What data is stored on my device?
TapToSpeak stores the following data locally on your device using your browser's localStorage and IndexedDB:
- Profile information you enter (name, date of birth, address, medical condition, family members, medications)
- App settings (voice selection, speed, button sizes, reminder intervals)
- Communication history (phrases you have spoken, with timestamps)
- Phrase usage frequency (counts of how often each phrase is used)
- Cached audio files (premium voice audio stored in IndexedDB for faster playback)
- Saved locations (if you use the location feature)
This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly use the backup/export feature or use features that require cloud processing (see below).
What data is sent to third-party services?
TapToSpeak uses two third-party AI services to provide premium features. Data is sent only when these features are actively used:
Premium text-to-speech (OpenAI)
When you speak a phrase using a premium voice, the text of your message is sent to OpenAI's text-to-speech API to generate audio. The audio is then cached on your device so the same phrase does not need to be sent again. OpenAI's data usage policy applies to this processing.
Smart suggestions (Anthropic Claude)
When smart suggestions are active, the app sends contextual information to Anthropic's Claude API to rank and suggest relevant phrases. This context may include: time of day, your location label (e.g. "Hospital" or "Home" — not precise coordinates), your recently spoken phrases, your most-used phrases, your medical condition, medication schedule, and family member names. Anthropic's data usage policy applies to this processing.
Fallback: device speech engine
When used offline or when premium voices are unavailable, TapToSpeak uses your browser's built-in Web Speech API. In this mode, no data is sent to any server — speech is generated entirely on your device.
Does TapToSpeak access location?
TapToSpeak may request access to your device's location to provide context-aware phrase suggestions (e.g. suggesting different phrases at the hospital vs. at home). Location access is optional and requires your explicit permission. Your precise coordinates are used only on-device to match against your saved locations. Only the location label (not coordinates) is sent to the suggestion service.
Does TapToSpeak use analytics or tracking?
TapToSpeak offers an opt-in anonymous analytics feature that is off by default. If you choose to enable "Help Improve TapToSpeak" in Settings, the app will send a single anonymous aggregate report once per day containing:
- Counts of how often prebuilt phrase buttons were tapped (by button ID, not text content)
- Counts of custom phrase usage (number of uses and average character length — never the actual text)
- Voice feature usage counts (premium vs. device, success/failure rates)
- Smart suggestion acceptance rates
- App settings snapshot (button size, voice speed, which features are enabled)
- Session count and active minutes for the day
- App version, platform, and locale
This data contains no user ID, device ID, IP address, name, date of birth, medical information, medication names, family member names, or any text you have typed or spoken. Each daily report is statistically independent — there is no way to link reports from different days or identify any individual user. IP addresses are not logged or stored by our server.
TapToSpeak does not use any advertising, crash reporting, or third-party tracking SDKs.
Does TapToSpeak require an account?
No. TapToSpeak does not require an account, login, email address, or any form of registration.
Backup and export
TapToSpeak offers an optional backup feature that encrypts your profile and settings using AES-256-GCM encryption with a password you provide. The encrypted data is encoded into a URL that you can save or share. No backup data is stored on any server.
Children's Privacy
TapToSpeak does not knowingly collect personal information from children. The app is designed for patients of all ages, but a parent or guardian should supervise use by children, particularly when features that send data to third-party services are enabled.
Data Retention
All data stored by TapToSpeak resides on your device. You can clear all app data at any time by clearing your browser's site data for the app. TapToSpeak does not store any user data on its own servers. Data sent to OpenAI and Anthropic is subject to their respective data retention policies.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
If we update this privacy policy, we will post the revised version at this URL (taptospeak.app/privacy) with an updated “Last updated” date. Since we do not have user accounts, we have no way to notify users directly — please check this page periodically.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, contact us at: [email protected]
Indianapolis, Indiana