Long story short.

Who we are

Long Story Short is made by Matrix Rehashed Ltd [company number, registered address]. Questions about privacy: [contact email].

What happens to what you type or paste

Messages are sent to the AI service to translate and are not stored.

When you press Translate, your text goes from your device to our small server, which passes it to our AI provider, OpenAI, to create the translation. The answer comes straight back to you. We do not keep your text or the translation, and we do not write it to any log.

At the same time, your text is also checked by OpenAI's moderation service, only to spot signs that someone may be thinking of harming themselves, so we can show where to get help. Nothing from this check is kept or logged by us.

If you paste someone else's message (for example from WhatsApp), the same applies: it is used only to make your translation and is not stored. Please only paste messages you are comfortable sharing with an AI service.

[Check and state OpenAI's current API data terms here, for example how long it may keep requests for abuse monitoring (OpenAI has said up to 30 days) and that API data is not used for training by default.]

Voice

Voice is turned into text and not kept.

On most phones and in Chrome, your browser turns your speech into text itself, using its own speech service (for example Google's for Chrome or Apple's for Safari). We never receive the audio, only the words that appear in the box.

If your browser can't do that, the app records a short clip (up to 2 minutes) and sends it to our server, which passes it to OpenAI's transcription service to turn it into text. The audio is deleted immediately after it has been turned into text. We never save it or write it to a log. You can always type instead.

Cookies and storage on your device

We use two small cookies. Both are needed for the app to work, and neither is used for advertising or tracking.

• lss_did: a random ID for your phone or browser, so our server can count your free translations each day (3 a day). It contains nothing about you. It lasts 1 year.
• lss_unlock: only set if you enter an unlock code. It's a signed note that this phone or browser is unlocked. It lasts about 13 months and is renewed when you use the app.

Our server keeps a daily counter linked to that random ID, which is deleted automatically after about 26 hours. To stop the free limit being got round by clearing cookies, it also counts translations per network address, but only as a scrambled, one-way code that changes every day. We never store your network (IP) address itself, and these counters are also deleted after about 26 hours.

We also save two small settings on your device: that the "Add to Home Screen" tip on iPhone has been shown, and your last "Reply in" language, so you don't have to pick it again. Neither is sent to us.

[Check whether a cookie notice is needed. These cookies are intended to be "strictly necessary" under UK rules (PECR), which would mean no consent banner.]

If you buy an unlock or gift code

Payments are handled by Ko-fi. We never see your card details. To send you a code we receive your email address and order details from Ko-fi. We keep only what we need to send and check your code, for [period], and we never sell it or use it for marketing without asking.

We store each code only as a scrambled fingerprint, together with whether it has been used, the date it was first used and the random IDs of the phones or browsers that used it. Each code works on up to 2 phones or browsers.

Serious messages

If something you type suggests you may be unsafe or thinking of harming yourself, we will not translate it. We show details of free UK support services instead. We do not save that text either.

Age

Long Story Short is for adults. It is not intended for children. [Confirm the age, for example 18 and over.]

Your rights

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR) you can ask what personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, and complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). Because we do not store your messages, there is normally nothing of yours for us to hand over except any email address linked to a purchase.