1Who we are
Mona is provided by Jian Seo, an individual based in Australia. Jian Seo is responsible for your personal information under this policy. In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Jian Seo as the provider of Mona.
Contact for anything about privacy: privacy@filmwithmona.com. A postal address is available on request.
This policy covers the Mona app for iPhone and the online service it talks to. This website sets no cookies, runs no scripts and loads nothing from anyone else. Like any website, its host sees basic request details such as IP addresses in order to deliver the pages.
2What stays on your phone
- Your library. Scripts, takes, recordings, notes and Mona’s feedback are stored on your iPhone. They’re included in your iPhone’s own backup (iCloud or your computer, whichever you use), under your control. Mona has no cloud sync, and we can’t see your library.
- Recordings. The camera and microphone are used when you record, ramble or dictate. Video and audio files are written to your phone and are never uploaded by Mona. If you save a take to Photos or share it, that’s your choice and goes where you send it.
- Speech recognition. To follow your voice and to turn your ramble into text, Mona uses Apple’s speech recognition. On iOS 26 it runs on your phone. On older versions of iOS, or where on-device recognition isn’t available, Apple’s speech service may process the audio, under Apple’s privacy policy. Mona doesn’t receive or keep that audio.
- Voice memory (optional). If you turn it on, Mona keeps ramble audio and transcripts on your phone so it can measure how you speak over time. It’s off by default, stays on the phone, is left out of backups, and can be turned off or deleted in Settings.
- Your activity log. The app keeps a short local log of what you did (screens opened, takes started) so problems can be diagnosed. It stays on the phone unless you choose to send it to us (see section 10).
3What Mona sends, and why
Writing and feedback happen on our server, using OpenAI. When you use one of those features, the app sends what that feature needs, and only when you use it:
| When you… | Mona sends |
|---|---|
| Make a script from a ramble, or revise one | The transcript of what you said, the script, your instructions or edits, the writing direction you chose, words you’ve asked it to avoid, and a few sample sentences of how you speak (your voice profile) so the result sounds like you. |
| Use a template | The template’s outline, along with the script or transcript it’s being applied to. |
| Ask for feedback on a take, or bring in a reference video | Up to six still frames from the video (small JPEG images, at most 640 pixels across), the transcript, word timings and cut points, and, if you’ve set them, your platforms, audience and goals. This only happens after you’ve allowed Mona analysis. The video and audio files themselves are never sent. |
| Buy or restore a subscription | The purchase proof that Apple signs, so our server can check which plan you’re on (see section 5). |
| Use the app normally | Five usage steps, unless you switch them off (see section 4). |
Writing and feedback requests also carry which plan you’re on, as the Apple-signed proof of your subscription, so our server can apply the right allowance.
Every request also carries your install ID: a random code the app creates when it’s first installed. It isn’t linked to your name, email, phone number or Apple Account. It lets us count your allowance, stop abuse, and find your records if you ask us to. Deleting the app deletes the ID; reinstalling creates a new one.
Our server passes your content to OpenAI to produce the result and sends the result back to your phone. We don’t keep the words you sent or the script that came back.
4What we keep on our server
- Usage steps. Five moments: starting a ramble, getting a script, keeping it, filming, and saving. Each carries short labels such as how long a take was, the time, and your install ID. Never your words, scripts, audio or video. They’re on by default so we can see where people get stuck. Turn them off in Settings → Privacy → Share usage steps; that also deletes any not yet sent.
- Request records. For each request to our server: which feature it was, whether it worked, how long it took, which AI model answered, and the reason if it was refused, with your install ID. Not the content of the request or the reply. We don’t store your IP address or device details in these records, though our hosting provider’s network logs see IP addresses as part of delivering any request.
- Usage and spend ledger. How many credits each install used per day, and what that cost us, so we can enforce plan allowances, prevent abuse and keep the service affordable.
5Purchases
Subscriptions are sold by Apple. We never see your name, card or payment details. When you buy or restore, the app sends Apple’s signed record of the transaction to our server, which checks Apple’s signature and notes the plan and Apple’s transaction number against your install ID. That’s how your allowance follows your subscription, and how we can tell a real purchase from a forged one.
6Test builds only
People testing Mona through Apple’s TestFlight see an extra switch, Tester diagnostics. It’s off until a tester turns it on, and it doesn’t exist in the App Store version. When it’s on and something goes wrong, the app sends a trace that includes what the tester said to Mona, the scripts it wrote, and device details (phone model, screen, language and microphone). Traces are deleted after 30 days. Videos are never included.
7Who processes it
We use service providers who handle data on our behalf and only to run Mona:
| Provider | Role | Where |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | AI provider. Writes and revises scripts and analyses takes from the content listed in section 3. | United States |
| Vercel | Hosting. Runs our server and delivers requests between the app and OpenAI. | United States (US East) |
| Neon | Database. Stores the records in sections 4 to 6. | Australia (Sydney) |
| Apple | Sells subscriptions and signs purchase records. Provides speech recognition as described in section 2. | Under Apple’s own privacy policy |
OpenAI processes content to produce a response and may keep it for a limited time for safety and abuse monitoring under its own data policies. We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect people’s safety or our rights.
8What we don’t do
- No accounts. Nothing to sign up for or sign in to.
- No advertising, and no advertising or analytics SDKs from other companies.
- No tracking you across other apps or websites.
- We never sell or rent your personal information, or share it for cross-context advertising.
- No uploading of your audio or video files.
- No location, contacts or reading your photo library. Mona saves to Photos only when you ask, and sees only the videos you pick when you bring one in.
Settings also has a switch called Help improve trouble-spot hints. In the current version it doesn’t send anything, on or off. If that changes, this policy will say so first.
9How long we keep it
| Record | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Content you send to write or analyse | Not kept by us after the reply is sent |
| Usage steps and request records | 90 days |
| Tester diagnostics traces (TestFlight only) | 30 days |
| Usage and spend ledger, purchase records | For as long as your subscription lasts and up to 2 years after it ends, to handle billing questions and prevent abuse |
| Everything on your phone | Until you delete it or the app |
10Your choices and deleting your data
- Switch off usage steps in Settings → Privacy → Share usage steps.
- Mona analysis only runs after you allow it, and you can turn it off. That stops future requests; it can’t recall one already sent.
- Delete things on your phone by deleting a script or take in the app, or delete the app to remove everything it stored. Copies in your iPhone backup follow your backup settings.
- Delete what we hold on our server. Because there are no accounts, we find your records by install ID. Open Settings → Help & about → Diagnostics, tap the share button, choose Send diagnostics, and email the file to privacy@filmwithmona.com. The file contains your install ID. We’ll delete the records linked to it and confirm. Please do this before deleting the app, as the ID goes with it. A delete button inside the app is on its way; when it arrives it will do the same thing in one tap.
- See or correct what we hold the same way: email us with your install ID and say what you’d like.
We’ll reply within 30 days. We may need to keep a small part, such as purchase records, where the law requires it.
11Data sent overseas
Our server and AI provider are in the United States, so the information in sections 3 to 6 is sent to and processed in the United States wherever you are. The database is hosted in Australia (Sydney). We choose providers that contractually commit to protect it and to use it only to provide their service to us.
12If you’re in Australia
We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles. This policy explains what we collect and why, who we disclose it to and that they’re in the United States, and how to access or correct it. Using Mona’s online features means sending this information, so if you’d rather not, use only the on-phone features.
To complain, email privacy@filmwithmona.com. We’ll respond within 30 days. If you’re not satisfied, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
13Where Mona is available
Mona isn’t currently offered in the European Union, the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom. If that changes, we’ll update this policy first.
14Children
Mona isn’t directed at children under 13, or under 16 in the EEA and UK, and we don’t knowingly collect their information. If you think a child has used Mona’s online features, email us with the install ID and we’ll delete the records.
15Security
Everything between the app and our server is encrypted in transit. Purchases are checked against Apple’s signature. We keep as little as we can, for as short a time as we can, and access to our systems is restricted. No system is perfectly secure; if something goes wrong that puts your information at risk, we’ll tell you and the relevant regulator where the law requires it.
16Changes to this policy
If Mona starts collecting something new or using it differently, we’ll update this policy before the change ships, change the effective date at the top, and tell you in the app if it matters.
17Contact
Jian Seo, privacy@filmwithmona.com. A postal address is available on request.