This is our formal Privacy Policy. For a plain-language picture of exactly what leaves your device, the two-zone summary in Section 2 is the heart of it — where they differ, this Policy governs.
1. Who we are
Snapi (“Snapi”, “we”, “us”) is a Windows and macOS desktop application operated by Snapi INC., a Delaware corporation. For the EU/UK GDPR, Snapi INC. is the data controller for the limited personal data we process. For the CCPA/CPRA, we are a business.
Contact: support@snapi.gg
2. The two-zone reality — what stays on your device, and the one thing that leaves
Zone 1 — Local (never leaves your machine, no account, no cloud sync). Stored only in your app-data folder (%APPDATA%\Snapi on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Snapi on macOS) on your own device: your snip images, the on-device-recognized (OCR) text, the AI answers, your full-text search index, your study cards, the local search embeddings, and your AI key. There is no Snapi cloud copy of your memory. We never receive it.
Zone 2 — Egress to your chosen AI provider (only to answer a snip). To answer the region you snip, Snapi sends that one captured image plus our fixed instruction prompt to the API of the model you pick. By default, and for every free-tier model, that provider is the Google Gemini API. Pro users can pick a model from another provider, in which case the same snip + prompt goes instead to that provider: OpenAI (for GPT / ChatGPT models) or Anthropic (for Claude models). Each snip is sent to only one provider — whichever model answers it. In grounded / fact-check modes only, a Google Search query derived from your snip is also sent (grounding is a Gemini-only feature). Once per snip, a short slice of OCR/answer text is sent to Google to build the local search embedding. Follow-up questions you type about a snip are sent — with that snip — to the provider of the model answering them. Nothing else leaves your device. Text recognition runs entirely on your device and is never sent anywhere for recognition.
Plainly: “Your memory is local” is true. “Nothing ever leaves your machine” is not — the pixels you choose to snip are sent to your chosen AI provider (Google, OpenAI, or Anthropic) to answer them.
3. Information we collect
(a) Snip content & derived data. The captured image, its OCR text, the AI answer, embeddings, and study cards. Stored locally on your device; the image (and the limited text above) is transmitted to the AI provider of the model you pick — Google Gemini, OpenAI, or Anthropic — to generate an answer.
(b) Your AI key. If you use your own key, it is stored locally and encrypted at rest — on Windows with DPAPI (bound to your Windows account), on macOS with AES-GCM under a key held with user-only permissions in your app-data (protected by your account and disk encryption). We never receive or store your key on any server.
(c) Website & account data (snapi.gg). When you create an account or sign in, we store your email and a user identifier. Standard server logs (IP, user-agent, pages viewed) apply to the website.
(d) Billing data (Pro / Student plans). When you subscribe, our payment processor Stripe collects your email, payment-card token, billing details, and subscription status. We receive a limited record (email, plan, renewal date, payment status). For the student rate, we record only the fact that an eligible .edu email was verified — never your card data.
We do not collect rosters, grades, or student records into any Snapi database.
4. Why we process it, and our legal bases (GDPR Art. 6)
| What | Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sending your snip to your chosen AI provider (Google, OpenAI, or Anthropic) | To generate the answer you requested | Contract |
| Local storage of snips / answers / cards | Your searchable local memory | Contract |
| Account & billing | Run your subscription, take payment | Contract / Legal obligation (tax) |
| Website logs / essential cookies | Run and secure the website | Legitimate interests |
We do not use your snips for advertising, profiling, or to train any AI model of our own.
5. Who we share data with (subprocessors)
We keep a deliberately short subprocessor list:
- Google LLC — Gemini API (USA): receives the snipped image + prompt to generate the answer when you use a Gemini model (the default, and all free-tier models).
- OpenAI, L.L.C. — OpenAI API (USA): receives the snipped image + prompt to generate the answer when a Pro user picks a GPT (ChatGPT) model.
- Anthropic PBC — Anthropic (Claude) API (USA): receives the snipped image + prompt to generate the answer when a Pro user picks a Claude model.
- Google LLC — Google Search (USA): in grounded / fact-check modes only, receives the search query.
- Stripe, Inc. (USA): payment processing for paid subscriptions.
We ship no third-party analytics, advertising, crash-reporting, or cloud-sync subprocessor in the desktop app.
6. What our AI providers do with the snips we send
Snapi’s managed service uses each provider’s paid, billing-enabled API tier. On these paid API tiers, none of Google, OpenAI, or Anthropic uses your prompts (including images) or the responses to train their models by default; each retains data only briefly, for abuse, safety, and legal purposes, then deletes it. These are the providers’ own policies and may change — the summaries below are current as of the last-updated date, and each provider’s linked terms govern.
Google (Gemini). We run on a paid, billing-enabled Google Gemini project. Under Google’s terms for paid Gemini API services: no model training on your prompts (including images) or responses; short retention (currently up to ~55 days) solely for abuse/safety/legal, then expires; no human review on the paid tier. The free Google AI Studio tier is different and we do not use it for your data. See terms, data-usage, and ZDR.
OpenAI (GPT / ChatGPT). We use OpenAI’s paid API tier. Under OpenAI’s API data-usage policy, OpenAI does not train its models on data submitted through the API, and retains API inputs and outputs only for a limited period (generally up to ~30 days) for abuse and misuse monitoring, then deletes them. See OpenAI API data-usage policies.
Anthropic (Claude). We use Anthropic’s paid API tier. Under Anthropic’s Commercial Terms and privacy policy, Anthropic does not train its models on your API inputs or outputs by default, and retains them only for a limited period for safety and abuse monitoring, then deletes them. See Anthropic Commercial Terms and Privacy Policy.
7. International data transfers
Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Stripe are US-based, so using Snapi from the EEA/UK/Switzerland involves a transfer to the United States. Where required, these transfers rely on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum) in these providers’ data-processing terms. Because the only personal data that leaves your device is the content you choose to snip, the volume transferred is minimized by design.
8. How long we keep data
- On your device (Zone 1): kept until you delete it. Deleting a snip removes its image, text, answer, embedding, and cards. We have no access to it.
- At the AI provider (Zone 2): on the paid API tiers of Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic, prompts/responses are not used for training and are held only in a short-lived abuse/safety log (Google currently up to ~55 days; OpenAI generally up to ~30 days; Anthropic a similarly limited period). Your in-app delete is immediate on your machine but cannot reach a provider’s transient abuse log, which self-expires.
- Billing records: kept as required by tax/accounting law (typically up to 7 years), then deleted.
- Website logs: kept briefly for security and diagnostics.
9. Children & students
Snapi is a general-audience study aid, not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. We are a direct-to-individual app; FERPA binds schools, not us, and we do not claim to be “FERPA compliant.”
10. Your privacy rights
Because your snip memory lives on your own device, you can exercise most rights yourself, immediately: view, delete a single snip, or “Wipe everything” to erase all local memory. For data we do hold (account, website, and billing data), EEA/UK users have the GDPR rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection; California residents (CCPA/CPRA) have the rights to know, delete, correct, and opt out of “sale”/“sharing.” We do not sell or share your personal information. You can delete your account from your dashboard, and export your study library (Anki/CSV) from the app anytime. To exercise any right — including a copy of the account data we hold — email support@snapi.gg; we respond within the legal timelines (GDPR: ~1 month; CCPA: ~45 days).
11. Cookies & analytics (website only)
The desktop app uses no cookies and no analytics/telemetry by default. Our website uses strictly-necessary cookies for sign-in and security. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
12. Security
We practice data minimization by design: only the content you snip ever leaves your device. We use TLS for transmission, on-device text recognition so it never egresses, and encrypt any local AI key at rest (Windows DPAPI, or AES-GCM on macOS). Your local library relies on your OS account and disk encryption. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
13. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy. We revise the “Last updated” date and, for material changes, provide a more prominent notice before the change takes effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
14. Contact
Snapi INC. — support@snapi.gg