Privacy Policy

Effective October 22, 2026 · App: IdeaHive for Android (de.itroelofs.ideahive.app)

In short: IdeaHive has no account, no server of its own, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking. Everything you capture – thoughts, ideas, notes, tasks, photos and links – is stored only on your phone. We, the developer, never receive any of your data. This website sets no cookies and uses no analytics.

1. Who is responsible

The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for this website and the IdeaHive app is:

2. This website

Hosting and server log files

This website is hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany. When you visit it, the server automatically stores the following information in log files:

• IP address of the requesting device
• date and time of the request
• page or file requested
• referrer URL (the page you came from)
• browser type and version, operating system
• HTTP status code and amount of data transferred

This data is needed to deliver the website and to keep it secure and stable. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is the secure and error-free operation of the website. The log files are stored only as long as this is necessary for these purposes and are then deleted automatically. The data is not combined with other data sources. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Hetzner in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR.

No cookies, no tracking, no external services

This website does not set cookies, does not use analytics or tracking tools and does not load any content from third parties. Fonts are hosted on our own server, so no connection to Google or other font providers is made.

Contact by e-mail

If you write to us by e-mail, we process your e-mail address and the content of your message to answer your request. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR if your request relates to a contract or to pre-contractual steps, otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in answering inquiries). We delete the data once your request has been dealt with, unless statutory retention obligations apply.

3. The IdeaHive app

Data stored on your device

Your content is kept in a local database in the app's private storage on your phone. IdeaHive has no user accounts and no servers of its own; we do not receive, see or store any of your content. Your content leaves your phone only when you choose to share it (for example with “Share as text”) or create a backup.

The app contains no advertising, no analytics and no tracking tools.

Microphone and speech recognition

IdeaHive uses the microphone only while you record a thought – in the app, from the app shortcut or from a home screen widget. While a widget recording runs, Android shows a notification, because the recording runs as a foreground service.

Speech is turned into text by the speech recognition service on your phone (on most Android phones this is Google's). Where an offline language pack is installed, this happens on the device. Otherwise, or when you turn on Settings → Voice → Online recognition, your voice is sent to Google (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland) for recognition and processed under Google's privacy policy. Google may process this data in countries outside the EU, including the USA. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in offering voice input that you start yourself); if you switch on online recognition, it is your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, which you can withdraw at any time by switching it off.

IdeaHive does not store audio – only the recognized text and the length of the recording.

Optional on-device language model (Gemma)

If you choose to download the Gemma model under Settings → Voice, the app downloads it once (about 2 GB) from Hugging Face, Inc., 20 Jay Street, Suite 620, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA (huggingface.co). The download only starts when you start it yourself. Like any download, the request transmits your IP address, the time of the request and the user agent of your device to Hugging Face; no content from the app and no account data are sent. Hugging Face processes this data in the USA. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is providing the on-device feature you have requested. See the Hugging Face privacy policy. After the download, the model runs entirely on your phone; your recordings are never sent anywhere for this.

Link previews

When you add or share a link, the app loads that web page to show its title and preview image. For YouTube links, it also uses YouTube's public oEmbed service and loads the video thumbnail (YouTube is a service of Google Ireland Limited). These requests go directly from your phone to the site you linked, which sees your IP address as with any visit; we do not receive this data. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; our legitimate interest is showing readable previews of the links you save.

Camera and photos

Photos you take or pick from your gallery are copied into the app's private storage and stay on your phone.

Sharing, widgets and shortcuts

Text, links or images you share into IdeaHive from other apps, as well as content shown in widgets or app shortcuts, are processed only on your device. When you share content out of IdeaHive, it goes to the app you choose, and that app's privacy policy applies.

Backups

A backup is a ZIP file that you create and hand to an app of your choice through Android's share menu (for example Google Drive or e-mail). Where it goes is your decision; the receiving service's own privacy policy applies there. Restoring a backup reads the file locally on your device.

Permissions

• Microphone – to record thoughts by voice.
• Foreground service (microphone) and notifications – to record from the home screen widget and show the recording notification.
• Internet – for link previews, the optional Gemma download and online speech recognition.
• Biometrics – declared by an included library; IdeaHive does not use it to collect data.

You can revoke permissions at any time in your device settings.

Sharing with third parties

We do not sell, share or transfer your data to anyone. The only third parties involved are the ones described in this section, and only when you use those features.

Deleting your data

You can delete single items in the app. Deleted items stay in the trash for 30 days, or until you empty it. Uninstalling the app or clearing its storage removes all its data from your phone. Backup files you created yourself are not affected.

Children

IdeaHive is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from anyone.

4. Google Play

IdeaHive is currently distributed via Google Play. When you download the app, Google processes data such as your account details, the time of download and payment information as an independent controller. We have no influence on this processing. If you have agreed to share diagnostic data with developers in your device settings, Google may provide us with anonymous crash reports. Please see Google's privacy policy. A version for the Apple App Store is planned; this policy will be updated before it is released.

5. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you (Art. 15),
• have incorrect data corrected (Art. 16),
• have your data deleted (Art. 17),
• restrict processing (Art. 18),
• receive your data in a portable format (Art. 20),
• object to processing based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (Art. 21),
• withdraw any consent you have given, with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)).

To exercise these rights, simply send us an e-mail. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR), in particular in the EU member state of your habitual residence, place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

Because IdeaHive stores your content only on your device, we cannot access, export or delete it for you – but you can do all of this yourself directly in the app.

6. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the new version will be published on this page with a new date.