Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2025 • Last Updated: January 1, 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how Aarda AI ("we," "us," or "our"), a company established in Stockholm, Sweden, collects, uses, and shares your personal information when you use our interactive storytelling platform and services (the "Service").

Quick Links

Information We Collect

Account data, usage patterns, and content you create

How We Use Information

Service provision, AI processing, and improvements

Your Privacy Rights

Access, delete, correct, and opt-out options

Cookies & Tracking

Essential and optional cookie usage

Contact Us

Privacy officer and data protection contacts

California Rights

CCPA/CPRA specific rights and opt-out

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

Account Information:

Username and email address
Password (securely hashed and encrypted using bcrypt)
Profile information (language preferences, billing address)
Profile images and user-generated content
OAuth account information from social media platforms (Google, Apple, Discord)
Email verification status and verification tokens

Communication Data:

Messages and conversations with AI characters
Customer support communications
Email correspondence and verification emails sent via SendGrid
Feedback and survey responses

Payment Information:

Billing addresses and payment method details
Usage tracking for billing (tokens, audio minutes, characters, images)
Subscription and payment history
Billing cycle information and overage tracking
Membership tier information (FREE, PRO)

Content You Create:

Stories, characters, and narrative content
Uploaded documents and images (stored in AWS S3)
Project settings and configurations
Session data and conversation states
Knowledge bricks and world-building elements
Player characters, groups, and scenes
Audio recordings for voice interaction

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use our Service, we automatically collect:

Usage Data:

Pages visited and features used
Time spent on the platform and session duration
Usage patterns and preferences
Device information and browser type
Session activity and inactivity tracking (30-minute timeout)
Feature interaction and engagement metrics

Technical Data:

IP addresses and approximate geolocation
Session data and JWT authentication tokens
Log files and error reports via Sentry
Performance and analytics data
File upload metadata and security validation logs
Rate limiting and API usage data
WebSocket connection data

2. How We Use Your Information

2.1 Service Provision

Providing and maintaining our interactive storytelling platform
Processing AI-generated content using OpenAI and other LLM providers
Managing user accounts and authentication (including social login)
Enabling file uploads and document processing with security validation
Facilitating payment processing and billing cycle management
Generating images using DALL-E and other AI image generation services
Processing audio transcription using Google Speech-to-Text API
Managing user sessions and conversation states
Providing voice synthesis through ElevenLabs API
Storing and retrieving user content via AWS S3 and CloudFront CDN

2.2 Communication

Sending transactional emails via SendGrid (account verification, password resets)
Providing customer support and technical assistance
Sending service announcements and important updates
Responding to your inquiries and requests
Managing alpha release invitations and access
Notifications about billing and usage limits

2.3 Improvement and Analytics

Analyzing usage patterns to improve our services (with consent)
Debugging technical issues and monitoring performance via Sentry
Conducting research and development for new features
Generating anonymized analytics and insights
Session replay analysis for UX improvements (with explicit consent)
A/B testing and feature optimization
Error tracking and crash reporting

6. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

6.1 Universal Rights

Access: Request copies of your personal information
Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information
Portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured format

6.2 For EU Users (GDPR)

Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Restriction: Request limitation of processing
Withdrawal: Withdraw consent at any time for consent-based processing
Complaints: File complaints with your local data protection authority
Automated Decision-Making: Right to human review of automated decisions

6.3 For California Users (CCPA/CPRA)

Know: Request details about personal information collected and shared
Delete: Request deletion of personal information
Opt-Out: Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information
Non-Discrimination: Exercise rights without discrimination
Limit: Limit use of sensitive personal information
Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

We do not sell personal information in the traditional commercial sense. However, California law defines "sale" and "sharing" very broadly to include many common business practices.

What we actually do: Share data with service providers (OpenAI, AWS, Sentry, etc.) to operate our platform, use analytics services to improve our platform (with your consent), and store content in cloud services.

California residents can exercise opt-out rights:

Use the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in your account settings
Email privacy@aarda.ai with your request
We detect and honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals by automatically applying privacy-focused cookie settings (essential cookies only)

Note: Opting out may limit some platform functionality, as certain data sharing is necessary for core services.

8. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies with your consent through our cookie consent banner:

8.1 Essential Cookies (Always Active)

Authentication and security tokens (JWT)
Core platform functionality
User preferences and settings
Session management and timeout
CSRF protection
Rate limiting protection

8.2 Optional Cookies (Require Consent)

Analytics Cookies:

Usage statistics and performance monitoring via Sentry
Error tracking and debugging information
Platform performance metrics
Feature usage analytics

Session Replay Cookies:

Recording user interactions for debugging (with explicit consent)
UX improvement analysis
Customer support assistance
Sensitive data is automatically masked

Functional Cookies:

Enhanced features and personalization
Language and preference storage
UI state management
Remember user choices

Note: You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie consent banner or privacy settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.