Draft — not in effect yet.
Privacy Policy
The short version. Bean is built to keep your things on your phone. Your recordings, screenshots and voice samples never leave your device. When Bean needs AI to do a job, it sends only what that job needs to an AI provider, which may not use it to train its models. We collect product data (what features are used, what failed, what it cost) to make Bean better — you can turn that off. We never sell your information, never use it for ads, and never track you across other apps.
1. Who we are
Bean is made by Liew Jia Ye ("we", "us"). We are responsible for the information described in this policy. You can reach us at privacy@hibean.app.
2. What stays on your phone
Most of what you put into Bean is stored only on your device, in Bean's private app storage:
- Audio recordings and quick voice notes. The audio file itself is never uploaded to us.
- Screenshots from Screen read and pictures you keep. Raw screen images are never uploaded to us.
- Voice samples ("voiceprints") used to tell speakers apart. These are created and kept only on your phone and are never sent anywhere.
- Your notes, to-dos, contacts, memory, Pages, Blocks, Captures and chat history.
Deleting the app deletes this data from your phone. If you turn on a backup offered by your phone (for example iCloud or Google backup), that copy is handled by Apple or Google under their terms.
3. What we collect
Account and subscription
When you create an account we receive your sign-in details from the provider you choose (Sign in with Apple or Google): an account ID and, if you share it, your email address and name. If you subscribe, Apple or Google processes your payment; we receive only the subscription status (plan, renewal date, trial) — never your card details.
Usage allowance
To run your plan's AI allowance we record how much each AI job cost and which model ran it, linked to your account.
Product data (on by default, you can turn it off)
Linked to a random install ID rather than your name: which screens and features you use; the Blocks, schedules and pieces you build (their type, not their contents); errors, crashes and speed; AI cost per job, the model and prompt version; thumbs-up / thumbs-down counts; and a list of things Bean couldn't do yet (the kind of thing, not your words). This helps us see what works and fix what doesn't. Turn it off any time in Settings › Privacy.
Content to improve Bean (only with your yes)
If you agree, we may also receive examples of your words so we can improve Bean: a chat question and Bean's answer when you tap thumbs-down, the words behind something Bean couldn't do, or the text of a Block you built. We ask once, in plain words, and you can change your answer in Settings › Privacy at any time. In Quebec this is off unless you turn it on. Content marked sensitive (see section 9) is never included.
Support
If you email us, we receive your email address and what you send us, including any file you choose to attach.
We do not collect your precise location, your contacts list, your photos or your calendar on our servers. Bean reads these on your phone only when you allow it and only for the job you asked for (see section 5).
4. How AI requests work
Bean uses AI models from third-party providers to understand speech, read screens, write summaries, answer questions and run your schedules. When a job needs AI, Bean sends the provider only what that job needs — for example the audio of the recording you asked Bean to transcribe, the text read from a screen, or your question with the notes that are relevant to it. Requests pass through our servers so we can pick the right model and count your allowance; we do not store the content of these requests on our servers except as described in section 3 ("Content to improve Bean", only with your yes) or briefly to deliver the result.
Our AI providers process requests under business terms that do not allow them to train their models on your content, and they keep it only for a limited time for safety and abuse monitoring. Today these providers are:
- Anthropic (Claude models) — chat, summaries, planning, screen reading;
- Google (Gemini models) — speech to text, reading pictures and video, web search results;
We list every AI provider here before Bean starts using it. AI output can be wrong; please check anything important.
5. Apps you connect
You can let Bean use other apps and phone features — for example your calendar, contacts, photos, location, email or music service. Bean asks your phone's permission first, uses what it reads only for the job you asked for, and keeps it on your phone. When a job needs AI (for example "summarize today's emails"), only the needed part is sent to an AI provider as described in section 4. You can disconnect an app or remove a permission at any time in Bean's settings or your phone's settings.
Google user data. Bean's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not use Google user data to develop, improve or train generalized AI models, we do not sell it, we do not use it for advertising, and people do not read it unless you ask us to (for support), it is needed for security, or the law requires it.
Bean never sends a message, makes a purchase or deletes something in a connected app without your tap.
6. How we use information
- To provide Bean: run the jobs you ask for, run your schedules, keep your account and subscription working.
- To count and enforce plan allowances and prevent abuse.
- To keep Bean safe and secure and to fix problems.
- To understand which features work and improve Bean (product data, and content only with your yes).
- To answer you when you contact us, and to send service messages (for example about your subscription or a change to this policy).
- To comply with the law.
We do not use your information for advertising, we do not build advertising profiles, and we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.
7. Who we share it with
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share information only with:
| Who | What for |
|---|---|
| AI providers (section 4) | Running the AI jobs you ask for |
| Cloud and database hosting (Supabase) | Accounts, allowances, subscription status, product data |
| Product analytics and crash reporting (added here before we use any) | Product data, when it is on |
| Apple and Google | Sign-in and subscription payments |
| Authorities | When the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety |
| A buyer or successor | If Bean is sold or merged; this policy keeps applying to your information |
These service providers may use your information only to provide their service to us.
8. Other people in your recordings and notes
Recordings, screenshots and notes can include other people. Bean plays a sound when recording starts and stops and shows that it is recording. Some places require everyone's consent before a conversation is recorded — it is your responsibility to follow the law where you are and to tell people when you record them. What Bean learns about people in your life stays on your phone; Bean keeps sensitive facts about others only when someone said them, never guesses them, and never shares them with groups or in product data.
9. Sensitive information
You may tell Bean sensitive things — about your health, money, relationships or beliefs, or other people's. Bean keeps such details only when they were said or typed, never infers them, marks them as sensitive, keeps them on your phone, and never includes them in product data, improvement content, exports or anything shared with others. We use sensitive information only to provide the service you asked for.
10. How long we keep it
- On your phone: until you delete it or delete the app. Some items have their own settings (for example how long screenshots are kept).
- Account and subscription records: while your account is open, then deleted within 30 days of account deletion, except records we must keep by law (for example tax records).
- Product data: up to 24 months, then deleted or made fully anonymous.
- Content shared to improve Bean: up to 24 months, or until you withdraw your yes or delete your account.
- AI requests: not stored on our servers beyond delivering the result; AI providers keep them only for their limited safety retention period.
- Support emails: up to 3 years.
11. Your choices and controls
- Turn product data and content sharing on or off in Settings › Privacy.
- See, fix and delete what Bean knows about you and others in the app.
- Disconnect apps and remove phone permissions at any time.
- Delete your account and the data on our servers in Settings › Account › Delete account, or by following the steps on our support page.
12. Your rights in the United States
Depending on your state (including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon and others), you may have the right to: know what personal information we collect and how we use and disclose it; get a copy of it; correct it; delete it; and opt out of its sale, of sharing for targeted advertising, and of profiling with legal or similarly significant effects. We do not sell personal information, share it for targeted advertising, or use it for such profiling. You will not be treated differently for using your rights.
California notice at collection. In the last 12 months we collected these categories of personal information: identifiers (account ID, install ID, email); commercial information (subscription status); internet or electronic activity (product data); audio and electronic information you choose to send for AI processing (processed, not stored by us); and inferences only as needed to provide features you use. Sources: you, your device and the sign-in and payment providers. Purposes and recipients are in sections 6 and 7; retention in section 10. Sensitive personal information is used only to provide the service, as allowed by law.
To use a right, email privacy@hibean.app from the address on your account, or use the in-app controls. We will verify your request by matching it to your account. You may use an authorized agent; we may ask for proof of their authority. If we deny your request you may appeal by replying to our answer; if we deny the appeal you may contact your state Attorney General. We will honor Global Privacy Control signals on our website.
13. Your rights in Canada
You can ask to access or correct your personal information, withdraw consent (subject to legal or contractual limits), and ask us to delete it. In Quebec, sharing content to improve Bean is off by default, and you can ask for your information in a structured, commonly used format. Our person in charge of the protection of personal information is Liew Jia Ye, founder, reachable at privacy@hibean.app. You may also complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, in Quebec, the Commission d'accès à l'information.
14. Children
Bean is meant for adults 18 and over and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the age of digital consent where you live). If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.
15. Security and where data is stored
We encrypt data in transit and at rest on our servers, limit access to the few people who need it and log that access. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires. Our servers are in the United States. If you use Bean outside the United States, your information may be processed there.
16. Changes to this policy
If we make a material change, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect, and we will ask for your consent where the law requires. The date at the top shows when this policy last changed.
17. Contact us
Liew Jia Ye
Privacy questions: privacy@hibean.app
Help with the app: Support