01 — THE FULL PICTURE
What happens when you hit Record
This is the complete journey of your meeting — every step, every system, every decision about your data. Nothing is hidden.
🎙
Recording begins on your device only
Your microphone opens and audio is captured entirely in your phone or computer's temporary memory (RAM). At this moment, nothing has left your device. Nothing is written to permanent storage on your device. No internet connection is used while you are actively recording. Alfred cannot access your microphone unless you tap Record. This is enforced by your phone's operating system — Android and iOS both require explicit permission before any app can access a microphone.
🔒 ON-DEVICE ONLY
🔐
You tap Stop — audio is encrypted before it moves anywhere
When you tap Stop, Alfred prepares to send your audio for transcription. Before a single byte leaves your device, it is wrapped in TLS 1.3 encryption — the most advanced transport encryption standard available, the same used by banking apps, government systems, and major financial institutions. This means even if someone intercepted the data in transit, it would be mathematically impossible to read it without the decryption keys, which only Alfred and AssemblyAI hold.
🔒 TLS 1.3 ENCRYPTED IN TRANSIT
📡
Audio travels to AssemblyAI for transcription
Your encrypted audio is sent directly to AssemblyAI — a SOC 2 Type II certified transcription service used by Spotify, Salesforce, and thousands of enterprise companies. AssemblyAI converts your speech to text using their Universal AI model. Their servers are hosted on AWS in the United States with enterprise-grade physical security, access controls, and audit logging. Alfred's own servers act as a secure routing layer and never receive or store your audio directly.
✓ SOC 2 TYPE II CERTIFIED
🗑
Your audio is permanently and automatically deleted
This is the most important step. The moment AssemblyAI finishes converting your speech to text, your audio file is permanently deleted from their servers — automatically, without any human involvement. There is no archive. There is no backup copy. There is no way to recover it. Alfred's servers never received the audio in the first place. After this step, your voice recording no longer exists anywhere.
🗑 PERMANENTLY DELETED — NO RECOVERY
🧠
Text transcript is summarised by AI
The text transcript (not audio — just words) is sent over TLS 1.3 to Anthropic Claude — an enterprise AI used by Fortune 500 companies. Claude reads the transcript, identifies key decisions and action items, and generates your summary. By default, Anthropic does not use API data to train their models. The transcript is processed within Claude's context window and is not stored beyond the session. Alfred's servers receive only the final summary text.
✓ NO MODEL TRAINING ON YOUR DATA
📱
Summary is returned and stored on YOUR device only
The meeting summary and transcript are returned to your device and saved to your app's private local storage only. Alfred does not maintain a server-side database of your meetings. There is no cloud account, no central repository of your meeting history that could be breached. Your data lives on your device, under your device's encryption and security. If you uninstall Alfred, all meeting data is gone permanently.
📱 LOCAL DEVICE STORAGE ONLY
📧
Email summary is sent securely to you
Your summary email is delivered via Resend, an enterprise email platform. Every email is cryptographically signed using DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — a security standard that proves the email genuinely came from Alfred and was not modified in transit. Alfred's sending domain is also protected by SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records, which prevent anyone from forging Alfred emails to deceive you. If an email ever claims to be from Alfred but fails these checks, your email provider will flag or reject it.
✓ DKIM + SPF AUTHENTICATED
02 — THE BIG QUESTION
Is Alfred always listening?
👂
No. Absolutely not.
Alfred does not listen to, record, or process any audio unless you explicitly tap the Record button. This is not just a policy — it is technically enforced by your device's operating system.
Both Android and iOS require an app to request microphone permission and actively open the microphone to capture audio. Alfred cannot secretly record you. Your phone's permission system prevents this at the OS level.
🎙
What about the "Hey Alfred" wake word?
The wake word feature runs entirely on your device using a local AI model called Vosk. It does not send any audio to the internet to listen for the wake word. You can verify this yourself — enable the wake word, disconnect your phone from WiFi and mobile data, and say "Hey Alfred." It will still activate, because it never connects to the internet. The microphone only opens for recording after the wake word is detected locally.
The wake word model processes tiny snippets of audio locally to check for the trigger phrase. None of this audio is transmitted, stored, or processed anywhere outside your device.
03 — DATA COLLECTION
What data we collect and why
We collect the minimum data necessary to deliver the service. Here is a complete, honest breakdown of every piece of data Alfred touches:
| DATA TYPE |
COLLECTED? |
STORED ON OUR SERVERS? |
WHY |
| Your voice / audio recording |
In transit only |
✗ Never |
Sent to AssemblyAI for transcription, then deleted |
| Meeting transcript (text) |
In transit only |
✗ Never |
Processed by Claude for summarisation only |
| Meeting summary |
✗ No |
✗ Never |
Stored on your device only, emailed to you |
| Your email address |
✓ Yes |
Only to send your email |
Required to deliver your meeting summary |
| App settings (name, theme) |
✗ No |
✗ Never |
Stored locally on your device only |
| Your IP address |
Temporary only |
✗ Not logged |
Used only for routing requests, not stored |
| Device identifiers |
✗ No |
✗ Never |
Alfred does not collect device identifiers |
| Usage analytics |
✗ No |
✗ Never |
Alfred does not track how you use the app |
04 — ABSOLUTE LIMITS
What we never do with your data
🚫
We never sell your data
Alfred does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information or meeting content to any third party, advertiser, data broker, or research company. Ever. Under any circumstances.
📊
We never use your meetings for advertising
Your meeting content is never analysed to build an advertising profile. Alfred does not show ads and does not share data with ad networks.
🤖
We never train AI on your meetings
Your meeting transcripts are not used to train or improve any AI model — not Alfred's systems, not Anthropic's models via the API, not AssemblyAI's models. Your conversations stay private.
👤
We never share with third parties
Your data is never shared with any third party except AssemblyAI (transcription) and Anthropic (summarisation) — both under strict data processing agreements — and Resend for email delivery only.
💾
We never store your meetings server-side
There is no database of your meetings on Alfred's servers. Once processing is complete, nothing is retained. We have no ability to look up, read, or access your past meetings.
🏛
We never hand over data without legal process
We would require a valid court order or legal process before disclosing any user information to law enforcement. And because we store so little, there is very little we could provide even then.
05 — TECHNICAL SECURITY
Security systems protecting you
🔒
TLS 1.3 Encryption on All Connections
Every connection between Alfred's app and any server uses TLS 1.3 — the current gold standard for transport security. Older, weaker versions (TLS 1.0, 1.1) are not accepted. This prevents man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdropping on your data in transit.
⛔
Rate Limiting & Brute Force Protection
Alfred's backend enforces strict rate limits per IP address. Automated attacks that attempt to overwhelm the server or guess API patterns are automatically detected and blocked. The transcription endpoint is limited to 10 requests per minute per IP. The AI endpoint is limited to 30 requests per minute per IP.
🧹
Input Sanitisation Against Injection Attacks
All data received by Alfred's servers is sanitised before processing. Malicious inputs designed to exploit security vulnerabilities (SQL injection, script injection, prompt injection) are stripped and rejected before they can affect the system.
🛡
Security Response Headers
Alfred's servers return security headers on every response: X-Content-Type-Options (prevents MIME sniffing), X-Frame-Options (prevents clickjacking), X-XSS-Protection (blocks cross-site scripting), and Referrer-Policy (limits referrer information leakage).
📦
Request Size Limits
Alfred's servers enforce a maximum request payload size of 50MB, preventing denial-of-service attacks that attempt to overwhelm the server with oversized data.
🔑
API Keys Stored as Environment Variables
All API keys (AssemblyAI, Anthropic, Resend) are stored as encrypted environment variables on the server — never hardcoded in source code, never exposed in the app, never visible in network traffic. Even if someone obtained the app's source code, they would have no access to any credentials.
🏠
Local Device Encryption
Meeting summaries stored on your device benefit from your device's built-in storage encryption. Android and iOS both encrypt app storage by default when a screen lock is set. Alfred does not store sensitive data outside of protected app storage.
06 — EMAIL SECURITY
How Alfred's emails are authenticated
Fraudulent emails claiming to be from legitimate companies are one of the most common attack vectors. Alfred implements the industry-standard email authentication stack to ensure you can always trust an Alfred email.
✉
DKIM — DomainKeys Identified Mail
Every email Alfred sends is cryptographically signed with a private key that only Alfred holds. Your email provider can verify this signature using a public key published in Alfred's DNS records. If the signature doesn't match — if the email was tampered with or forged — your email provider will reject or flag it.
📋
SPF — Sender Policy Framework
Alfred's domain has an SPF record that explicitly lists which servers are authorised to send emails on Alfred's behalf. Any email claiming to be from Alfred that comes from an unauthorised server will fail SPF checks and be treated as spam or rejected entirely.
🏷
What this means for you
If you ever receive an email claiming to be from Alfred — asking you to click a link, confirm a payment, or provide personal details — you can verify it is genuine by checking whether it passed DKIM and SPF in your email client's message headers. A legitimate Alfred email will always pass both checks. If it does not, treat it as suspicious and contact us immediately at alfred@alfredmeeting.xyz.
07 — THIRD-PARTY PARTNERS
Who handles your data and why they're trusted
Alfred uses three external services to deliver the product. Each was chosen specifically for their enterprise-grade security credentials.
AssemblyAI
SOC 2 TYPE II CERTIFIED
Handles audio transcription. Used by Spotify, Salesforce, Zoom, and thousands of enterprises. SOC 2 Type II certification means an independent auditor has verified their security controls over time — not just a point-in-time assessment. Audio is deleted immediately after transcription. View their security page →
Anthropic
ENTERPRISE PRIVACY TERMS
Handles AI summarisation via Claude. Anthropic is one of the world's leading AI safety companies. Via the API, Anthropic does not use your data to train models by default. Their enterprise privacy terms apply to all API usage. View their privacy policy →
Resend
EMAIL INFRASTRUCTURE
Handles email delivery of your meeting summaries. Resend is an enterprise email platform with DKIM signing, delivery tracking, and SOC 2 compliance. Your email address is used only to deliver your summary — never shared or used for marketing. View their privacy policy →
📍
Where are the servers located?
Alfred's backend server runs on Render in the United States. AssemblyAI and Anthropic also operate servers in the United States. All are subject to US privacy law and their respective enterprise data processing agreements. If you require data residency in South Africa or the EU specifically, contact us to discuss options.
08 — SOUTH AFRICAN LAW
POPIA compliance
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is South Africa's primary data privacy law, modelled on the EU's GDPR. Alfred is designed to comply with POPIA in the following ways:
✅
Lawful purpose
Alfred collects only the minimum personal information necessary to deliver the service — your email address to send your summary. No additional data is collected.
📝
Consent
By using Alfred, you consent to your meeting content being processed for the purpose of generating a summary. You can withdraw consent at any time by deleting the app.
🔐
Security safeguards
Alfred implements technical security measures (TLS 1.3, rate limiting, input sanitisation, security headers) to protect personal information from unauthorised access.
🗑
Right to deletion
You can delete all your meeting data at any time from within the app settings. Because no data is stored server-side, deletion is immediate and permanent.
🚫
No further processing
Your personal information is not processed for any purpose beyond delivering the Alfred service to you. It is not sold, profiled, or used for marketing.
📬
Information Officer
For POPIA-related inquiries, contact Alfred's designated information officer at alfred@alfredmeeting.xyz.
09 — YOUR RIGHTS
How to delete your data
🗑
You are always in control
Because Alfred stores your meeting data locally on your device — not on our servers — you have complete control. Deletion is instant, permanent, and requires no contact with us.
📱
Delete all meetings
Open Alfred → Settings → Danger Zone → "Clear All Meetings." This permanently deletes all meeting summaries, transcripts, and action items from your device.
✅
Delete all tasks
Open Alfred → Settings → Danger Zone → "Clear All Tasks." This permanently deletes all action items and reminders.
🗑
Delete everything
Uninstall Alfred from your device. This permanently removes all app data including meetings, tasks, settings, and contacts. Because there is no server-side account, nothing remains.
📧
Email deletion request
If you have concerns about any data we may hold (such as your email address from a contact form), email alfred@alfredmeeting.xyz and we will respond within 5 business days.
10 — QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Security questions answered
Can Alfred employees read my meetings?
+
No. Alfred's servers act as a pass-through only — they route your encrypted data to AssemblyAI and Anthropic and return the results to your device. No meeting content is stored server-side. Alfred staff have no database of your meetings to access, read, or search. There is literally nothing to read.
What happens if Alfred gets hacked?
+
There is very little for a hacker to steal. Because Alfred does not maintain a database of your meetings, transcripts, or audio, a breach of Alfred's servers would not expose your meeting content. What a hacker might access: server logs (which we keep minimal and do not include meeting content), and possibly the server's routing configuration. Your actual meeting data lives only on your device, which they would not have access to.
Is this appropriate for legally sensitive conversations?
+
Alfred is used for disciplinary hearings, client consultations, and HR reviews. For legally sensitive conversations, we recommend: (1) Informing all participants that the meeting is being recorded — this is a legal requirement in South Africa regardless of the tool used. (2) Using Alfred's "Clear All Meetings" feature promptly after generating your notes, so sensitive transcripts do not remain on your device longer than necessary. (3) Ensuring your device has a screen lock and storage encryption enabled. Alfred provides the tooling — compliance with recording laws is your responsibility as the operator.
Can law enforcement access my meetings through Alfred?
+
Alfred would require a valid South African court order before disclosing any information to law enforcement. Because Alfred stores no meeting content server-side, there is effectively nothing on our servers to hand over even if compelled. Your meeting data lives only on your device, which would require a separate legal process directed at you to access.
Does Alfred work offline? Does anything happen without my knowledge?
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Nothing happens without your knowledge. Alfred requires an active internet connection to transcribe and summarise — if you are offline, processing will wait until you reconnect. The only thing that works offline is the "Hey Alfred" wake word, which runs locally on your device and sends nothing to the internet. Alfred does not communicate with any server in the background except UptimeRobot pings (a monitoring service that checks if Alfred's server is running — these contain no personal data).
How is this different from other meeting apps like Otter.ai or Fireflies?
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Most meeting assistant apps store your meetings in their cloud — meaning they have a database of all your transcripts and recordings. Alfred is fundamentally different: meeting data is stored only on your device. There is no Alfred cloud account, no Alfred meeting database, no Alfred transcript archive. This design is intentional and is Alfred's primary security advantage over cloud-based competitors.
What should I do if I receive a suspicious email claiming to be from Alfred?
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Alfred will only ever send you meeting summaries to the email address you configured in settings. Alfred will never email you asking for payment details, passwords, or personal information. If you receive a suspicious email: (1) Do not click any links. (2) Check the sender address — it should be from alfredmeeting.xyz only. (3) Check the email headers to verify DKIM and SPF passed. (4) Report it to us at alfred@alfredmeeting.xyz immediately.
Is Alfred POPIA compliant?
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Yes. Alfred is designed to comply with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We collect minimal personal information, process it only for the stated purpose of delivering meeting summaries, implement appropriate technical security measures, and provide users with full control over their data including the right to deletion. See Section 08 above for the full POPIA breakdown.