Privacy Policy
Contents
01.The short version
Minine Aloud is built local-first. Your documents live on your device. We show no ads, we run no third-party trackers, and we do not sell or share your data for advertising. The app's Apple privacy manifest declares no data collected for tracking purposes.
Text leaves your device in exactly two situations, both under your control: when you choose a cloud voice (AWS Polly or Azure Neural) instead of the on-device engine, and when you use an AI feature (summary, outline, highlights, chat). In both cases the text is sent to our backend solely to produce the audio or the answer, and is not used to build a profile of you.
02.What we process, and why
| Data | When | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Document text (chunks being read) | Only when a cloud voice is selected | Synthesize speech via AWS Polly or Azure Neural TTS |
| Document text (passages) | Only when you invoke an AI feature | Generate summaries, outlines, highlights, or grounded answers |
| Device attestation token (Apple App Attest) | On cloud requests | Verify the request comes from a genuine copy of the app; abuse prevention |
| Apple ID identifier or email address | Only if you sign in | Account creation, subscription restore, optional sync |
| Subscription status (from Apple) | If you subscribe | Unlock Pro features; enforce daily quotas |
| Usage quota counters (character / token counts) | On cloud requests | Enforce fair-use daily limits per tier |
We do not collect your reading history, location, contacts, photos, or advertising identifiers. We do not require an account to use the app — you can listen, import, and even purchase Pro anonymously on a single device.
03.What stays on your device
- Your library. Imported PDFs, EPUBs, text files, and pasted text are stored in the app's local database on your device.
- Reading state. Playback positions, bookmarks, highlights, chapters, and reading statistics are stored locally.
- AI results. Summaries, outlines, highlights, and notes generated by AI are stored locally by default. They are only synced if you explicitly enable iCloud sync (§6).
- Audio cache. Synthesized speech from cloud voices is cached on your device so repeat listens don't re-transmit text. You can clear this cache in Settings.
- On-device narration. When you use the Apple engine, synthesis happens entirely on device. No text is transmitted anywhere.
04.Cloud voices and AI features
When you select a cloud voice or use an AI feature, the relevant text is sent over an encrypted connection (TLS) to our backend, hosted on Amazon Web Services, which forwards it to the speech or AI provider:
- AWS Polly — neural text-to-speech synthesis.
- Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services — streaming neural text-to-speech.
- AWS Bedrock — AI summaries, outlines, highlights, and document chat.
Text is processed transiently to produce audio or a response. We do not use your documents to train AI models, and we have configured our providers under terms that prohibit them from using the content to train theirs. Requests are authenticated with short-lived tokens issued after Apple App Attest verification; requests are associated with an app installation or account for quota accounting, not with an advertising profile.
05.Accounts and sign-in
Signing in is optional. If you do, we support two methods:
- Sign in with Apple. We receive a stable pseudonymous identifier from Apple (and your email only if you choose to share it).
- Email verification code. We store your email address to deliver one-time codes and identify your account.
Account records (identifier, subscription tier, quota counters) are stored in our database on AWS. Your subscription itself is managed entirely by Apple; we receive status notifications (App Store Server Notifications) that contain no payment card details.
06.iCloud sync (optional)
iCloud sync is off by default. If you enable it, selected data (such as AI notes, highlights, and outlines) is stored in your personal iCloud container (iCloud.com.mininegame.tts), governed by your Apple ID and Apple's privacy terms. We cannot read the contents of your private iCloud database. Turning sync off stops further uploads; you can remove synced data from iCloud in the app's settings or via iOS storage management.
07.Third-party services
| Provider | Role | Data touched |
|---|---|---|
| Apple (App Store, StoreKit, App Attest, iCloud, Sign in with Apple) | Distribution, payments, attestation, optional sync and sign-in | Subscription status, attestation keys, your iCloud data |
| Amazon Web Services | Backend hosting, Polly TTS, Bedrock AI, storage | Text sent for synthesis/AI; account and quota records |
| Microsoft Azure | Streaming neural TTS | Text sent for synthesis when an Azure voice is selected |
We use no advertising SDKs and no third-party analytics SDKs.
08.Retention and deletion
- Synthesis and AI text is processed transiently and not retained as content on our servers beyond what is needed to complete the request.
- Quota counters are retained on a rolling daily basis.
- Account records are retained while your account exists.
- Everything local is deleted when you delete the app (except data you synced to your own iCloud).
You can delete your account directly in the app (Settings → Account → Delete Account). This removes your account record, server-side identifiers, and associated data from our systems. Subscription billing remains managed by Apple and should be cancelled separately (§9 of the Terms).
09.Your rights
Depending on where you live (e.g. GDPR in the EU/UK, CCPA/CPRA in California, PIPL in China), you may have rights of access, correction, deletion, portability, and objection. Because almost all content lives on your device, most of these you can exercise directly in the app. For anything server-side, email us (§12) and we will respond within 30 days. We do not "sell" or "share" personal information as defined by the CCPA.
10.Children
Minine Aloud is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
11.Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be announced in the app or on this page, with the effective date updated above. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
12.Contact
Privacy questions, data requests, or anything else:
[email protected]