Privacy Policy

By My Word helps people gather references. A referee speaks about someone they know; we turn what they said into a written, signed reference letter the candidate keeps. This policy explains what personal information we handle, why, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. We've written it in plain language on purpose.

What we collect

We collect only what the service needs to do its job:

• Candidate account details - your email address (used to sign in via a one-time code) and, optionally, a profile photo and display name.
• Referee details you give us - when you request a reference, you provide your referee's name and a way to contact them (email, and/or a phone number you share the invite with yourself). We contact them; you stay out of the awkward ask.
• The referee's voice recording - if your referee agrees, they record a short spoken reference (about three minutes) from their own device.
• The transcript and draft letter - text produced from the recording, and the final letter once the referee approves and signs it.
• Consent and signing records - when a referee gives consent or signs, we record that they did, when, which version of the terms they agreed to, and the IP address used at that moment. For a signed letter this record is part of an immutable legal document (see retention).
• Payment records - if you unlock a letter, our payment providers (Stripe on the web; Apple or Google in the app) process the payment. We receive a record that a purchase happened; we do not receive or store your full card number.
• Device and technical data - app push-notification tokens (so we can tell you when a reference is ready), and IP addresses used for rate-limiting, fraud prevention, and the consent/signing records above.
• Waitlist details - if you join our waitlist, your email address and the persona you pick (candidate, employer, or recruiter).

How we use it

• To run the reference flow: invite your referee, capture and transcribe their recording, draft the letter, and let them review and sign it.
• To deliver the finished letter to your ledger and let you export it as a PDF.
• To send you and your referee the notifications the flow depends on (e.g. "your reference is ready").
• To process payments for unlocking letters.
• To keep the service secure and prevent abuse and fraud.
• To contact you about the waitlist, if you joined it.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your recordings, transcripts, or letters to advertise to you.

AI assistance

By My Word uses automated speech-to-text and AI text drafting to turn a spoken reference into a written letter. Two specialist providers act as our processors for this:

• Deepgram - converts the referee's recording into a text transcript (speech-to-text).
• Anthropic (Claude) - drafts the letter from the transcript, grounded only in what the referee actually said.

Both are engaged under agreements configured for zero data retention and no use of your content to train their models. The AI drafts only from the referee's own words - it does not invent facts about anyone. A person can review a draft in limited, audited circumstances before it is finalized (for example, if content is flagged for safety).

Who we share it with

We share personal information only with service providers ("subprocessors") that help us run By My Word, each handling only what their function needs:

• Railway - application hosting, database hosting, and file storage.
• Cloudflare - DNS, content delivery, website hosting, security/WAF, and CAPTCHA protection.
• Zoho (ZeptoMail) - transactional email (invites, sign-in codes, notifications).
• Deepgram - speech-to-text (see AI assistance).
• Anthropic - letter drafting (see AI assistance).
• Stripe - web payments and payment tax handling.
• Apple - in-app purchases and push notifications on iOS.
• Google - in-app purchases and push notifications on Android.
• Sentry - error and crash diagnostics (technical fault reports from our apps and servers - not your recordings, transcripts, or letters; session recording is off, and web addresses are stripped of query strings and referee link tokens before a report is sent).

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect the rights and safety of people, or as part of a business transfer - in each case consistent with this policy.

Where it's stored (cross-border)

By My Word serves people in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our main database and file storage are hosted outside New Zealand and Australia - in the United States - because our hosting provider does not currently offer an Australian or New Zealand region. Some of our providers listed above also process data in the United States or other countries.

When we send personal information overseas, we rely on providers that are subject to comparable privacy protections or contractual data-protection commitments. By using the service you acknowledge that your information (including a referee's recording and the resulting letter) is stored and processed overseas.

How long we keep it

We keep information only as long as it has a job to do:

• Voice recordings are the shortest-lived. When a reference is signed, we delete the recording 30 days after signing - the transcript and the signed letter are the permanent record, so the raw audio is no longer needed once any dispute window has passed. If a reference ends without ever being signed (declined, expired, cancelled, or failed), we delete the recording 30 days after it reached that state.
• Signed letters and their verification records are kept as immutable legal records. Because someone put their name to them, they are not altered or deleted on request (see below) - they are the point of the product.
• Transcripts, key points, and drafts for references that were never signed are removed when you delete your account (see Deletion).
• Expired sign-in / invite links are kept briefly after expiry so we can show an honest "this link has expired" message, then removed.

Deletion & your rights

You can ask us to delete your account. Here is exactly what that does, stated plainly so there are no surprises:

• Your personal details are scrubbed. Deleting your account anonymizes it - your email and other identifying details are removed so the account can no longer be tied to you.
• Never-signed reference content is scrubbed. For any reference that was never signed, the transcript, key points, and draft text are removed as part of the same deletion.
• Signed letters are kept. A signed reference is a legal record that a named referee stood behind. These are retained as immutable records and are not erased, even when the requesting account is deleted. Where a signed letter contains a person's name, that name remains in the letter because it is part of what was signed.

In other words, erasure means anonymization: we remove what identifies you and any content from references that never became a legal document, while preserving the signed artifacts people put their name to.

Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to access the personal information we hold about you, to correct it, or to complain to a privacy regulator. To make any of these requests, contact us via the Support page.

What we do and don't verify

Security

We protect information with encryption in transit, access controls, tightly scoped storage, and a security-hardened front end (for example, our pages make no third-party network requests). No system is perfectly secure, but we design the service to hold the least data for the shortest time it needs.

Children

By My Word is intended for adults aged 18 or over using it in a professional context and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

If we make a material change, we'll update this page and the "last updated" date, and - where appropriate - let you know in the app or by email.

Contact & complaints

Questions, requests, or complaints about privacy: email info@informedsoftware.co.nz or use our Support page. If you're not satisfied with our response, you may be entitled to complain to the privacy regulator in your country.