Privacy policy

Last updated: 2026-09-30

This policy covers Distil for Android (com.mydistil.app) and mydistil.com. Distil turns spoken thoughts into editable notes using AI on your device.

Who is responsible

Distil is published by Fabio Nadaia, based in Switzerland. For privacy questions or requests, email mydistil.com@gmail.com.

Your journal stays on your device

Distil stores recordings, transcripts, typed text, notes, titles, tags, revision history and app settings on your device. Speech recognition and note generation run locally. Your journal content is not automatically uploaded to us or sent to a cloud AI service. We do not use it to train AI models.

The app has no user accounts, cloud sync, advertising, analytics SDKs or automatic crash reporting. It does not ask for your contacts or location, and does not use an advertising identifier.

Notes and transcripts are held in a SQLCipher-encrypted database. Recordings use Tink streaming encryption. Encryption keys are protected using Android Keystore. Settings and downloaded model files are not journal content and are not covered by this database encryption. Device security still matters: encryption does not prevent someone who can access your unlocked app from reading your notes.

Microphone and notifications

Microphone permission lets you make a recording you start yourself. Recording can continue with the screen locked, and stops when you stop it or it reaches the recording limit of 60 minutes. You can type without giving microphone permission.

Optional notifications show recording, processing and model-download progress and controls. Notifications do not include your note or transcript text. The app may keep the device awake while completing work you requested and resume pending work after a restart.

Model downloads

The AI features need an initial model download, started from the app by you. The download is approximately 3.3 GB or 4.4 GB depending on the model option; additional storage is required to install and run it. Later downloads may be needed if you choose to change, repair or reinstall models.

Model files are downloaded over HTTPS from Hugging Face and its delivery infrastructure, under huggingface.co and hf.co. Those services receive your IP address, requested file paths, request timing and standard connection information. Distil sends a fixed User-Agent, Distil-models/1, and download-range headers. It sends no authentication token, cookies, advertising ID, journal content or unique app-generated device identifier. The download provider may keep access and security logs according to its own practices: https://huggingface.co/privacy.

The app's own network access is restricted to downloading model files. Once setup is complete, recording, transcription and note writing work offline. Opening external links or sending email uses the separate app you choose.

Retention, backups and deletion on your phone

Your journal remains on your device until you delete it or remove the app's storage. Deleting an entry removes its note, transcripts and associated history from the app database. Encrypted audio files that are no longer associated with an entry are cleaned up on a subsequent app startup once they are at least one hour old. This is not a promise of immediate physical erasure of every byte from flash storage.

To remove all local app data at once, use Android Settings → Apps → Distil → Storage → Clear storage, or uninstall Distil. This removes the app's stored journal, settings and downloaded models. We cannot recover your journal for you. Copies you made outside the app and messages you sent remain with their recipients.

Android cloud backup and device-to-device transfer are disabled for the app's data. Distil does not provide cloud restoration or automatic transfer to a new phone. Removing AI models in Settings removes model files, not your journal.

Messages you choose to send

“Report this note” prepares a draft in your own email app. The draft contains your selected reason, optional comment, app version, writing-model identifier and prompt version. Note title and text are excluded unless you choose to include them. Audio and transcripts are not attached automatically. You can review, edit or discard the draft before sending.

If you send a report or contact us directly, we receive your sender address, your message and any attachments you include. We use this information to answer your request and investigate the reported problem. Please send only the information needed to help you. Your email service and our support email provider, Google (Gmail), process the correspondence. Support retention and deletion: Support correspondence is kept indefinitely unless you ask us to delete it. Deletion requests are handled on request; copies may remain temporarily in Google’s backup systems or where retention is required by law..

Contact mydistil.com@gmail.com to request deletion of correspondence we hold. Deleting a journal entry or uninstalling Distil does not recall a sent email. We do not sell personal information or use support correspondence for advertising or model training.

This website

mydistil.com is a static website hosted on Vercel. Visiting it sends ordinary connection information to the hosting service, including your IP address, requested URL, browser information and request time, so it can deliver and secure the site. This website does not receive your journal from the app.

We do not add analytics, advertising pixels, tracking cookies, browser storage or third-party font requests. Fonts are served with the site. Hosting log retention and access: This is a static website with no server-side functions and no configured log drain. Vercel may retain operational and security information under its own policies. On the Hobby plan, runtime logs are available for up to one hour; build logs are retained with the deployment. The account owner can access deployment and build logs.. Vercel's privacy information is available at https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-notice. Links to Google Play, Hugging Face and other external sites are handled under those services' policies when you follow them.

Purposes, service providers and international processing

Where data protection law requires a legal basis, we process support correspondence to respond to requests and provide support, and ordinary website connection data for our legitimate interest in delivering and protecting the site. We may retain information where required by law or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. We restrict access to people and providers who need it for those purposes.

Hosting, model delivery and email services may process information outside your country. The applicable locations and transfer safeguards are: Vercel may process website connection information in the United States and other countries. Vercel states that it uses appropriate transfer safeguards where required, including standard contractual clauses or other legal mechanisms, and participates in the Swiss–U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Google may process support email on servers around the world under Google’s privacy policy. Hugging Face may process model-download connection data under its privacy policy.. Local journal content is not part of these transfers unless you choose to send it in a message.

Your choices and rights

You control microphone and notification permissions through Android settings, and can use the deletion options described above. Where applicable law gives you rights to access, correct, delete, receive a copy of, restrict or object to processing of personal information we hold, contact mydistil.com@gmail.com. We may need to verify your identity proportionately before acting. We cannot access, retrieve or remotely delete the journal stored only on your device.

You may also complain to the data protection authority in your country. Nothing in this policy limits rights you have under applicable law.

Age and changes

Distil is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly seek personal information from children through support or this website. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us to request its removal.

We will publish changes to this policy at https://mydistil.com/privacy/ and update the date above. Material changes to how the app handles information will be communicated in connection with the relevant app update. An offline copy is available in the app's settings.