Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 15, 2025

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Realtime Technologies Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (Company No. 08324203), trading as SpeaksToMe, collects, uses, and protects your personal information.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly to us when using SpeaksToMe:

Account Information

  • Name and email address (via third-party sign-in providers)
  • Account preferences and settings

Audiobook Creation Data

  • Responses and preferences you provide during audiobook creation
  • Any content or materials you upload to the service
  • Customization choices and approvals

Payment Information

  • Payment card information (processed and stored securely by our payment processor, not by us)
  • Billing address
  • Transaction history

Usage Data

  • Download activity and timestamps
  • Pages visited and features used
  • Device and browser information
  • IP address and approximate location

Communications

  • Support requests and correspondence
  • Email interactions

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Provide Our Service

  • Generate personalized audiobook content based on your preferences
  • Create and deliver your custom audiobooks
  • Process and store your audiobook files

Process Transactions

  • Process payments securely
  • Maintain transaction records

Communicate With You

  • Send audiobook completion notifications
  • Provide customer support
  • Send important service updates and changes to Terms/Privacy Policy
  • Respond to your inquiries

Improve Our Service

  • Analyze usage patterns to enhance user experience
  • Improve AI generation quality and accuracy
  • Develop new features and products
  • Monitor and prevent technical issues

Legal Compliance

  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Protect against fraud and abuse
  • Enforce our Terms of Service

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

Under GDPR, we process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

  • Contract Performance: Processing necessary to provide our service (audiobook generation, delivery)
  • Legitimate Interests: Improving our service, preventing fraud, customer support
  • Consent: Marketing communications (where required and where you've opted in)
  • Legal Obligation: Compliance with laws (payment records, tax obligations)

5. Information Sharing and Third-Party Services

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We share information only with trusted service providers necessary for our operations:

Essential Service Providers

  • Authentication providers: For secure account sign-in
  • Payment processors: For secure payment processing (we never store your full card details)
  • AI service providers: For content generation and voice synthesis (your data is not used to train their models)
  • Cloud hosting providers: For secure storage and delivery of your audiobook files

These providers receive only the minimum data necessary to provide their specific service and are contractually obligated to protect your information.

Legal Disclosures

We may disclose your information when required by law or to:

  • Comply with legal processes (court orders, subpoenas)
  • Protect our legal rights and property
  • Prevent fraud or abuse
  • Protect the safety of our users or the public

Anonymized Data

We may share anonymized, aggregated data for research and improvement purposes. This data cannot be used to identify you personally.

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:

  • Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest
  • Secure Storage: Data stored on secure cloud infrastructure
  • Access Controls: Limited team access with role-based permissions
  • Authentication: Secure session management and OAuth integration
  • Payment Security: PCI DSS compliant payment processing
  • Regular Audits: Ongoing security monitoring and vulnerability assessments

However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights (GDPR Compliance)

Under GDPR and UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right to Access

You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to Rectification

You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten")

You can request deletion of your personal data through your account settings. Note that we must retain certain data for legal compliance (e.g., payment records for tax purposes).

Right to Restrict Processing

You can request that we limit how we use your personal data in certain circumstances.

Right to Data Portability

You can request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format to transfer to another service.

Right to Object

You can object to processing based on legitimate interests, including for marketing purposes.

Right to Withdraw Consent

Where we process data based on consent, you can withdraw consent at any time.

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@speakstome.ai. We will respond within 30 days as required by GDPR.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and comply with legal obligations:

  • Account data: Until you request deletion or delete your account
  • Audiobook files: Minimum 3 years to allow re-download access
  • Your responses and content: Until you request deletion or delete your account
  • Payment records: 7 years (as required by UK tax law)
  • Support communications: 2 years after last interaction

After deletion, some data may remain in backups for up to 90 days but will not be accessible.

9. International Data Transfers

Realtime Technologies Ltd is a UK company, but our service infrastructure is hosted in the United States. When you use SpeaksToMe, your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States.

We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international transfers, including:

  • Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) with service providers
  • Encryption in transit and at rest
  • Service providers with strong data protection commitments

By using SpeaksToMe, you consent to the transfer of your data to the United States and other jurisdictions where our service providers operate.

10. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Maintain your login session
  • Remember your preferences
  • Analyze service usage

Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and core functionality (cannot be disabled)

You can control non-essential cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect service functionality.

11. Third-Party Links

Our service may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., payment processing). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. Please review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

12. Children's Privacy

SpeaksToMe is not intended for use by individuals under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

Parents/guardians: If you believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@speakstome.ai.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of material changes via:

  • Email notification to your registered address
  • Prominent notice on our website

Your continued use of SpeaksToMe after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

14. Data Protection Officer

For questions about data protection or to exercise your GDPR rights, you can contact our data protection team at privacy@speakstome.ai.

15. Complaints and Supervisory Authority

If you believe we have not handled your personal data properly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority:

  • UK users: Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - ico.org.uk
  • EU users: Your local data protection authority

However, we encourage you to contact us first so we can address your concerns directly.

16. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, to exercise your data rights, or for any privacy concerns, please contact us: