Version 1.0 — Effective: 22 July 2026
The short version: the Shruta app collects nothing. Your recordings, transcripts, and voice data are processed and stored only on your device, encrypted with a key derived from a password or passcode only you know. Shruta has no accounts, no content backend, no analytics, no trackers, and no advertising or analytics SDKs. Nothing leaves the app unless you explicitly export it. If you contact support, that correspondence is handled separately as described below.
Shruta is made by Spookwerk, the data controller for support correspondence (De Nieuwe Erven 3, Unit 14531, 5431 NV Cuijk, the Netherlands; KvK 42035025). For anything privacy-related, contact privacy@spookwerk.app. Trader information required under the EU Digital Services Act is published on Shruta's App Store page and at spookwerk.app.
If you enable it, Shruta can recognise voices so it can suggest names in later transcripts. Under the EU GDPR (Dutch: AVG), voice characteristics are special-category biometric data (Article 9). Shruta handles them under the strictest posture:
When you record audio using the Apple Watch app, the file is captured locally on your watch (AAC, in the app's temporary directory). When you tap stop, the file is queued for transfer to your iPhone via Apple's WatchConnectivity framework — a secure, local-only channel that does not route through Apple servers or the internet.
Once your iPhone confirms delivery, the file on the watch is deleted immediately. If the transfer fails (for example, your iPhone is out of range), WatchConnectivity retries automatically in the background; the watch keeps the file until the OS confirms delivery. If the watch app is force-quit mid-recording, any truncated audio file is removed from the watch's temporary directory the next time the app launches.
While waiting on your iPhone to be encrypted with your Shruta key, the transferred file briefly resides in a pending queue protected by iOS Data Protection class C (encrypted at rest under your device key, accessible only after first unlock). As soon as your Shruta key is available (after you unlock the app with your passcode or biometrics), the file is sealed with AES-256-GCM under that key and the unencrypted copy is deleted.
On your watch, files in the temporary directory are encrypted at rest under watchOS Data Protection class C only if you have set a watch passcode. The Shruta watch app shows a warning on the record screen if no passcode is set.
Nothing leaves Shruta unless you explicitly export it. The share menu — under the header "Leaves Shruta's encryption" — lets you copy a transcript or share it as PDF or text. From that moment the exported copy is outside Shruta's protection and subject to wherever you send it. Copied transcripts use a local-only clipboard entry that expires after a few minutes and is excluded from Universal Clipboard.
The one-time unlock is processed by Apple through the App Store. Apple handles the payment and transaction data under its own privacy policy; Shruta receives only an anonymous purchase confirmation and stores no payment information.
If you email support or privacy@spookwerk.app, we receive the email address, message, and anything you deliberately attach. We use it only to answer you, prevent abuse, and keep the minimum business record needed to resolve the request. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in supporting Shruta and, where applicable, steps requested by you before or during a purchase relationship (GDPR Articles 6(1)(f) and 6(1)(b)). Support email is handled by Spookwerk's email provider; the app never sends recordings or transcripts to it automatically. Do not attach confidential content unless you intentionally choose to share it for support.
We retain support correspondence only as long as needed for the request, security, and applicable bookkeeping or legal obligations, then delete or anonymise it.
There are none. Shruta ships with zero telemetry and no advertising or analytics SDKs. If an optional, opt-in crash-reporting feature is ever added, it will be off by default and this policy will be updated first.
App content lives on your device until you delete it: delete individual recordings (with their transcripts and voice-match data), delete voice profiles individually, or use Settings → Wipe to erase all Shruta data at once — keys, recordings, transcripts, and voice profiles. Deleting the app removes its data container. Spookwerk receives none of that app content.
For support correspondence we may hold, GDPR rights can include access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, and data portability. You may also withdraw consent for optional Voice ID at any time in the app; this does not affect earlier lawful processing. Contact privacy@spookwerk.app. You may lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) or your local supervisory authority.
Shruta is not directed at children and does not create child accounts. The app makes no decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects, and it does not profile users for advertising or marketing.
Laws on recording conversations differ by country (consent requirements, permitted use). Shruta is a tool for recording conversations you take part in; you are responsible for using it lawfully where you are.
We will update this page if Shruta's data handling ever changes, and the app's App Store privacy label with it.
If you believe you have found a security vulnerability in Shruta or in any Spookwerk service, please report it to security@spookwerk.app. We follow a coordinated vulnerability disclosure process: we confirm receipt, investigate, and keep you informed of the resolution. Machine-readable details are published in our security.txt.
Questions about this privacy policy can be directed to privacy@spookwerk.app.
Spookwerk (eenmanszaak) · KvK 42035025 · De Nieuwe Erven 3, Unit 14531, 5431 NV Cuijk, Netherlands.