Privacy policy

1. Who we are and what this covers

“Swell Bear,” “we” and “us” refer to the independently operated software studio based in Tennessee, United States. Contact us at support@swellbear.com.

This policy covers this studio website, communications you send to us, and the current Grayboard iOS beta for U.S. testers. It does not describe all data practices of Gray Weather or other Swell Bear products. Those products, websites you visit, apps you type into, and services you choose to share with have their own applicable notices.

2. Visiting this website

These pages contain no advertising, analytics scripts, tracking pixels, newsletter forms or externally loaded fonts. We do not use information handled under this policy for targeted advertising, sell it, or share it with data brokers.

Website delivery and security still involve technical information, including IP addresses, browser and device information, requested pages, request times and errors. Our hosting providers process that information to deliver pages and prevent abuse. The public website does not require an account. Hosting security features may use essential cookies when needed to prevent abuse.

The public website is hosted by Cloudflare. Its service practices are described in the Cloudflare privacy policy. A separate private development preview may be hosted through OpenAI Sites; that preview requires authentication and is subject to the OpenAI privacy policy. We do not set advertising cookies or request precise location through these pages. Browser controls can restrict cookies, although doing so may affect security checks or private-preview sign-in.

External links send you to other websites, whose operators receive the requests made to them and apply their own terms and policies.

3. Grayboard typing, voice and permissions

Typing and personalization

Grayboard uses the text and context available through iOS keyboard interfaces to offer suggestions, correct words and apply your edits. Saved words, enabled personalization, correction preferences and available contact-derived vocabulary are stored locally. We do not automatically upload typing, learned vocabulary or contacts to a Swell Bear server.

The text you insert is delivered to the app where you are typing. That app may store or transmit it under its own practices. Our on-device processing does not control the receiving app.

Dictation

Speech recognition runs on your device. Grayboard does not send audio or transcripts to a server for recognition. Audio is processed in local buffers during dictation. A brief microphone standby can keep the input channel available while discarding standby audio; microphone access is not the same as a saved recording. Transcripts and any enabled correction personalization are handled locally. Text inserted into another app is then subject to that app’s practices.

Voice setup downloads recognition models. Download hosts, including Hugging Face for the current model, receive ordinary network request information such as IP address, requested model files and request times. Model downloads are separate from uploading speech or typed text.

Permissions

Microphone permission enables voice capture. Full Access enables shared state and communication between the keyboard and containing app, including dictation and setup verification. iOS also permits broader capabilities with Full Access; enabling it does not mean Grayboard automatically uploads typing. Basic keyboard typing works without Full Access.

Where an authorized contact-vocabulary feature is available, names or vocabulary derived from permitted contacts are used locally for recognition and suggestions. Contact permission is separate from microphone permission. You can manage granted permissions in iOS Settings.

4. Local diagnostics and TestFlight

The current beta keeps a bounded recent typing-diagnostics buffer in local memory by default. It can include typed words, surrounding text, suggestions, replacements, correction decisions, key/touch events and timing information. It is distinct from personalization. The current beta does not provide a persistent, user-facing opt-in switch for this recorder.

A report action saves recent diagnostics as local JSON and text files. Some local crash reports can also include the most recent typed word, replacement and surrounding text. Other technical records include app/build and iOS versions, device model, timestamps, performance, battery state and crash details. Saved reports can be mirrored into the app’s Documents area for Files or computer file sharing. We do not automatically send these app-owned local files to support.

The beta support screen lets you review the selected report and open an email draft addressed to support@swellbear.com, or use an iOS sharing destination. You choose whether to send or share. Cancelling an email does not erase the saved local report or a draft you saved in your mail app. A support report is not guaranteed to be anonymous or automatically redacted.

TestFlight has a separate automatic data channel. Apple provides crash logs and usage data to Apple and the app developer as part of TestFlight; its terms say participants cannot opt out of that channel while using the beta. Written feedback and screenshots are optional. See Apple’s TestFlight terms and Apple’s privacy policy. Our promise of no automatic upload of app-owned typing reports does not disable Apple’s service.

5. Information we receive and how we use it

When you contact us, we receive your email address, any name or other information you supply, message headers, message contents and attachments. A typing report may reveal personal information about you or other people even when no name is requested. Send only information you have permission to share, preferably using an example with non-sensitive test text.

We use support correspondence, diagnostic files and beta feedback to respond, investigate failures, reproduce issues, improve Grayboard, maintain issue history, prevent abuse and comply with legal obligations. Ordinary keyboard use does not require emailing logs.

Email and storage service providers process messages and attachments to deliver and retain correspondence. Your chosen email or sharing provider also handles the information you send. Support email is not a confidential upload vault, and we cannot promise end-to-end encryption across all mail providers.

We limit access to the studio operator and service providers or support personnel who need information for these purposes. We do not publish identifiable support messages or raw typing reports as examples without separate permission. Sending a support email is not permission to place its raw content into a public dataset or an external general-purpose AI service.

We may disclose information when required by law, or as necessary to protect security, investigate abuse or establish or defend legal rights. If the studio’s operator changes or a business transfer occurs, we will provide notice where required, preserve applicable privacy commitments, and obtain any consent required for a materially different use.

6. Retention and security

• Recent local typing buffer: bounded, held in memory and replaced as new events arrive. Saving a report or a text-bearing crash report creates a separate persistent copy.
• Saved local reports: may remain in the app’s storage, Documents area, export copies or your own Files/mail destinations until erased. Expiry of a pending support prompt does not delete report files.
• Email correspondence and attachments: retained indefinitely, without an automatic deletion deadline, for continuing support history, issue investigation and records. Closing a case or deleting the app does not delete emailed information. Applicable legal deletion requirements still apply.
• Hosting and Apple records: retention depends on those providers’ policies and your service settings. We cannot erase their independently held records.

We use reasonable safeguards appropriate to the information and limit access, but no device, email service or storage system is guaranteed secure. Avoid sending passwords, payment details, health information, private communications or another person’s confidential information. Copies in email systems, backups, downloads or forwarded messages may persist beyond deletion of an original.

7. Choices and privacy requests

• Use basic typing without Full Access; disable personalization and erase learned data using available app controls. Manage saved dictionary words separately.
• Revoke microphone and other granted permissions in iOS Settings. Remove the keyboard in Settings to stop its future processing.
• Review reports before sharing. To send a reduced report, edit an exported copy or send an explanation without attachments; the preview itself is not a redaction editor.
• Use Erase All in the app’s debug-report controls to remove its saved dumps, crash files and support export copies. It does not erase copies already sent, saved in your mail app or exported elsewhere.

For access, correction or deletion requests concerning information we hold, email support@swellbear.com with “Privacy request” in the subject. Describe the relevant correspondence or report without sending further sensitive material. We may need proportionate identity verification before acting. We will honor rights and response requirements that apply under your state’s law; exceptions may require retaining particular records. You can ask for review of a declined request using the same address.

Do not assume that cancelling a report or uninstalling the app retracts an email, Apple feedback or another recipient’s copy. Requests about information independently held by Apple or another service should also be directed to that service.

8. Children and location

The Grayboard beta is offered to U.S. testers and is not directed to children under 13. Do not send us personal information from a child under 13. If you believe such information has reached us, contact support so we can investigate and handle it as required. TestFlight has its own age requirements; eligible minors must involve a parent or guardian as its terms require.

Hosting, model-download and email providers may process information in the United States or other countries where they operate. A U.S.-only beta does not mean every provider keeps every record exclusively in the United States.

9. Policy changes

We will update the date and this page when practices change, provide additional notice for material changes where required, and obtain consent where required before materially different processing. Publishing a policy is not itself consent to diagnostic capture or a waiver of privacy rights.