Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how shorty now (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, shares and protects information when you use the shorty now mobile application (the “App”). shorty now is the controller of the personal information described here. You can reach us at ifm.genre.app@gmail.com.
The short version
- Videos you render and save stay on your device. We do not upload them.
- When you use an AI feature (script writing, AI voice-over, story videos), the text you enter is sent to our servers and to the AI providers that do the work: DeepSeek (China) or Google Gemini for text, ElevenLabs for voice. Your name, email and account ID are not sent to them.
- Story videos use free stock footage from Pexels and Pixabay. We send them short search terms, and your device downloads the clips directly from them.
- We do not sell your personal information, and the App shows no ads.
- You can delete your account in the App at any time. See Account deletion for exactly what that removes and what we keep, and for how long.
1. How the App works
The App has two kinds of features, and they handle your information differently.
On-device features
Composing videos with background gameplay footage, overlaying your text, rendering and saving videos, and the free text-to-speech voice that uses your phone’s built-in speech engine all run locally on your device. The videos you create are not sent to our servers. If you save a project, its title and script text are stored on our servers so they are there when you come back.
Cloud AI features
AI script writing, AI voice-overs (premium voices) and story videos run on our servers with the help of third-party AI and media providers. To provide them, the text you enter for these features is sent to our servers and to those providers, as described in section 4 and section 5. These features cost coins.
2. Information we collect
Account and device information
- Automatic account. When you first open the App it creates an account for you without asking for a name or email. To recognise your device, the App generates a random device identifier and sends it to us. We assign your account a random internal user ID.
- Sign in with Apple or Google (optional). If you link Apple or Google, we receive and store the account identifier they provide for you, your email address (with Apple this can be a private relay address) and, if shared, your name. We never receive your Apple or Google password.
- Profile. A display name, language and country, if you set or change them.
- Device and app details. Your device’s language and country settings, time zone, platform (iOS or Android), operating system version and App version. We use these to show the App in your language, keep it compatible and prevent abuse.
- Notification token. If you allow notifications, a push notification token for your device.
Content you create
- Topics, titles and stories you enter, and project titles.
- Scripts and narration generated for you, and script text you write or edit in a saved project.
- Your voice choices and voice settings, and the audio files generated for you.
- For story videos: the scene plan, word timings for subtitles, the search terms used to find footage, and links to the stock clips chosen.
Purchases and coins
- Purchases and subscriptions are processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play). We use RevenueCat to manage them. We receive the product you bought, transaction identifiers, purchase and renewal dates, price and currency, the store country, subscription status and refund information.
- Your coin balance and the history of coins added and spent.
- We never receive or store your card or other payment details.
Technical and usage information
- IP address. Our servers use your IP address to answer requests and to limit abuse (rate limiting). We do not store it in our database, except where a payment provider includes it in a purchase record it sends us. Like any internet service, our hosting infrastructure may record it in short-lived technical logs.
- Server logs. Records of requests and errors, which can include your internal user ID.
- Analytics. The App uses Firebase Analytics and PostHog to understand how the App is used, for example which screens are opened and which features are used. Analytics events are linked to a random analytics identifier and may be linked to your internal user ID, and they come with device model, operating system, App version and an approximate location derived from your IP address. We do not use session replay or screen recording, and we do not use analytics data or any device identifier for advertising.
- Crash reports. Firebase Crashlytics collects crash and error details, such as device state, the location of the crash in our code and hardware information.
We do not ask for access to your contacts, and we do not collect your precise location.
What you must provide
To use the App, your device needs to send us its device identifier and the technical details the App sends automatically. Without them we cannot create your account or keep your coins and purchases on it. Linking Apple or Google, notifications, a display name and cloud AI features are optional; if you do not use them, the rest of the App keeps working. No law requires you to give us any of this information.
3. How we use information
| Purpose | Information used | Legal basis: EEA/UK (GDPR) · Türkiye (KVKK) |
|---|---|---|
| Create and run your account, sign you in, keep your coins and purchases on the right account | Account and device information, purchases and coins | Performance of our contract with you · KVKK Art. 5(2)(c) |
| Provide cloud AI features: write scripts, generate voice-overs, build story videos | Content you create, voice choices | Performance of our contract with you · KVKK Art. 5(2)(c) |
| Process purchases, subscriptions, coin top-ups and refunds of coins for failed generations | Purchases and coins, user ID | Performance of our contract; legal obligations (accounting and tax records) · KVKK Art. 5(2)(c) and 5(2)(ç) |
| Keep the service secure, prevent fraud and abuse (including abuse of promotional coins), enforce usage limits, fix errors | IP address, server logs, account and device information | Legitimate interests in a safe, working service · KVKK Art. 5(2)(f) |
| Handle refund requests, disputes and abuse investigations for a limited time after you delete your account (see section 9) | Content, device and purchase records kept after deletion | Legitimate interests; legal obligations for accounting records · KVKK Art. 5(2)(e), 5(2)(ç) and 5(2)(f) |
| Understand usage and crashes to improve the App | Analytics and crash reports | Legitimate interests in improving the App · KVKK Art. 5(2)(f) |
| Answer your messages and requests | Information you send us | Performance of our contract; legitimate interests · KVKK Art. 5(2)(c) and 5(2)(f) |
| Comply with law and protect our rights | Any of the above, as needed | Legal obligations; legitimate interests · KVKK Art. 5(2)(ç), 5(2)(e) and 5(2)(f) |
We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not make decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects based solely on automated processing.
How we collect it (Türkiye). We collect personal data by automated means, through the App and our servers, and from Apple, Google and RevenueCat when you sign in or make a purchase.
4. AI features and AI providers
When you use a cloud AI feature, we send the following to the provider that performs it. We do not send your name, email address, internal user ID or device identifier to any AI provider.
| Feature | What is sent | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| AI script writing | The topic or title you enter, with our writing instructions | DeepSeek (Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd., China) or Google Gemini API (Google LLC, United States). One of them handles each request; the other may be used as a backup. |
| Story videos: story planning | The story you enter, the length you chose and our instructions; if a draft needs correcting, parts of the draft are sent back for revision | |
| AI voice-over and story narration | The text to be read aloud, the voice you chose and its settings | ElevenLabs (Eleven Labs Inc.) |
Each provider processes this text under its own terms and privacy policy: DeepSeek, Google, ElevenLabs. Depending on those terms, a provider may keep the text for a period, for example to detect abuse, and may use it to improve its services. Text processed by DeepSeek may be processed and stored in the People’s Republic of China (see section 7).
Please do not include sensitive personal information (for example health information, or someone else’s private details) in the text you give to AI features. AI-generated scripts and voices are produced automatically and can be inaccurate; see our Terms of Use.
You can choose not to use cloud AI features at all. The on-device features keep working without them.
5. Stock media (Pexels and Pixabay)
Story videos illustrate each scene with free stock video or photos from Pexels and Pixabay. To find footage, our servers send them short English search terms written by the AI from your story, such as “stormy sea” or “old fisherman”. We do not send your story text, your account details or any identifier.
The App then downloads the chosen clips and preview images directly from Pexels’ and Pixabay’s servers. Like any website you load, those servers receive your IP address and basic device information (such as the type of app or browser making the request) when your device downloads from them. Their own privacy policies apply to that.
6. Who we share information with
We share personal information only with the service providers that help us run the App, and only for the purposes above. Each provider handles it under its own terms and privacy policy:
| Provider | What they do for us | Information involved |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek; Google (Gemini API) | AI text generation | Text you enter for AI features (see section 4) |
| ElevenLabs | AI voice generation | Text to be read aloud, voice settings |
| Pexels; Pixabay (both Canva Germany GmbH) | Stock footage search and delivery | Search terms; your IP address when your device downloads media |
| RevenueCat | Purchase and subscription management | Internal user ID, purchase and subscription data |
| Apple; Google | App stores, payments, optional sign-in | Purchases; sign-in data, as described in their own policies |
| Hetzner Online (Germany) | Storage of generated audio files | Audio files, stored privately under your internal user ID |
| Our hosting providers | Running our servers and database | All information our servers process |
| Google Firebase (Analytics, Crashlytics, Hosting) | Usage analytics, crash reports, hosting this website | Analytics and crash data; website visitors’ IP addresses |
| PostHog (United States cloud) | Product analytics | Analytics events, device information and IP address |
We may also disclose information if required by law or a valid legal request, to protect the rights, safety or property of our users or others, or as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, in which case this policy continues to apply to your information.
We do not sell your personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. The App does not show ads.
7. International transfers
Our providers operate in several countries, including the United States, Germany and other EU countries, and China (DeepSeek). Your information may therefore be processed outside the country where you live, including in countries whose data protection laws differ from yours.
For providers in the United States and the EU, we rely on the data protection terms they offer, which include the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or certification under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework where available. DeepSeek does not offer these safeguards. Text you send to AI script writing or story planning may be processed in China without them, and Chinese law may not protect it to the same standard as the law where you live. You can avoid this by not using those features.
You can ask us about the safeguards we use by emailing ifm.genre.app@gmail.com.
8. How long we keep information
- Account, profile and content are kept while your account is active, so your library, projects and scripts are there when you return.
- Items you delete in the App. When you delete a project or a story video, it is removed from your library, but its text, script and audio stay with your account, because your other projects and your coin history may refer to them. Scripts and voice-overs you generated are also kept. To have them permanently erased, email us.
- After you delete your account, we handle your information as described in section 9.
- Purchase, subscription and coin records are kept for the period accounting and tax law requires (up to 10 years), and for as long as a refund, dispute or fraud claim about them remains possible, including after your account is deleted.
- Server logs are kept only as long as needed for security and troubleshooting.
- Analytics and crash data are kept according to the retention settings of Firebase and PostHog. Firebase keeps user-level analytics data for at most 14 months and Crashlytics keeps crash reports for 90 days; PostHog keeps analytics events for the retention period of our PostHog plan.
9. Account deletion
You can delete your account at any time from within the App, or by following the steps on our account deletion page. When you delete your account:
- Removed immediately: your email address, your display name and our record of your Apple or Google sign-in. The account can no longer be signed into. A session that is already open on your device ends within one hour.
- Kept for up to 90 days, then permanently erased: the content you created (topics, stories, scripts, projects and generated audio), your language and country settings, and sign-in records that include your device identifier. We keep these under the deactivated account’s random internal user ID so we can handle refund requests, disputes and abuse investigations, and we erase them sooner if you ask.
- Your device’s technical record (device identifier, App version, platform, notification token) stays linked to the deactivated account until you open the App again on that device. It then moves to your new account.
- Kept longer: purchase, subscription and coin records, for the periods in section 8. They keep the store’s transaction identifiers, which Apple or Google can link to your store account.
- Not affected: analytics and crash data, which expire as described in section 8, and the purchase history RevenueCat, Apple and Google keep under their own policies.
- Unused coins are forfeited, and deleting your account does not cancel an App Store or Google Play subscription. Cancel subscriptions in your store account settings.
We do not hold your Apple or Google password or sign-in tokens. To also remove shorty now from your Apple ID, go to Settings › your name › Sign-In & Security › Sign in with Apple. For Google, go to your Google Account › Security › Your connections to third-party apps & services.
If you open the App again after deleting your account, it starts a new account. Your previous content and coins are not carried over to it.
Erasure on request. To have your content erased before the 90 days are up, email ifm.genre.app@gmail.com, ideally before you delete your account in the App. After an in-app deletion we no longer hold your email address or sign-in details, so we can only find the deactivated account from the order number of a shorty now purchase. See the account deletion page for what to include. We complete requests within 30 days, except for purchase, subscription and coin records, which we keep as described in section 8.
10. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you and receive a copy of it, in a portable format where applicable;
- correct inaccurate information;
- delete your information;
- object to or restrict certain processing, including processing based on our legitimate interests, such as analytics;
- withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent, without affecting processing that already took place;
- lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
European Economic Area and United Kingdom: you have these rights under the GDPR and UK GDPR. Türkiye: you have the rights listed in Article 11 of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK). You can send an application under Article 11 by email to the address below; we answer within 30 days, free of charge. California and other US states: you have the right to know, access, correct and delete personal information and not to be discriminated against for exercising your rights. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law.
To exercise a right, email ifm.genre.app@gmail.com. Because the App does not require a name or email, we may ask for details that let us find and verify your account before acting on a request, for example the email of a linked Apple or Google account or the order number of a purchase. We answer within the time the law requires, generally within 30 days.
11. Security
We protect information with measures appropriate to its sensitivity. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS) between the App and our servers, generated audio stored privately and delivered only through links that expire, encryption of the third-party service credentials we keep in our database, and access to production systems limited to those who need it. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Children
The App is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Where local law sets a higher age for consenting to the processing of personal data (for example 16 in some EU countries), users below that age need the consent of a parent or guardian to use the App. If you believe a child has given us personal information without the required consent, contact us and we will delete it.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page and update the effective date.
14. Contact
Questions or requests about this policy or your personal information: ifm.genre.app@gmail.com.