Upsurge turns your voice into clean text. This page explains, in plain language, what we collect, why, and the control you have over it.
The short version
Upsurge does not sell your content or use it to train Upsurge models.
Your dictation is sent to the service providers needed to transcribe and clean it. Upsurge does not create its own server-side archive of your recordings or dictation history.
Your saved message history lives on your device and in your own iCloud if you enable sync.
No account is required. If you choose to send feedback or contact support, we collect only the information you provide so we can respond and improve the product.
What we collect
Voice recordings — when you dictate, the audio is sent through our service to a speech-recognition provider. Upsurge does not intentionally write the recording to persistent storage or create a server-side recording archive. Provider processing and retention are described below.
Raw and cleaned text — the transcript is processed to produce your finished text, which is returned to the app and saved to your history on your device (and synced through your own iCloud if you enable sync). Upsurge does not create a server-side message-history database. Provider processing and retention are described below.
Words Upsurge learns — so it spells the names and terms you actually use the right way, Upsurge notes proper nouns it spots in your dictations (a colleague's name, a product, a place) and keeps them on our servers against your pseudonymous device token. Only the individual words are kept — never the message they came from — and a word is used to help transcription only once it has recurred a few times. You can see the list, remove any word, or clear it entirely in the app.
A pseudonymous device identifier — on first launch the app creates a random token so your requests can be authenticated and linked to your usage and entitlement. No email, name, phone number, or password is required.
Pseudonymous usage and diagnostic signals — events such as registration, feature use, dictation length and timing, app version, platform and error outcomes. They are associated with your random device token rather than a name or email and are used for allowances, reliability and product analytics; they do not include the content of your messages.
Subscription status — if you subscribe to Upsurge Pro, Apple bills you and tells us only whether your subscription is active, tied to your pseudonymous device token. We never receive your name, email, or card details; Apple handles all payment information.
Feedback and support information — if you send in-app feedback, we receive the topic, your message, an optional reply email, your pseudonymous identifier and basic diagnostics such as app version, device, operating system, language and subscription status. Copies may be delivered to our support inbox and owner notification channel.
How your voice is processed
To turn your speech into clean text, Upsurge uses three AI providers acting on our behalf. ElevenLabs receives your recording and produces a raw transcript. OpenAI may receive that transcript to clean it. Anthropic handles cleanup for older app versions and when OpenAI is unavailable; it also handles personal writing styles, requested translations, writing feedback and recaps from messages you select. These providers process content under their commercial API terms and may retain request data for service operation, security, abuse prevention, troubleshooting and legal compliance. Upsurge does not sell, rent or share your recordings or messages with advertisers or data brokers.
OpenAI and Anthropic state that their commercial API inputs and outputs are not used to train their models by default unless the customer opts in. Upsurge does not opt your API content into that training. ElevenLabs processing is governed by its current service terms, privacy policy and our account settings.
Storage and retention
Upsurge application servers: we do not add recordings or dictations to a persistent server-side message history.
ElevenLabs: our current speech-to-text requests use its standard API retention and are not covered by Zero Retention Mode. ElevenLabs may retain recordings, transcripts and related logs under its policies. See ElevenLabs' retention documentation.
Anthropic: under its standard commercial API policy, inputs and outputs are normally deleted from its backend within 30 days, subject to its stated safety and legal exceptions. See Anthropic's retention documentation.
OpenAI: standard API abuse-monitoring logs may contain prompts and responses and are normally retained for up to 30 days, with stated exceptions. See OpenAI's API data controls.
Your saved history: stored locally on your device, and in your personal iCloud account if sync is on. You can delete any message, or clear everything, from inside the app.
Words Upsurge learns: kept for about four months after your last dictation (about a year for words you add yourself), then deleted automatically. Removing or clearing them in the app deletes them straight away.
Feedback: our service keeps up to the 500 most recent feedback submissions. Copies in our support inbox and notification systems are kept until they are no longer needed for support and product improvement, or until you ask us to delete them.
Usage and operational metrics: retained as needed to operate the service and understand product usage. Some records remain linked to a pseudonymous device identifier before they are aggregated.
Website and download analytics
Our website uses essential browser storage for your language choice and cookie notice, Vercel Web Analytics to understand site usage, and first-party counters for download clicks and campaign or referral codes. We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site advertising trackers.
Your choices
Delete individual messages or your whole history in the app at any time.
Turn iCloud sync off in Settings.
Remove learned words in the app, or request deletion of server-side data and feedback tied to your device token by emailing support@useupsurge.com.
Deleting local history does not automatically delete request data that an API provider may retain under its own policy. Contact us if you need help with a provider-related deletion request.
Permissions
Upsurge asks for microphone access (to record when you choose to) and, on Mac, Accessibility access (to type the cleaned text where your cursor is). It records only while you hold or toggle your dictation shortcut.
Changes
Features and this policy may change as the product evolves. We'll update the date above when we make material changes.