Ember — Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Overview

Ember is designed to work without an account. We collect the minimum data needed to run the service, and we never sell your data.

Data we collect

• Your library stays on your device — the video files, transcripts, AI summaries, categories, search index, and source links Ember stores are kept in local storage on your iPhone. They are not uploaded to a library of ours and we cannot browse them. Ember does not sync your library to iCloud.
• AI processing uses transient cloud requests — to build the summary and search index for a saved video, Ember sends a compressed excerpt of that video (or, for some sources, its public URL) and short text passages from it to our processing gateway, which forwards them to AI providers (currently Google Gemini via OpenRouter for analysis and OpenAI for search embeddings). These requests are protected by Apple App Attest, are used only to produce your result, and are configured for zero data retention — we do not store your video, transcript, or summary on our servers, and providers are not permitted to retain or train on them. For a personal-library item, the finished summary and search index are stored only on your device.
• Shared folders are the server-storage exception — if you create or join a shared folder, we store the folder name and invite code; a random installation hash; the display name, generated-avatar settings, optional 144-by-144 avatar photo, and subscription-expiry status you use in shared folders; and, for each added item, its public source link, title, platform, media type, duration, category, the adder's display name, AI analysis data, and segment-search embeddings. This lets invited members see the folder and rebuild the item on their own devices without repeating the same AI work. We do not store the item's video or other media bytes on our server. Removing an item deletes its shared item and analysis records; deleting a folder deletes that folder's item, analysis, and membership records.
• App and device identifiers — a random identifier generated by the app, plus app version, language, and operating-system version. It is not your Apple ID and does not identify you across other companies' apps. Apple's App Attest and DeviceCheck are used to verify that requests come from a genuine copy of Ember.
• Anonymous usage events — basic events such as app opens, a save completing, a playback starting, or a search being run. We record the length of a search query, never the query text itself, and never the caption, transcript, summary, or link of any video you saved.
• Requests to the original platform — when you save a link, Ember contacts the source platform (for example Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok) directly from your device to fetch the video and its metadata. Those companies see that request under their own privacy policies. We do not proxy it and we do not log it.

What we don't do

• No account or sign-up is required; we do not collect your email or contacts. If you use shared folders, we do store the display profile described above.
• No advertising SDKs, no cross-app tracking, and no App Tracking Transparency prompt — because there is no tracking to ask about.
• We do not sell or share your data with third parties for marketing.
• We do not use your videos, transcripts, or summaries to train AI models, and our AI providers are contractually barred from doing so.

Purchases

Subscriptions are processed by Apple. We use RevenueCat to check anonymized purchase state (e.g. whether Ember Plus is active) to unlock features, keyed to the same random identifier described above. We never see your payment details.

Storage limits and what deletion means

• The free plan keeps up to 30 saved items; deleting an item frees its slot. Nothing is deleted automatically by Ember.
• If an Ember Plus subscription ends, shared folders you own become read-only but are not deleted.

Data retention & deletion

Your personal library lives on your device, so deleting the app deletes that local library. You can also delete individual videos, or use Privacy → Delete all saved videos, at any time. Removing a shared item or deleting a shared folder deletes the corresponding server records as described above. A shared display profile can remain associated with the random installation hash after you leave a folder; to request deletion of that profile or other server data that is not available through the app, email us at the address below. Anonymous usage events are tied to a random device identifier, not to your identity; that identifier is abandoned when you delete the app. You can export your locally saved data as a JSON file from Privacy → Export my data.

Contact

Questions? Email haeundaekiwi@gmail.com.