This Privacy Policy describes how Plavno Sp. z o.o. (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Ktranslate mobile application (the “App”).
By using the App, you agree to the practices described in this Policy.
1. Who we are
Data controller: Plavno Sp. z o.o.
Registered address: ul. Nowogrodzka 31, lok. 330Z, 00-511 Warszawa, Poland
Privacy contact: admin@plavno.io
For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), the data controller is the entity named above.
2. What information we collect
2.1 Audio recordings
When you press and hold the push-to-talk button, the App captures audio through your device’s microphone. This audio is transmitted in real time over a secure WebSocket connection to our translation servers, where it is processed and converted into text and translated speech.
- Format: 16 kHz mono, encoded as PCM and streamed in small frames.
- Transmission: Encrypted in transit (WebSocket Secure / TLS) end-to-end between the App and our servers.
- Server-side handling: Audio is processed in volatile memory on infrastructure we operate, only for the duration of your translation request, and is not written to disk or any persistent storage operated by us. Once the translated audio has been streamed back to your device, the corresponding in-memory buffers are released and we retain no copy.
- No third-party access to your voice: The speech-to-text step runs on an open-source speech-recognition model self-hosted on our own infrastructure. Your audio recordings are not transmitted to any third-party sub-processor. The third-party providers listed in Section 5.2 receive only text (transcriptions and translations), never the audio of your voice.
2.2 Transcriptions and translations
The translation pipeline produces text transcriptions (your speech) and translated audio (the response).
- On the device: Transcriptions and translations are displayed in the App during your session and are not persisted between app launches.
- On our servers: Transcriptions and translations are processed in memory and discarded as soon as the response is delivered to your device. We do not store transcriptions, translations, or any derived text data.
2.3 App settings (stored locally only)
The App stores the following on your device, never transmitted to our servers:
- Selected source and target languages
- Selected audio output preference (loudspeaker / earpiece)
- Theme preference
- Whether you have completed the onboarding tutorial
This data is stored in Android’s standard DataStore, isolated to the App’s sandbox. It can be cleared at any time by clearing app data in system Settings or uninstalling the App.
2.4 What we do NOT collect
We do not collect:
- Your name, email, phone number, or any account credentials (the App has no user accounts).
- Location data.
- Contacts, calendar, photos, or other device data.
- Advertising identifiers.
- Crash reports or analytics data sent to third parties (the App contains no Firebase, Google Analytics, Crashlytics, or similar SDKs).
- Payment information (the App is free and contains no in-app purchases).
3. How we use information
We use the audio you provide solely to:
- Convert your speech to text (transcription).
- Translate the text into the target language you selected.
- Synthesize the translated text into audio and stream it back to your device.
We do not use your audio or transcriptions for advertising, profiling, model training, or any purpose unrelated to providing the translation service.
4. Legal basis for processing (GDPR)
If you are located in the EEA, our legal basis for processing your audio and related data is:
- Performance of a contract (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)): processing is necessary to deliver the translation service you requested by pressing the push-to-talk button.
- Legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)(f)): for ensuring technical operation, security, and integrity of the service, balanced against your privacy rights.
5. Who we share data with
We share data only with the following categories of recipients, and only as strictly necessary to provide the service:
5.1 Service infrastructure
Our translation servers are operated by Plavno Sp. z o.o. on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure hosted in the EU region (AWS eu-central-1, Frankfurt, Germany). Audio sent from the App is processed on this infrastructure and does not leave the EEA at the speech-recognition stage.
5.2 Sub-processors
Speech-to-text (transcription of your audio into text) is performed on an open-source speech-recognition model self-hosted on our own infrastructure. Your audio recordings are not sent to any third party.
The following third-party providers deliver other parts of the translation pipeline and receive text only — they do not receive any audio recording of your voice, and we do not share any account or device identifier with them (the App has no user accounts):
- Cerebras (translation / language model inference) — the transcribed text is transmitted to Cerebras for translation. See Cerebras’s privacy terms: https://www.cerebras.net/privacy-policy/.
- ElevenLabs (text-to-speech) — the translated text is transmitted to ElevenLabs for speech synthesis. See ElevenLabs’s privacy terms: https://elevenlabs.io/privacy.
The text sent to these providers is used only to deliver the translation service to you and is governed by each provider’s privacy terms and our data processing agreements with them.
Note: Our backend stack is under active development. The list of sub-processors above may be updated as we evolve our service. Material changes will be reflected in updates to this Policy with notice as described in Section 11.
5.3 Legal compliance
We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government request, and only to the extent required.
We do not sell or rent your data to anyone.
6. International data transfers
Our own translation infrastructure runs on Amazon Web Services in the EU region (AWS eu-central-1, Frankfurt, Germany). Audio sent from the App and the speech-to-text step stay within the EEA on infrastructure operated by us.
Some of our text-only sub-processors (see Section 5.2 — Cerebras, ElevenLabs) are based in the United States and process the text they receive on infrastructure outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
Where text data is transferred outside the EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards under GDPR Article 46, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or an Adequacy Decision where one applies.
7. Data retention
Our translation backend processes data transiently. Audio you send, the text transcribed from it, and the synthesized translated audio exist only in volatile memory on infrastructure we operate, for the duration of your translation request. They are not written to disk or any persistent storage operated by us, and the in-memory buffers are released once the translated audio has been streamed back to your device.
The only data that persists is your local app settings (language preferences, audio output preference, theme, onboarding flag). These are stored on your device only, until you uninstall the App or clear app data through Android system Settings.
The text-only sub-processors named in Section 5.2 (Cerebras, ElevenLabs) may temporarily process the text data they receive in accordance with their own terms and our data processing agreements with them. We do not control their retention beyond those agreements; please refer to each provider’s privacy policy for details. As noted in Sections 2.1 and 5.2, audio recordings of your voice are not sent to any third-party sub-processor, so this caveat does not apply to your audio.
8. Your rights
If you are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with similar laws, you have the following rights:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
- Erasure (“right to be forgotten”) — ask us to delete your data.
- Restriction — ask us to limit processing in certain cases.
- Portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
- Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent.
- Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (in Poland: Urząd Ochrony Danych Osobowych, https://uodo.gov.pl).
Because we do not retain audio, transcriptions, or any personal data on our backend, most data-subject requests have nothing for us to act on. We can still confirm in writing that we hold no such data, and we can advise on the data held by our sub-processors. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@plavno.io. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Security
We protect your data with industry-standard security measures:
- All audio and text in transit between the App and our servers is encrypted using TLS.
- Our servers operate on AWS-managed infrastructure with restricted access and standard cloud security controls.
- Local app settings are stored in Android’s app-private sandbox, inaccessible to other apps.
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but we work continuously to protect your data.
10. Children
The App is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us at admin@plavno.io and we will delete it promptly.
11. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time, including when our list of sub-processors changes (see Section 5.2) or when our infrastructure evolves. When we do, we will:
- Update the “Last updated” date at the top.
- For material changes, notify users through an in-app notice or the Play Store listing description before the changes take effect.
Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.
12. Contact
For any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices:
Email: admin@plavno.io
Postal address: Plavno Sp. z o.o., ul. Nowogrodzka 31, lok. 330Z, 00-511 Warszawa, Poland
Ktranslate is published by Plavno Sp. z o.o.