what we collect
when you use ember, we collect:
- account info: email address and a hashed password (we never see your password in plain text; firebase authentication handles it)
- conversations: the messages you send and the replies the ai characters send back, stored per character
- long-term memories: structured facts the system extracts from your conversations so the characters can remember things about you across sessions (e.g., “user has a dog named otis”). you can view and wipe these any time from the app.
- basic technical data: server logs (ip, timestamps, error traces) for debugging and abuse prevention
we also record your 18+ confirmation, acceptance of terms, and email preference. older accounts may contain optional or previously requested profile details such as age, pronouns, gender, orientation, relationship status, country, and out-status. the current welcome flow does not require those demographic details.
we measure public website visits using a browser-session identifier, page paths, campaign labels and referring website domains. we also record account-linked product events such as onboarding, successful replies and purchases, plus provider usage and costs. we do not include conversation text or sensitive profile details in product analytics.
we do not collect:
- your real name (unless you put it in a message)
- your location beyond what your ip implies
- advertising identifiers or cross-site advertising profiles
- biometric data, voice recordings, or images
how we use it
we use your data to:
- let you sign in
- show you your past conversations and memories
- generate replies (we send your conversation history and extracted memories to anthropic's claude api as part of each chat call)
- extract new memories from your conversations
- email you about your account (verification, password resets) and, occasionally, about ember itself: a note when your free messages reset, a check-in if you've been away, product updates. every one of those has an unsubscribe link, and you can turn them off in settings
- investigate bugs and prevent abuse
we do not:
- sell your data to anyone
- use your conversations to train any ai model
- share your data with advertisers
- read your conversations except as needed to debug a problem you reported
third-party processors
ember runs on a small number of services we use to operate the product:
- vercel: hosts the website and serverless functions
- firebase (google): handles authentication and stores your conversations and memories
- anthropic: the claude api generates the character replies and extracts memories. when you send a message, your conversation history (plus your stored memories) is sent to anthropic to produce the reply. anthropic states it does not use api inputs to train its models.
elevenlabs generates optional voice replies from reply text. audio may be cached with your account to avoid regenerating the same reply. stripe processes web payments and maintains payment and billing records. our email infrastructure sends account and optional marketing messages. our Zagreus analytics service measures public-page visits; authenticated product events are stored with our application data.
data retention
your conversations and memories are stored until you delete them. you can:
- clear an individual conversation from the chat (the “new chat” button, which keeps long-term memories)
- wipe all long-term memories for a character (the “wipe all” button in the memory panel)
- delete your entire account and all its data yourself, any time, from settings. access stops when the request is accepted; deletion runs in the background and retries if a service is unavailable. payment records needed for accounting or disputes and an email suppression record may remain. contact us if you need help confirming completion.
clearing a conversation also removes its saved reply copies and cached voice audio after pending requests have drained. this normally takes at least two minutes and continues in the background if you leave. small records without message text may remain to prevent duplicate delivery or charges. long-term memories remain until you separately wipe them.
operational usage records are cleaned up after 30 days and product events after 90 days. reported-message records are kept for review for up to 180 days before scheduled cleanup. hosting and payment providers may retain their own operational or legally required records under their policies. deleting your account removes your stored conversations, memories and cached voice replies.
your rights
depending on where you live (e.g., california, eu, uk), you have rights to access, correct, export, and delete your personal data. to exercise these rights, email hello@textember.com. we'll respond within 30 days.
children
ember is for users 18 and older. we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. if you believe a minor has signed up, contact us and we'll delete the account and its data.
security
authentication and storage use firebase, which encrypts data in transit and at rest. our application code is hosted on vercel with https. we follow reasonable industry practices but no system is perfectly secure. you can reduce your risk by using a strong, unique password.
international users
ember is operated from the united states. if you use it from outside the us, your data will be transferred to and processed in the us and other countries where our service providers operate.
changes
we may update this policy. we'll update the “last updated” date and, for material changes, notify you in the product or by email.
contact
privacy questions or requests: email hello@textember.com.