1. Overview
Assist is a macOS utility for capturing screenshots, adding visual and voice annotations, and reusing copied text. The desktop app is designed so that your captures and copied content stay on your Mac. Assist does not upload your screenshots, annotations, voice transcripts, or copied text to Assist's servers unless you deliberately send that material through another service yourself.
This policy applies to the Assist desktop application, assistapp.dev, the purchase and license services offered through the site, and support communications. It does not govern third-party applications or services you choose to use with Assist.
Thinking Sound Lab Private Limited (CIN U62013BR2025PTC079572), with its registered office at C/O Kumari Puspa, Ashok Vihar Colony, A.P. Colony, Gaya, Bihar 823001, India, is the operator of Assist and the controller of personal information described in this policy, except where a service provider acts as an independent controller.
2. Information we handle
| Category | Examples | Where it is handled |
|---|---|---|
| Captured content | Screenshots, annotations, thumbnails, copied text, optional local voice transcripts, and capture metadata | Stored locally in your Mac's Assist application-support folder |
| Temporary voice audio | Up to 90 seconds of speech recorded during an enabled annotation | Held only in memory until local transcription completes or Assist closes; never saved to disk or uploaded by Assist |
| License and device data | License key, license-instance identifier, Mac device name, app version, activation and validation dates, and customer email | Sent to Assist's license endpoint and Dodo Payments for validation |
| Purchase records | Name, email, product and payment identifiers, payment status, amount, currency, license key, purchase and download activity, billing address, phone number, cardholder name, card last four digits, card network and type, payment method, tax, invoice, refund and dispute details, and custom checkout responses when Dodo includes them in its payment or webhook records | Processed by Dodo Payments; Assist stores purchase fields and copies of Dodo payment and webhook event payloads in its Supabase database |
| Website and support data | Anonymous page views, hosting request data, and information you include in an email or support request | Processed by Vercel and the services used to respond to you |
Assist does not receive or store your full payment-card number. Dodo Payments, as merchant of record, handles payment credentials, billing, tax, fraud checks, and related transaction obligations under its own privacy policy.
The app also keeps preferences in macOS user defaults, activation information in the macOS Keychain, and a local diagnostic log. The diagnostic log is intended to contain operational events and errors, not the contents of your clipboard or screenshots.
3. Mac permissions and local access
Assist may request or use the following access when you enable related features:
- Screen Recording to capture the screen and create screenshots or annotations.
- Accessibility or Input Monitoring to detect Assist's global keyboard gestures.
- Microphone to record speech only while you hold Option during an annotation when voice transcription is enabled. Recording stops after 90 seconds. Raw audio stays only in memory until its queued local transcription completes or Assist closes; it is never saved to disk or uploaded by Assist.
- Clipboard access to keep recent copied text available for reuse.
- Network access to validate a license, check or download updates from GitHub, download the optional pinned Whisper model from Hugging Face during explicit setup, and open the purchase or support experience.
You control system permissions in macOS Settings. Disabling a permission may prevent the corresponding feature from working.
During an upgrade, Assist removes only integration configuration entries created by older Assist versions. This cleanup does not read task or session logs and preserves unrelated configuration.
4. How we use information
We use the information described above to:
- provide voice annotation, screenshot, and clipboard features;
- complete purchases, issue downloads and licenses, and validate activations;
- maintain transaction, tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, and dispute records;
- deliver updates, diagnose errors, secure the service, and prevent abuse;
- answer support requests and communicate about the product; and
- understand aggregate website usage and improve the site.
Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on performance of our contract, our legitimate interests in operating and securing Assist, compliance with legal obligations, and consent where required. We do not sell personal information or use it for cross-site behavioral advertising.
7. Retention and deletion
- Local app content remains on your Mac until you delete individual items or remove Assist's local data. Uninstalling the app may not automatically remove its application-support files, preferences, Keychain items, or backups.
- Purchase and license records are retained for as long as needed to deliver and validate your license and to meet accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, dispute, security, and legal obligations.
- Support messages are retained for as long as reasonably needed to resolve the request and maintain relevant business records.
Deletion from active systems may not immediately remove information from backups or records that must be kept by law. Dodo Payments controls retention of the payment data it processes independently.
8. Security
Assist uses reasonable safeguards appropriate to the information involved. Activation data is kept in the macOS Keychain, and purchase systems use access controls provided by their hosting services. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Copied text and screenshots can contain passwords, tokens, customer information, or other sensitive material. Review what you copy or capture, delete items you no longer need, protect access to your Mac, and do not rely on Assist to detect or remove secrets.
9. International processing
Our service providers may process information in countries other than the country where you live. Those countries may have different data-protection laws. Where required, we and our providers use legally recognized safeguards for international transfers.
10. Your choices and privacy rights
You can delete local recent items in Assist, change macOS permissions, disable voice transcription, or remove the app's local data. Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, or a copy of personal information we control, and to withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.
Send a request to abhishek@thinkingsoundlab.com. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information where law permits or requires it. For payment information controlled by Dodo Payments, you may also need to contact Dodo directly. You may complain to your local data-protection authority.
11. Children
Assist is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through our online services, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as Assist, our providers, or legal requirements change. The updated version will appear on this page with a revised date. If a change materially affects how we handle personal information, we will provide additional notice when reasonably appropriate.
13. Contact
Questions or privacy requests can be sent to Assist at abhishek@thinkingsoundlab.com.
Thinking Sound Lab Private LimitedCIN U62013BR2025PTC079572
C/O Kumari Puspa, Ashok Vihar Colony, A.P. Colony
Gaya, Bihar 823001, India