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Privacy Policy

Effective date: December 21, 2025

Talk and Comment LLC ("Talk and Comment", "TAC", "we", "us") provides the Talk and Comment website and web app at https://talkandcomment.com and the Talk and Comment Chrome Extension (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share information when you use the Service.

This Privacy Policy is incorporated into our Terms of Service (https://talkandcomment.com/legal/tos).

1. Definitions

  • "Personal information" / "personal data" means information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked with an individual.
  • "Student data" means personal data relating to a student that we process in an educational context.
  • "Content" means recordings, transcripts, summaries, and other materials you create, upload, or share through the Service.
  • "Service provider" means a vendor that processes information on our behalf to provide the Service.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Account and profile information

We collect information you provide to create or manage an account, including:

  • Email address.
  • Authentication and account identifiers (for example, user IDs, user hashes, device/extension identifiers).
  • Name, profile photo, and locale when provided (for example, via Google sign-in).
  • Account settings (including education-related settings and feature preferences).

2.2 Educational context information

If you use the Service in an educational context, we may collect or process:

  • Account role and context indicators (for example, teacher/student selection).
  • Settings related to classroom use, including under-13 restrictions and consent-related flags.

2.3 Recordings and content

When you use the Service, we collect and process:

  • Audio recordings you create or upload.
  • Recording metadata such as timestamps, recording length, and the source page URL where a recording was made.

2.4 Transcripts and summaries (AI features)

If you enable transcription or summary features, we may:

  • Send audio (or portions of audio) to one or more transcription providers to generate transcripts (currently OpenAI managed Whisper; we may use other providers over time).
  • Generate and store transcripts.
  • Generate and store summaries derived from transcripts.

2.5 Usage, diagnostics, and analytics

We collect usage and diagnostic information to operate and improve the Service, including:

  • IP address, browser type, user agent, pages viewed, request IDs, and similar log/diagnostic data.
  • Analytics event data such as feature usage, extension version, locale, and UI context (for example, popup/options/content).

2.6 Communications, support, and sales

We collect information when you communicate with us, including:

  • Support requests and feedback.
  • Demo or sales requests (for example, name, email, organization, role, use case, team size, timeline, consent, source path) and the IP address used to submit the request.

2.7 Payments and subscriptions

If you purchase a subscription, our payment processor (Stripe) collects payment details. We receive billing and subscription metadata such as:

  • Stripe customer and subscription identifiers.
  • Subscription tier and status (for example, trialing/active/past due/canceled).

2.8 Cookies and local storage

  • The website uses cookies or similar technologies for authentication, security, preferences, and analytics.
  • The Chrome Extension uses browser storage for settings, user identifiers, queued uploads (for offline retry), and analytics event queues.

3. How we use information

We use information to:

  • Provide and operate the Service (recording, uploading, playback, sharing, account management).
  • Transcode audio for compatibility and playback.
  • Provide optional features such as transcription and summaries when enabled.
  • Send communications, including account and product emails, and optional weekly digest emails (managed in Settings).
  • Process subscriptions, billing, and customer support.
  • Monitor, maintain, and secure the Service, including preventing abuse and enforcing usage limits.
  • Analyze usage and improve reliability and user experience.

4. How we share information

We share information with service providers that help us operate the Service, including:

  • Hosting and database: DigitalOcean.
  • Audio storage and delivery: Amazon Web Services S3 and CloudFront.
  • Analytics: PostHog and Google Analytics (GA4).
  • Email delivery: Postmark.
  • Payments: Stripe.
  • Operational tooling: internal workflow automation and team messaging tools used to operate the Service (for example, routing support/sales requests and subscription events).
  • Transcription providers (when enabled): OpenAI managed Whisper (currently) and potentially other transcription providers over time.

We may also share information:

  • For legal reasons: to comply with law, regulation, legal process, or lawful government requests.
  • Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets.

4.1 No sale / no targeted advertising to students

  • We do not sell personal information for money.
  • We do not use student data for targeted advertising.

5. Public sharing and link-accessible content

The Service supports sharing recordings via player links. Anyone with the link can access the recording and associated player page. We do not provide access controls for shared links.

If you share a recording link, you are responsible for choosing recipients and for the content you share. Do not share recordings that contain sensitive or confidential information unless you intend for link recipients to access it.

6. Cookies, analytics, and "Do Not Track"

We use analytics tools to understand how the Service is used and to improve reliability. Depending on your location, certain analytics cookies or similar technologies may require consent under applicable law; you can control cookies through your browser settings.

Your browser may offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting. Because there is no consistent industry standard for DNT, the Service does not currently respond to DNT signals.

7. Education privacy, FERPA, and COPPA

7.1 FERPA

When a school or educational institution uses the Service, we may process student data to provide the Service for legitimate educational purposes. Where a school uses the Service under a written agreement with us, we can act as a service provider/"school official" under FERPA consistent with that agreement. Requests to access, correct, or delete student records should generally be made through the educational institution, and we will assist institutions as required by applicable law and applicable contractual terms. If your institution requires specific contractual assurances, contact us.

7.2 COPPA

The Service is not directed to children under 13 for general consumer use. In educational contexts, schools may provide consent on behalf of parents where permitted by law. For accounts identified as under 13, the Service may restrict functionality (for example, "read-only"/"viewing-only" mode where the user can play shared recordings via the TAC inline player but cannot create new recordings) unless appropriate consent and permissions are provided.

If you believe we have collected personal information from a child under 13 in a manner inconsistent with COPPA, contact us at support@talkandcomment.com.

8. GDPR (EEA/UK) - legal bases and rights

8.1 Legal bases

If you are located in the EEA/UK, we process personal data under one or more of the following legal bases, as applicable:

  • Contract: to provide the Service.
  • Legitimate interests: to secure, maintain, and improve the Service (for example, fraud prevention, reliability, analytics).
  • Consent: where required (for example, certain marketing communications or cookies).
  • Legal obligation: to comply with applicable laws.

8.2 Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to request:

  • Access to your personal data.
  • Correction of inaccurate data.
  • Deletion of your data.
  • Restriction of processing.
  • Data portability.
  • Objection to processing.
  • Withdrawal of consent (where processing is based on consent).

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.

9. California (CCPA/CPRA) notice

9.1 Categories of personal information

In the last 12 months, we may have collected the following categories of personal information (depending on how you use the Service):

  • Identifiers: name, email address, IP address, account IDs, device/extension identifiers.
  • Internet or network activity: interactions with our site/app/extension, analytics events, logs.
  • Audio information: recordings you create or upload.
  • Inferences: settings or usage patterns (for example, selected use case) used to personalize your experience.
  • Sensitive personal information (as defined by CPRA): account login credentials and, depending on content, recordings/transcripts may include sensitive information you choose to include.

9.2 Sources and purposes

We collect personal information from:

  • You and your device/browser/extension.
  • Third-party identity providers (for example, Google sign-in).
  • Payment processors (Stripe) for subscription status and billing metadata.

We use personal information for the purposes described in Section 3.

9.3 Disclosures

We may disclose personal information to service providers and processors described in Section 4.

9.4 Sale / sharing

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

9.5 Your California privacy rights

Subject to applicable law, California residents may have the right to:

  • Know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collected.
  • Delete personal information.
  • Correct inaccurate personal information.
  • Opt out of sale or sharing (if applicable).
  • Limit the use of sensitive personal information (if applicable).

We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

To submit a request, email support@talkandcomment.com with the subject "Privacy Request" and describe your request. We may need to verify your identity.

10. Data retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Service and for legitimate business purposes such as maintaining records, complying with legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing agreements.

You can delete recordings through the Service (where available) and request account deletion by contacting us.

11. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

12. International transfers

We are a US-based company and may process information in the United States and other jurisdictions where our service providers operate.

13. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will update the effective date and, when appropriate, provide additional notice.

14. Contact

Email: support@talkandcomment.com For education privacy questions, include "Education Privacy" in the subject line.

Questions about this policy? Contact us at support@talkandcomment.com

For education privacy questions, include "Education Privacy" in the subject line.