The short version #
Onwords does not collect anything.
Your voice is recognised by software already built into Windows, running on your own computer. Your script is stored on your own computer. The app has no account system, no analytics, and makes no internet connection of any kind. Nothing you say or write is transmitted to Chaos Created or to anyone else.
The rest of this policy explains that in detail, and covers the two places where other companies’ policies do apply: our website, and the Microsoft Store.
Who we are #
Onwords is produced by Chaos Created. If you have any questions about this policy, contact us.
Your voice #
Onwords listens through the microphone you select, and converts what it hears into text so it can follow your place in your script.
- Speech is recognised entirely on your own computer. Onwords uses the speech recognition engine built into Windows, running locally on your machine.
- We do not use online speech recognition. Onwords does not use any cloud speech service, and does not use the “Online speech recognition” feature in Windows settings.
- Audio is never recorded or saved. Sound from your microphone is processed as it arrives and then discarded. Onwords does not write audio to disk, and has no facility to do so.
- Recognised text is never transmitted. The words the app recognises exist only in memory while the app is running.
Onwords only listens while you have pressed Start Listening. It does not listen in the background, and it does not listen when it is not running.
Your scripts #
The script you paste into Onwords is saved on your own computer, so that it is still there next time you open the app. It is stored as an ordinary file at:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Onwords\script.txtYou can delete that file at any time, and doing so removes the saved script. This file never leaves your computer. It is not encrypted, and is readable by anyone who can already read files in your Windows user account.
What Onwords sends over the internet #
Nothing.
Onwords contains no code that makes network connections. It has no account system, no licence check, no update check, no analytics and no crash reporting. It works with no internet connection at all.
The only exception is that clicking Support or Learn More in the app hands a web address to your normal browser and asks it to open the page. Onwords does not fetch anything itself, and does not send any information about you along with the request. Once your browser opens our website, that visit is covered by the website’s own privacy policy.
Microphone permission #
Onwords needs permission to use your microphone in order to work at all. Windows controls this permission, and you can withdraw it at any time in Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone. If you withdraw it, Onwords will be unable to follow your speech, but everything else continues to work.
Optional diagnostic logging #
Onwords includes a diagnostic feature that records what the speech engine heard, to help investigate problems with how the app follows your voice.
It is switched off unless you deliberately turn it on, by creating a file at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Onwords\debug-logging. When on, it writes recognised text to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Onwords\recognition-log.txt on your own computer. That file is never transmitted anywhere. Delete both files to turn logging off and remove the record.
If you send us a diagnostic log while asking for support, you are choosing to share its contents with us. Only send one if you are comfortable with the text it contains, and we will use it only to investigate the problem you have reported.
If you install Onwords from the Microsoft Store #
Where Onwords is distributed through the Microsoft Store, Microsoft handles the download, installation and any purchase. Microsoft collects data about that in line with its own privacy statement, which we do not control: privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement.
Chaos Created may see aggregate, anonymised information from Microsoft about installs and ratings. This does not identify individual users, and does not include anything about how you use the app.
Windows itself #
Onwords runs on Windows and uses components supplied by Microsoft, including its speech recognition engine. Windows may collect its own diagnostic data about applications running on your device, according to your Windows diagnostic data settings. This is a function of Windows rather than of Onwords, and is controlled in Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback.
Children #
Onwords is a general-purpose tool and is not directed at children. Because it collects no data at all, it does not knowingly or unknowingly collect data from anyone, including children.
Your data protection rights #
Rights under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 — such as access, correction, erasure and portability — apply to personal data held by an organisation about you.
Chaos Created does not receive, hold or process any personal data through the Onwords application. Your scripts, your voice and your recognised speech remain on your own computer, under your control, and can be deleted by you at any time. There is therefore no data held by us for those rights to be exercised against in respect of the app.
If you contact us for support, we hold whatever you choose to send us, and you may ask us to delete it at any time by contacting us. Our website is covered separately by our website privacy policy.
Changes to this policy #
If we change how Onwords handles information, we will update this policy and change the date at the top. Any future version of the app that sends information anywhere — for example an optional update check — would be described here before release, and we would tell you about it clearly in the app.
