Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-06-04

TLDW is built to be private by default. The short version: your media is processed on your Mac, and the TLDW app has no servers, no accounts, and no analytics. (This marketing website uses basic visitor analytics — see the This website section below.)

What TLDW does on your device

• Transcription is 100% local. Audio is transcribed on your Mac using whisper.cpp (Metal-accelerated). The audio never leaves your machine.
• Downloaded media is temporary. When you paste a link, TLDW downloads the audio to a temporary folder, transcribes it, and deletes the temporary files when the job finishes (or is cancelled).
• Your output stays yours. The Markdown notes are saved only to the folder you choose, on your Mac.

What leaves your device (only if you choose it)

TLDW summarizes the transcript using an AI model. You pick how:

• Local (Ollama) — the summary is generated on your Mac. Nothing leaves your device.
• OpenRouter — if you opt in and add your own OpenRouter API key, the transcript text is sent to OpenRouter to generate the summary, using your key. That data is handled under OpenRouter's privacy policy. TLDW never sees or proxies this — it goes directly from your Mac to OpenRouter.

When you transcribe a link, the download request goes from your Mac directly to the source site (e.g. YouTube), exactly as your browser would.

Browser extension ("TLDW — Send to app")

The optional TLDW browser extension lets you send a video to the TLDW Mac app from your browser. It is built to the same standard: no servers, no accounts, no analytics, and no data sent anywhere.

• What it does. When you click "Send to TLDW" (or add to the queue), the extension reads the URL of the page you're on and hands it to the TLDW Mac app on your computer through a local tldw:// link. The link opens the app you already installed — nothing is transmitted over the internet by the extension.
• What it stores. If you queue videos to "send later," that list of links is stored locally in your browser (chrome.storage.local) on your device only. You can clear it any time from the extension. Nothing is synced to us.
• What it collects or shares. Nothing. The extension has no backend and contains no analytics or tracking. We do not collect, sell, or share any data, and the extension is not used for any purpose unrelated to sending videos to the app.
• Permissions, and why.
  • activeTab — to read the current tab's URL only when you click the extension, so it can send that video.
  • storage — to keep your "send later" queue on your device.
  • Site access (YouTube, X, Vimeo) — to show the "Send to TLDW" button on video pages.

What we collect

Nothing — from the app. TLDW (the app) has no backend, no telemetry, and no accounts. We do not collect usage data, identifiers, or contact info from it. Your settings and (optional) OpenRouter API key are stored locally on your Mac. The one place we use analytics is this marketing website — see below.

This website

trytldw.app is a static marketing website, separate from the app. To understand how the site is used, it uses Google Analytics 4. This applies only to the website — the TLDW app itself still has no analytics or telemetry, as described above.

• What it collects. Standard web analytics: the pages you visit, how you got here (referrer), and your device, browser, and approximate (city-level) location. Google Analytics does not store your full IP address.
• Cookies. Google Analytics sets first-party cookies in your browser to recognize returning visits. It does not use this to identify you personally.
• Who it's shared with. This data is processed by Google under Google's Privacy Policy. We use it only in aggregate, to see what's working on the site.
• How to opt out. Install Google's opt-out browser add-on, or block cookies/trackers in your browser — the site works fine either way.

Children's privacy

TLDW is not directed at children and collects no personal information from anyone.

Changes

If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the date above.

Contact

Questions? Email help@trytldw.app.