Privacy Policy

Distil Reads is a single-player app for saving long-form videos and web pages and reading them as distilled cards. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. We keep the footprint deliberately small: there is no advertising, no tracking, and no selling of data.

Who is responsible

The controller for your data is Phuoc Pham, Neubiberg, Germany. You can reach us at [email protected]. Full contact details are in our Impressum.

What we collect

• Your account. You sign in with Google. We receive and store your name, email address, profile image, your Google account identifier, and the tokens that keep you signed in. We do not receive your Google password.
• Your AI key. Distil Reads uses your own DeepSeek or Anthropic API key to produce your summaries. We store that key encrypted, never display it back to you, and use it only to process your own captures.
• Content you create. The videos and pages you capture (their URLs and extracted text), the cards, summaries, key points, highlights, notes, tags, Occasions, and your reading activity (what you have read, understood, or scheduled to revisit).
• An essential cookie. A single session cookie keeps you signed in. It is required for the app to function. We use no analytics, advertising, or third-party tracking cookies.

How your content reaches an AI

To turn a capture into a card, the text of the source you saved is sent to the AI provider you chose (DeepSeek or Anthropic), authenticated with your own key, and the summary is returned to us and stored on your account. That request is governed by your provider’s own terms and privacy policy. If you would rather a particular source never be sent to an AI, do not capture it.

Who else processes data for us

• Google — sign-in and identity.
• Your AI provider (DeepSeek or Anthropic) — summarizing the content you capture.
• Our hosting and database provider — running the application and storing your data.
• YouTube — captured videos are embedded through YouTube’s privacy-enhanced (no-cookie) player when you open a source.

Why we are allowed to (legal bases)

We process your account and content to provide the service you asked for (performance of a contract), rely on your consent for using your AI key to summarize your captures, and rely on our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure and working.

How long we keep it

We keep your account and content for as long as your account exists. Distil Reads does not yet offer one-click account deletion — email us at [email protected] and we will delete your account and everything attached to it (captures, cards, highlights, notes, tags, keys) promptly.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you may request access to your data, correction, deletion, a portable copy, and you may object to or restrict processing. Contact us and we will help. You also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority — in our case the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA).

Changes

If this policy changes we will update the date at the top of this page. Questions are welcome at [email protected].