Idea Swipe privacy policy
Idea Swipe is a research tool made by Forethought Research. Researchers use it to rate research ideas shown as cards, and to leave voice or written notes on them. This policy explains what the app collects, why, who else handles it and what you can ask us to do with it. It covers the Android app, the iPhone app and the web app, which share one server.
Who can use it
Only people we invite can sign in: Forethought Research staff and researchers we work with. Signing in needs an email address we have approved; Cloudflare Access sends a one-time code to that address. The app is not meant for children and is not offered to the public.
What we collect
- Your email address, which identifies you when you sign in. Every rating and note is stored under it.
- Your ratings: the verdict you give each card (for example accept, maybe or kill), when you gave it, which deck it was in, and a few details of how you rated it, such as whether you opened a card's details or how the card was shown. Undoing a rating is recorded too.
- Notes and comments: voice notes you record on a card, written comments, and the passage a comment is about. Voice notes are audio recordings of what you say.
- Transcripts of your voice notes, made automatically.
- Hands-free sessions: if you turn on hands-free mode, what you say to the app and what it answers are transcribed, and the transcript and the actions taken are kept in a log.
- Settings kept on your device, such as the deck you chose and your reading speed, and your sign-in token, kept in the device's secure storage. Voice notes not yet uploaded are kept on the device until the server has them.
We do not collect your location, contacts, photos, advertising identifiers or payment details. The app shows no ads and does not track you across other apps or websites.
Microphone
The app asks for the microphone only to record voice notes and for hands-free mode. It listens only while you are recording a note or while hands-free mode is on, and you can see when either is running. It never uses the camera.
Why we use it
Your ratings and notes are research data. We use them to judge which research ideas are worth pursuing, to compare the methods that produced the ideas, and to improve the tool. We do not sell any of it, and we do not use it for advertising.
Who else handles it
- Cloudflare hosts the app and its server, stores the data and runs the sign-in.
- OpenAI transcribes voice notes, tidies the transcripts, and runs hands-free mode: while it is on, the sound from your microphone is streamed to OpenAI.
- ElevenLabs turns the text of the cards into speech when you use Read aloud. Only card text is sent, never your voice or your notes.
- GitHub runs the job that sends voice notes for transcription.
- Rumil (rumil.ink), a research platform we work with, receives the ratings given in a few decks set up to share them, with the rater's identity. Notes and comments are not sent.
- Expo delivers app updates; Google Play and Apple deliver the app itself.
These providers handle the data on our behalf, under their own terms and security measures. Some are in the United States, so your data may be processed outside your own country.
Security
Everything sent between the app and the server is encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Only signed-in users can reach the server, and each user sees only their own ratings and notes; a small number of administrators at Forethought Research can see everyone's, to run the research.
How long we keep it
We keep ratings, notes and transcripts for as long as the research needs them. Ask us and we will delete yours, or send you a copy.
Your choices and rights
You can stop using the app at any time, record no voice notes, and leave hands-free mode off. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to see, correct, export or delete your data, or to object to how we use it. To do any of this, or to ask a question, write to apps@forethought.org.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update it here and change the date at the top.