PrivacyPolicy

Q-Snap is designed to charge as little as possible. You don't need an account to use the free version, and we don't collect sensitive information (health data, religion, political affiliation, biometrics, etc.).

When you use the app

• The photo you take — is sent encrypted to our server for text recognition and is deleted immediately after the text has been extracted (see §04). The photo is downscaled on your phone before sending.
• The text that is recognized and its translation — is processed to create sound, and is only stored for a short time in technical intermediate storage (max. 24 hours).
• Language Selection and Settings — stored locally on your device (localStorage), not with us.
• Technical information — IP address, browser (User-Agent), and time. Used to count free snap s per day, for troubleshooting, and to stop abuse.

When you buy Q-Snap

• Email address and name — for a receipt and to be able to restore the purchase on a new phone.
• Payment information — handled by Vipps or Stripe. Card numbers and Vipps details are never stored with us (see §05).
• Gift and discount codes — the code you redeem and when.

We process personal data for the following purposes and on the following legal grounds (see GDPR Art. 6):

We do not conduct any marketing based on your use of Q-Snap, and we never resell data.

The core of Q-Snap is that an image becomes text and speech. Here's how it works, step by step:

What happens to the photo?

• The image is downscaled on your phone before it's sent — the full-resolution original never leaves your device.
• It is sent encrypted (TLS) to our server in the EU and on to text recognition at Microsoft Azure Vision in the EU region.
• Once the text has been extracted, the image is deleted. We do not store images, we do not build image archives, and we never use the images to train models.

What happens to the text?

• The text is translated into the language you have chosen. The translation runs primarily on our own servers (Opus-MT), with Microsoft Azure Translator (EU) as a fallback for language pairs we do not cover locally.
• The text is then used to create audio with a speech synthesis engine: Piper, Kokoro or Giellalt (on our servers) or Microsoft Azure Neural (EU).
• Text and translation are only stored in a technical cache for a maximum of 24 hours, so that the same snap does not have to be processed twice. Then they are deleted.

What happens to the sound?

• The audio file is played in the app and can be downloaded with paid Q-Snap. It is temporarily stored on our server for playback and then deleted.
• With paid Q-Snap , your recent snap s can reside in a offline storage on your phone. It's local to your device and can be deleted by you at any time.

To provide Q-Snap, we use the following data processors. All of them have a data processing agreement (DPA) with us and are either EU-based or have valid transfer mechanisms (Standard Contractual Clauses).

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purpose:

We do not use tracking cookies or analytics tools on qsnap.no or in the app. No Google Analytics, no Facebook Pixel, no retargeting.

Essential cookies

• session — remembers the language you have chosen on the website. Deleted after 30 days.
• Cloudflare may set technical cookies for security purposes (e.g. when Turnstile verification on forms). These do not contain any personal profile.

These are strictly necessary for the service to function and do not require consent, cf. Section 2-7b of the Electronic Communications Regulation.

localStorage (not cookies)

The app stores settings locally on your device. None of the following is sent to us:

• qtale-theme — Dark or light display
• qsnap_plus_until — whether and for how long paid Q-Snap is active on this device
• Language selection, selected voice (Female/Male), mode (Standard/Fancy), and — with paid Q-Snap — the offline storage of your latest snap s

All of this can be deleted at any time via your browser's settings or by uninstalling the app.

Vipps and Stripe Checkout

When you purchase Q-Snap, you are directed to Vipps or Stripe payment page. They set their own cookies to process the payment — governed by their privacy policies (vipps.no/personvern, stripe.com/no/privacy).

We take security seriously and have implemented the following technical and organizational measures:

• Encryption in transit — everything runs on HTTPS / TLS 1.3, including the image upload
• Encryption on disk — databases and file volumes are encrypted
• Minimal storage — photos are deleted instantly; text and audio deliver a maximum of 24 hours
• Rate-limiting and abuse protection — protects against automated abuse of the free quota
• Audit logs — security incidents are logged to detect abuse
• Access control — only authorized personnel have access to production systems

Should a data breach occur that entails a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Norwegian Data Protection Authority within 72 hours and you without undue delay, cf. GDPR Articles 33–34.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the following rights:

• Right of access (Art. 15) — you have the right to know what information we have stored about you
• Correction (Art. 16) — You have the right to request that inaccurate information be corrected
• Erasure (Art. 17) — “the right to be forgotten” — you may request that we erase your data
• Restriction (Art. 18) — you may request that we temporarily suspend the processing of your data
• Data portability (Art. 20) — you can request your data in a machine-readable format
• Objection (Art. 21) — You may object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Complaint to the Data Protection Authority — you have the right to file a complaint with the Data Protection Authority if you believe we are processing your data in violation of the law

Q-Snap can be used by all ages, for example for homework and language learning. Because the free version does not require an account, we do not collect personal information about children beyond the technical information described above. Purchasing Q-Snap requires that you are over 18 years old or have parental consent.

We may update this Privacy Policy as necessary — typically when we add new features, change data processors, or when required by law. Material changes be notified on qsnap.no, and paying customers will be notified by email at least 30 days before they take effect.

The current version can always be found on qsnap.no/personvern.

If you have any questions about privacy in Q-Snap, please feel free to contact:

• E-mail: [email protected] (reply typically the same day)
• Mailing Address: ActiveWEB AS, Lavaløkka 40, NO-3442 Hyggen, Norway

For more information about your privacy rights, visit the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s website: datatilsynet.no.