Privacy Policy — clir Voice

Last updated: October 22, 2026

1. Who we are, and what this covers

This policy covers our app clir Voice (the "App") for iPhone and Apple Watch, including its widgets, its share extension, and its Siri and Shortcuts actions. The App is provided by clir Technologies GmbH, Stremayrgasse 16, 8010 Graz, Austria (referred to as "clir", "we", "us"). We are the controller responsible for the personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at contact@clir.ai.

Our apps clir Focus and clir Hearing have their own privacy policy, and the clir.ai website has its own notice.

2. The short version

3. Data we process, and why

3.1 Recordings, imports and transcripts — on your device

Everything you record or import, and everything the App makes from it, is stored in the App's own storage on your device and processed there: the audio, the original video of an imported video, transcripts and their word timings, speaker labels and the names you give speakers, generated titles and summaries, and the search index. Searches and questions you ask run on your device too. We never receive any of it. Because it never leaves your device through the App, it is not "collected" within the meaning of data protection law.

The App asks for these permissions:

Audio and video you import from Files, Photos or other apps (for example with "Open in clir Voice" or the share sheet) are read on your device. When you choose a video from Photos, the system's picker runs outside the App: the App receives only the videos you pick and gets no access to your library. A recording, transcript or export leaves your device only when you share or export it yourself. "Copy Text" puts a transcript on this device's clipboard only, not on your other devices'.

While you record, the Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island and your Apple Watch show the recording's title and time. Caption words appear there only if you turn on "Captions on Lock Screen", which is off by default.

Apple Watch. The Watch app talks only to the App on your iPhone. Apple encrypts this traffic end to end with keys that only your paired devices hold; when they aren't near each other, Apple may relay it through its servers, still encrypted. A recording made on the Watch is deleted from the Watch once your iPhone has it.

Backups. Your recordings, transcripts, exports and videos are excluded from iCloud and computer backups by default, so a lost or replaced iPhone takes them with it. If you turn on Captions & Speech → Backup → "Back Up Recordings to iCloud", your next backup includes them. An iCloud Backup is encrypted, but Apple holds the keys unless you have turned on Advanced Data Protection; a computer backup is encrypted only if you chose to encrypt it. The App's settings are always backed up; they contain no titles and no transcript text.

3.2 AI models and our model server

The App's AI models (speech recognition, the Strong and Ultra enhancement, and speaker labels) are not built into the App. They are downloaded from our server once you agree to it, during setup ("Get clir Voice ready") or in Settings → Models; until then, the App doesn't contact our server at all. After that, the App checks our server for updated models when a download starts and at launch, at most every 12 hours.

These are plain file downloads. The App sends no account, installation or device identifier, no cookies and no other data with them. Our server receives your IP address and the standard information every request from an iOS app carries (the App's name and version, and the versions of iOS's network components). For each request it logs the IP address, the time, the requested file (which shows which model was downloaded), the response status, the size and that standard information. We use this to deliver the files and to operate and secure the server. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in delivering the models and running the server securely (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The server's logs are rotated daily and deleted after 14 days.

The server is a virtual server we rent from Hostinger International Ltd. in its data centre in Boston, USA (see sections 5 and 6). No audio and nothing about your recordings is involved: the models are downloaded, then run on your device. Before using a model, the App checks that it carries our signature and is exactly the file we published.

3.3 Apple's speech model

Only if you choose Apple's speech engine: iOS downloads Apple's speech model for your caption language once, so Apple learns which language that is. No audio is sent to Apple.

3.4 Account data

You can create an account with your email address and a password, with Sign in with Apple, or with your Google account. Accounts are run on Firebase Authentication (a Google service).

We use this to operate your account, to keep your free previews and purchases tied to it, and to let you delete it. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

3.5 Free previews

Each account can preview the Strong and Ultra enhancement on two recordings each. So that reinstalling the App doesn't reset this, we store with your account which recordings had a preview, as the App's random recording identifiers, never titles or anything from the recording. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

3.6 Purchases

Subscriptions and purchases are processed entirely by Apple. We never receive your payment details. Apple confirms to the App what you bought so that it can unlock it. Before a purchase, while you are signed in, the App stores a purchase token together with your account ID and the App's installation ID (a random identifier for this installation of the App), so that the purchase can be tied to your account. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

Apple also notifies our backend (Google Cloud Functions and Cloud Firestore) of each event in a subscription, for example a purchase, a renewal, a cancellation or a refund. Each notification contains the product, the price and currency, the App Store country, the dates, Apple's transaction identifiers and the purchase token, through which it is tied to your account. We use these notifications for our revenue statistics and to decide whether the discount below can be offered to you. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in understanding our business (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

If, when you cancel a subscription, the App offers you a discount and you accept it, our backend signs Apple's offer. The discount is available once a year: the backend checks Apple's notifications for whether you redeemed it in the past 12 months, and keeps a record of the offers it signed for your account (when, and for which product and offer). Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).

3.7 Usage statistics and crash reports

These are on by default. Captions & Speech → Analytics → "Share Analytics & Crash Reports" turns everything in this section off at once, and also deletes crash reports not yet sent. While it is off, none of the following is collected.

Legal basis: our legitimate interest in understanding how the App is used and keeping it stable (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

4. What we do not collect

We never receive your audio, your transcripts, your recording titles or anything else from your recordings. The App does not collect your contacts, your photo library, your precise location, health data or the advertising identifier (IDFA). There is no tracking and no tracking prompt.

5. Recipients of data

We use the following processors and recipients:

Each third party listed above is bound by written data-processing or data-protection terms with us that require it to provide the same or equal protection of your data as this policy does, to process it only for the purposes described here, and to apply confidentiality and security obligations at least equivalent to our own; we do not share data with any third party that does not meet that standard.

Nothing from your recordings is shared with any of them, or with anyone else. We do not sell personal data to anyone.

6. International transfers

Some of the providers above process data in the United States. Transfers to Google are protected by the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and/or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, which are designed to ensure that your data continues to receive a level of protection essentially equivalent to the one it has in the European Economic Area. Our model server is in the USA: transfers to Hostinger are protected by the Standard Contractual Clauses in Hostinger's data processing agreement.

7. How long we keep data

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, and erase your personal data, the right to restrict or object to processing, the right to data portability, and the right to withdraw any consent at any time with effect for the future. To exercise these rights, email contact@clir.ai. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehörde, dsb.gv.at).

California residents: we do not sell or share personal information. We do not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

9. Children

The App is not directed at children under 13 (or the higher minimum age of digital consent in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, contact us at contact@clir.ai and we will delete it.

10. Security

All data in transit is protected with TLS. The App checks every model it downloads against our signature before using it, so a model can't be swapped on its way to you. Traffic between your iPhone and Apple Watch is end-to-end encrypted by Apple. Data at rest is stored with the reputable providers listed in section 5, protected by access controls and industry-standard safeguards.

11. Changes to this policy

We will post any changes on this page with an updated date. If a change is material, we will additionally inform you in the App before it takes effect.

12. Contact

clir Technologies GmbH
Stremayrgasse 16, 8010 Graz, Austria
contact@clir.ai