Privacy Policy
Hearth Vault preserves a person's voice and life story. That is some of the most personal data there is, and we treat it that way. The short version: your story is yours. We don't sell it, we don't train on it without your permission, and you decide who hears it and when.
Who we are
Hearth Vault is operated by Hearth Vault, LLC ("Hearth Vault," "we," "us"). You can reach us at privacy@hearth-vault.com.
What we collect
- Account information — your name, email, and phone number, and the same for people you invite to record or to ask questions.
- Waitlist information — if you join early access, the email address you provide.
- Recordings — audio (and, where applicable, video) of answers captured during calls.
- Transcripts and derived data — text transcripts of recordings and metadata about the stories captured.
- Voice data — voice recordings and any voice models created from them. Voice data may constitute biometric information under laws such as the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and the EU GDPR.
- Usage data — basic technical logs needed to operate and secure the service.
How we use it
- To provide the service: place calls, ask questions, record, transcribe, and build your private archive.
- To let the people you choose access the archive you create.
- To secure, maintain, and improve the service.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your recordings, transcripts, or voice to train models without your explicit, separate consent.
Your ownership and control
You own your content. You can review, export, or delete your data, and withdraw consent, at any time. When you delete data or withdraw consent, we delete the associated recordings and transcripts and request deletion of any voice model from our processors, subject to legal retention requirements.
Service providers
We rely on a small number of processors strictly to operate the service, for example telephony, speech-to-text transcription, and voice synthesis providers. They process data only on our instructions and may not use it for their own purposes. A current list of these providers is available on request.
Data retention and security
Hearth Vault is built to preserve your archive for the long term: we do not impose an expiration on your content, and we keep it for as long as you maintain your account. You stay in control. You can export or delete your content at any time, and we delete it on request or after you close your account, subject to legal retention requirements. (Where the site says your story lasts "forever," this is what we mean: we never expire it, and how long it is kept is your choice, not ours.) We use encryption in transit and access controls appropriate to the sensitivity of voice and biometric data.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict processing of your data, and to opt out of certain processing. To exercise any right, contact privacy@hearth-vault.com.
Children
Account holders must be adults (18 or older), consistent with our Terms of Service. Hearth Vault is not directed to children. A minor may appear in recordings only with the verifiable consent of a parent or guardian.
Changes
We will post updates here and, for material changes, notify account holders. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.