Effective Date: May 18, 2026 · Last Updated: May 26, 2026 · Document Version: Privacy v4, Terms v2, Consent v1
HarkNote ("the App") is developed and operated by CTK Advisors LLC ("we," "us," or "our"). This Privacy Policy describes how HarkNote handles recordings, transcripts, notes, settings, and related data. By using the App, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
HarkNote is an audio recording and transcription tool. YOU are the data controller for any recordings you make. Recording laws vary significantly by jurisdiction:
It is your sole responsibility to determine which recording-consent laws apply, obtain all required consents from all parties before recording, provide any required notices, and comply with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws regarding audio recording and surveillance.
We provide no legal advice and make no representations regarding the legality of any specific recording. We expressly disclaim any liability arising from your failure to comply with applicable recording laws. We recommend you inform all participants when a recording is active, obtain consent before recording, and consult a qualified attorney if uncertain.
When you initiate a recording, the App captures audio via your device microphone. You may also import audio files into HarkNote through the iOS Share Sheet. Audio files are stored locally on your device unless you choose iCloud Drive storage for audio sync.
Audio is transcribed on-device using the WhisperKit speech-recognition engine. Transcripts are stored in the App database and may sync through Apple's private CloudKit service when iCloud is available for the App.
If you grant calendar access, the App reads upcoming calendar events to associate recordings with meetings. The App never creates, modifies, or deletes calendar events.
We store your settings (e.g., selected transcription model, theme) using on-device UserDefaults.
If you choose to train Self voice tagging, the App records a short sample of your voice, converts it on-device into a speaker embedding, stores that embedding as a local voice profile named "Self," and deletes the temporary training audio sample. The voice profile is used only to label high-confidence speaker matches in future recordings. It is stored in the App database and may sync through Apple's private CloudKit service when iCloud is available for the App. It is not sent to CTK Advisors LLC, harknote.app, or any developer-operated server.
You can skip this step, use HarkNote without a Self voice profile, retrain it later, or delete it from Settings.
When you accept the Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and recording consent notice, the App stores an acceptance record containing the document versions accepted, acceptance timestamp, app version, build number, and document text hashes. This record is kept in the App's local preferences so the App can determine whether you need to review updated terms. It is also stored in the App database and may sync through Apple's private CloudKit service when iCloud is available for the App.
The App also sends a minimal legal acceptance receipt to CTK Advisors LLC via harknote.app. The receipt contains only a receipt UUID, accepted document versions, acceptance timestamp, app version, build number, document text hashes, platform, and source. It does not include your recordings, transcripts, notes, calendar content, questions, summaries, Apple ID, name, email address, advertising identifier, or precise location. This legal acceptance receipt is the only developer-readable app record HarkNote sends to CTK Advisors LLC. We use it only to document legal acceptance, maintain terms-version records, protect the App against misuse, and comply with legal obligations. We do not use it for analytics, advertising, marketing, tracking, or profiling.
If you separately submit app feedback through harknote.app, CTK Advisors LLC receives the feedback type, message text, optional contact email if you provide one, and basic request context such as user agent and page URL. Feedback is routed to our internal project tracker so we can triage bugs and improvements. Do not include recording audio, transcripts, calendar details, or private meeting content in feedback. Feedback is not used for advertising, marketing, tracking, or profiling.
Audio processing, transcription, speaker identification, optional Self voice matching, summarization, and Q&A run on your device. HarkNote does not upload your recordings, transcripts, meeting notes, questions, summaries, calendar content, voice profiles, or speaker embeddings to our servers or to a cloud AI service for processing. The App uses:
HarkNote may download or update on-device model assets from model hosting services so these features can run locally. Model download requests do not include your recordings, transcripts, meeting notes, questions, summaries, or calendar content.
HarkNote uses Apple's iCloud services in two ways. App database data, including recording metadata, transcripts, summaries, notes, speaker labels, optional voice profiles, speaker embeddings, and meeting bindings, may sync through Apple's private CloudKit database when iCloud is available for the App. Audio files use your iCloud Drive container only when you choose iCloud Drive storage for recordings. iCloud storage and sync are governed by Apple's iCloud Terms and Privacy Policy; data is encrypted in transit and at rest by Apple. We do not have access to your iCloud data.
All local data is stored using iOS sandboxed storage and Apple SwiftData. Audio files are stored in the App's documents directory or, if selected, your iCloud Drive container. We rely on iOS platform security, including hardware encryption and Data Protection.
Recordings and transcripts persist until you delete them within the App. Deleting a recording removes the audio file, transcript, and all associated metadata from HarkNote. Uninstalling the App removes local data from that device. iCloud-synced data may be deleted via iOS Settings. Server-side legal acceptance receipts are retained as business and legal records for as long as reasonably necessary to document acceptance, resolve disputes, enforce our terms, or comply with law. Website feedback is retained as a support and product-development record for as long as reasonably necessary to triage, resolve, and document the request. You may contact privacy@harknote.app about privacy rights requests; we may retain records where legally permitted or required. We retain no server-side copies of your recordings, transcripts, notes, calendar content, questions, or summaries.
The App integrates no third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking services. HarkNote uses third-party open-source speech and audio libraries, including WhisperKit and FluidAudio, to run on-device processing. Model assets may be downloaded from model hosting services; your recordings and transcripts are not uploaded to those services for processing. Cloudflare Workers and D1 host the harknote.app website, legal acceptance receipt endpoint, and website feedback relay; they receive the minimal receipt described above and any website feedback you voluntarily submit, not recording content from the App. Future versions may offer optional cloud processing; any such feature will be opt-in, clearly disclosed, and will not activate without your explicit consent.
HarkNote is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Since all data resides on your device, you exercise access, deletion, restriction, and portability rights directly: in-app recordings are standard .caf audio files accessible via the Files app, and any recording can be deleted at any time without contacting us.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be presented in-app with a new consent prompt. Continued use after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
CTK Advisors LLC
Email: privacy@harknote.app
This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Travis County, Texas.
Document Version: Terms v2. By tapping "I Agree" or using HarkNote, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.
You agree to use HarkNote only in compliance with applicable laws, including recording, wiretapping, privacy, employment, data-protection, and consent laws. You are responsible for deciding whether you may lawfully record, transcribe, store, or share any conversation.
You control the recordings, transcripts, notes, summaries, and questions you create in the App. You are responsible for the content you record and for obtaining any consent, notice, authorization, or legal basis required before recording others.
Transcripts, speaker labels, summaries, action items, decisions, and Q&A answers may be incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading. Do not rely on HarkNote output as the sole record for legal, medical, financial, employment, compliance, safety, or other high-stakes decisions. Review important recordings and transcripts yourself.
HarkNote does not provide legal, medical, financial, compliance, or professional advice. We do not determine whether a recording is lawful in your jurisdiction.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, HarkNote is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, reliability, availability, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, CTK Advisors LLC is not liable for damages arising from your recordings, failure to obtain required consent, reliance on transcripts or summaries, loss of data, device issues, or inability to use the App.
We may update these Terms and Conditions. Material changes will be presented in-app with a new consent prompt. The App records the version you accepted so future versions can require renewed acceptance.
Your acceptance of these Terms is recorded as described in this Privacy Policy and Terms. Apart from that legal acceptance receipt, CTK Advisors LLC does not receive app behavior analytics or recording content from HarkNote. The receipt is a legal record of acceptance, not a usage-tracking, advertising, marketing, or profiling record.
By using HarkNote, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this Privacy Policy, the Terms and Conditions of Use, and your obligation to comply with all applicable recording-consent laws.