Privacy Policy

Overview

Readalo is a cross-browser extension (and companion desktop app) that reads on-screen text aloud with natural voices and synchronized word highlighting. It also offers two optional features: dictating short voice notes, and an on-device search ("Recall") across pages you have had read aloud. This policy explains what data Readalo accesses, what is sent to our servers, what stays on your device, and who our service providers are. We are committed to collecting only what is needed to provide these features.

Accounts and authentication

Higher-quality voices and other paid features require a Readalo account. You sign in with Google, Apple, or Microsoft. When you do, we receive and store your email address and basic profile information from that provider to identify your account. The extension stores a session token locally (in your browser's extension storage) so it can make authenticated requests to our API on your behalf. We do not receive or store your password for these providers.

Text you choose to read

When you start a reading session, Readalo reads the visible text of the page you have activated. With browser voices (the free option), speech is produced by your browser or operating system and no page text is sent to Readalo's servers. With Readalo (Kokoro) voices, the text you choose to read is sent over an encrypted connection to our speech API at readalo.com to generate the spoken audio, then returned to your browser for playback. Readalo never reads passwords, form inputs, or hidden page elements.

Voice notes (dictation)

If you dictate a voice note, the audio you record is sent to our API (/v1/audio/transcribe) to be transcribed into text. The resulting note, associated with the page you were reading, is stored through our service so it is available to you across sessions. You can delete your notes at any time.

Recall — optional, on-device search

Recall is off by default. If you turn it on, Readalo indexes pages you have had read aloud (page URL, title, text, and time) to let you search them later by meaning. This index is built and stored locally in your browser and is not transmitted to Readalo. To power the search, Readalo downloads an open-source embedding model (data files) from Hugging Face; the search itself runs entirely on your device. Recall automatically skips sensitive pages — for example email, banking, and AI-chat sites, and local-network addresses. You can clear the Recall index at any time.

Payments

Paid subscriptions are processed by Stripe. Payment card details are entered on Stripe's hosted pages and handled by Stripe; Readalo does not collect or store your card number. We retain your subscription status (plan and renewal state) to provide paid features. Stripe's handling of your payment information is governed by Stripe's privacy policy.

Service providers

We use the following providers to operate Readalo. We share only what is needed for each to perform its function, and we do not sell your data.

• Cloudflare — hosting for our API, database, and content delivery.
• Google, Apple, Microsoft — sign-in (OAuth) for your account.
• Stripe — subscription billing and payment processing.
• DeepInfra — fallback speech synthesis. If our primary Kokoro server is unavailable, the text you are reading is processed by DeepInfra to generate audio.
• Hugging Face — hosts the open-source model files downloaded for on-device Recall search. No user data is sent to Hugging Face; files are only downloaded.

Local storage on your device

Readalo stores the following in your browser's extension storage: your preferences (selected voice, voice quality, playback speed, smart-reading and UI toggles), your session token, your Recall opt-in choice and (if enabled) the local Recall index, and a counter used to track free-tier usage. This data stays on your device and is removed when you uninstall the extension.

What we do NOT do

• We do not use analytics, tracking pixels, advertising, or third-party trackers.
• We do not sell, rent, or share your data with third parties for their own purposes.
• We do not use your data to determine creditworthiness or for lending.
• We do not use your data for any purpose unrelated to providing Readalo.

Extension permissions

• activeTab — access the text of the page you are actively reading, only when you activate Readalo.
• storage — save your preferences, session token, and (if enabled) Recall index locally.
• sidePanel — show Readalo's controls in the browser side panel.
• offscreen — produce and play audio in the background (required because extension service workers cannot play audio).
• Host access to readalo.com (our API for voices, transcription, notes, accounts, and billing) and huggingface.co (downloading the optional Recall model files).

Data retention and deletion

Local data is deleted when you uninstall the extension or clear it from within Readalo. To delete your account and the data associated with it on our servers (account, notes, and subscription records), contact us at the address below.

Children's privacy

Readalo is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes to Readalo. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of Readalo after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or want to request deletion of your data, email [email protected] .