage, server logs, or similar technologies for essential website functions such as authentication, account security, session continuity, preferences, fraud prevention, and reliable operation.

If ReadThisAloud uses optional analytics, advertising, or other non-essential technologies that require consent or an opt-out under applicable law, ReadThisAloud will provide appropriate notice and controls where required.

Browser settings can often block or delete cookies, but disabling essential cookies may prevent login, account, checkout, security, or preference functionality from operating correctly.

10. Support, Diagnostics, and Customer Communications

When you contact ReadThisAloud, we may keep the content of your request, contact information, case history, attachments, diagnostics, troubleshooting steps, and resolution notes. These records help us solve problems, train support personnel, identify recurring defects, document customer instructions, prevent fraud, and defend against disputes.

Please do not send passwords, private API keys, full payment-card numbers, government-classified information, or other secrets in a support message. If a document sample is not required to diagnose a problem, remove confidential information before sending it.

11. How We Use Information

ReadThisAloud may use information described in this Policy to:

• provide, operate, maintain, and improve ReadThisAloud;
• create and administer customer accounts;
• authenticate users and secure accounts;
• activate, validate, suspend, restore, and administer licenses and devices;
• process narration and related Reader functionality;
• meter usage and enforce plan limits;
• process purchases, subscriptions, renewals, cancellations, taxes, refunds, and chargebacks;
• provide support and troubleshoot technical problems;
• monitor performance, reliability, availability, and product quality;
• detect and prevent fraud, abuse, unauthorized redistribution, credential compromise, and security threats;
• send service, security, billing, legal, and account communications;
• send marketing communications where permitted and subject to available opt-out rights;
• comply with legal obligations and valid legal process;
• establish, exercise, or defend legal rights and claims; and
• support corporate transactions, audits, accounting, and legitimate business administration.

12. Legal Bases for Processing

Where applicable law requires a legal basis for processing, ReadThisAloud relies on one or more of the following depending on the activity:

• Contract: processing necessary to provide the software, account, subscription, narration, support, or other service you requested.
• Legitimate interests: operating and improving the service, preventing fraud and abuse, protecting accounts, enforcing licenses, securing infrastructure, and managing business operations where those interests are not overridden by applicable individual rights.
• Consent: where you have affirmatively agreed to a particular optional use and consent is legally required.
• Legal obligation: processing needed to satisfy tax, accounting, regulatory, court-order, fraud-prevention, or other legal obligations.
• Legal claims and vital interests: where processing is necessary to protect rights, safety, property, or legal interests as permitted by law.

13. When We Disclose Information

ReadThisAloud may disclose information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: to hosting, cloud, speech, payment, email, security, analytics, customer-support, accounting, or other vendors that help operate the service.
• Microsoft Azure: to process supported natural speech requests and related cloud infrastructure functions.
• Stripe: to process payments, recurring billing, refunds, fraud controls, and related financial functions.
• Business-account administrators: where a business or organization purchased and manages your seat, its authorized administrator may receive account, seat, licensing, device, and usage information appropriate to administering that organization’s account.
• Professional advisers: to attorneys, accountants, insurers, auditors, or consultants where reasonably necessary and subject to appropriate duties of confidentiality.
• Legal or safety purposes: where disclosure is required or permitted by applicable law, legal process, or to protect rights, safety, security, property, users, ReadThisAloud, or the public.
• Corporate transactions: in connection with an actual or proposed merger, financing, acquisition, restructuring, bankruptcy, or sale of business or assets, subject to appropriate protections.
• With your direction or consent: when you ask us to disclose information or otherwise authorize the disclosure.

15. Data Retention

ReadThisAloud retains different categories of information for different periods based on operational need, contract requirements, security, accounting, taxation, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, and legal obligations.

• Customer Content used for standard narration: designed for transient processing rather than permanent ReadThisAloud document storage.
• Account records: generally retained while the account is active and for a reasonable period afterward for support, security, reactivation, compliance, or legal purposes.
• Billing and transaction records: may be retained for periods required by tax, accounting, payment-network, fraud, and legal requirements.
• License and security records: may be retained as needed to administer license history, prevent abuse, investigate suspicious activity, and defend legal claims.
• Support records: may be retained for service history, quality, product improvement, dispute resolution, and legal protection.
• Website and technical logs: retained for periods appropriate to security, diagnostics, reliability, fraud prevention, and infrastructure operations.

When retention is no longer reasonably necessary, ReadThisAloud may delete, anonymize, aggregate, or otherwise de-identify information, subject to backup cycles, legal holds, and technical limitations.

16. Security

ReadThisAloud uses administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information appropriate to the nature of the service. These may include access controls, authentication, encryption in transit, credential separation, server-side protection of cloud secrets, logging, monitoring, software updates, network security, and service-provider security controls.

No internet service, software application, network, database, device, or transmission method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You are responsible for protecting your own password, computer, email account, exported audio, downloaded installers, and local documents.

If you believe your ReadThisAloud account or license has been compromised, contact Support promptly.

17. Business, Employer, School, and Organizational Accounts

If your ReadThisAloud access is provided by an employer, school, government agency, or other organization, that organization may control your seat and may receive administrative information such as account assignment, subscription status, device activation, usage totals, or other information needed to administer its purchase.

The organization is responsible for providing any notices and obtaining any permissions required for personal information or documents it instructs its users to process through ReadThisAloud.

Business customers that require a data-processing addendum, security review, procurement documentation, or specialized privacy terms should contact ReadThisAloud before deploying the service.

19. Children’s Privacy

ReadThisAloud is not directed to children under thirteen (13), and ReadThisAloud does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through a consumer account without legally sufficient authorization.

Schools, parents, guardians, or organizations that wish to use ReadThisAloud with minors are responsible for determining and satisfying applicable consent, notice, contracting, and student-data requirements before doing so.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to ReadThisAloud in a manner that violates applicable law, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

20. Your Privacy Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live and subject to legal exceptions, you may have rights concerning personal information that ReadThisAloud maintains about you. Those rights may include:

• requesting confirmation of whether ReadThisAloud processes your personal information;
• requesting access to or a copy of personal information;
• requesting correction of inaccurate personal information;
• requesting deletion of qualifying personal information;
• requesting a portable copy of certain information;
• objecting to or restricting certain processing where applicable;
• withdrawing consent for future processing where processing is based on consent;
• opting out of certain marketing communications;
• requesting information about categories of information collected, used, or disclosed; and
• appealing certain privacy-request decisions where applicable law provides that right.

Rights are not absolute. ReadThisAloud may retain or continue processing information where permitted or required for contracts, security, fraud prevention, tax, accounting, legal claims, compliance, freedom of expression, or other legally recognized purposes.

21. U.S. State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain U.S. states may have additional rights under state consumer privacy laws. Where such a law applies to ReadThisAloud, we will honor verified requests and opt-out rights required by that law.

ReadThisAloud does not sell Customer Content. ReadThisAloud does not knowingly exchange private customer documents for monetary consideration. If ReadThisAloud ever begins engaging in activity that legally constitutes a “sale,” “sharing,” or targeted advertising requiring an opt-out, ReadThisAloud will provide the notices and controls required by applicable law.

You may use an authorized agent to submit a request where permitted. ReadThisAloud may require evidence of the agent’s authority and may verify your identity directly before completing the request.

ReadThisAloud will not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right. Legitimate differences based on the information required to provide a service, account, subscription, or license are not unlawful discrimination.

22. Users Outside the United States and International Transfers

ReadThisAloud is operated from the United States and uses service providers that may process information in the United States or other countries. Privacy and data-protection laws may differ from those in your country of residence.

Where required, ReadThisAloud will use legally recognized mechanisms or contractual protections for international transfers of personal information.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another jurisdiction with similar rights, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, restrict, object to, or obtain portability of personal information, subject to applicable legal conditions. You may also have the right to complain to your local data-protection authority.

23. Email, Service Messages, and Marketing Communications

ReadThisAloud may send transactional or service-related communications regarding your account, security, subscription, license, payment, support case, product changes, legal terms, or other information reasonably necessary to provide the service. You generally cannot opt out of essential service communications while maintaining an active account where those messages are necessary to administer the service.

Marketing communications, when sent, will include an unsubscribe mechanism where required. Opting out of marketing does not prevent ReadThisAloud from sending necessary account, billing, security, legal, or support messages.

24. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Signals

Browser “Do Not Track” signals are not interpreted consistently across the internet. ReadThisAloud will respond to legally recognized opt-out preference signals, such as Global Privacy Control, when and to the extent required by applicable law and relevant to the processing performed by ReadThisAloud.

Because ReadThisAloud does not currently describe Customer Content as being sold or used for cross-context behavioral advertising, an opt-out signal does not prevent processing that is necessary to provide your account, subscription, security, licensing, or requested narration.

25. Legal Requests, Safety, Fraud, and Protection of Rights

ReadThisAloud may preserve, access, or disclose information when we reasonably believe doing so is required by law, valid legal process, court order, subpoena, governmental request, tax or regulatory obligation, or where legally permitted to investigate fraud, security threats, license abuse, chargebacks, unlawful conduct, or threats to the rights, property, or safety of ReadThisAloud, customers, service providers, or others.

Where legally permitted and appropriate, ReadThisAloud may challenge requests that are overbroad, invalid, or inconsistent with applicable law.

26. Corporate Transactions and Business Transfers

If ReadThisAloud is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, sale of assets, or transfer of all or part of the ReadThisAloud business, information may be disclosed or transferred as part of due diligence or the transaction. Any successor will be subject to applicable privacy obligations for personal information it receives.

27. Third-Party Services and Links

ReadThisAloud may rely on or link to third-party services. Known service categories include cloud infrastructure and speech processing, payment processing, email, hosting, security, and other operational providers.

Microsoft and Stripe maintain their own privacy documentation. Their independent processing is governed by their respective terms and privacy practices. ReadThisAloud is not responsible for a third party’s independent website or service that is outside ReadThisAloud’s control.

28. Changes to this Privacy Policy

ReadThisAloud may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the product, speech architecture, payment system, legal requirements, service providers, security practices, or business operations. The current version will display an updated effective date.

If a change materially alters how we use personal information in a manner that requires additional notice or consent, ReadThisAloud will provide the notice or obtain the consent required by applicable law.

Your continued use of the service after an updated Policy becomes effective is subject to applicable law and does not replace affirmative consent where affirmative consent is legally required.

29. Contact Us and Submit a Privacy Request

Questions about this Policy or requests to exercise applicable privacy rights may be directed to:

To protect customers from unauthorized disclosure or deletion, ReadThisAloud may verify your identity before completing a privacy request. Verification may require information reasonably related to your Account. Please do not send a password or full payment-card number.

If ReadThisAloud cannot fulfill a request, we may explain the reason where required by law and provide information about any available appeal process.