Privacy
What GetTheText collects, what it doesn't, and why the list is so short.
- An account is optional. If you make one, we keep your email address and, so you can find things again, a history of the transcripts you opened.
- Without an account we count how many transcripts your browser used today, to apply the daily limit, and keep no history.
- Some pages show ads from TinyAdz, an advertising network, which sets its own cookies. Pages where you sign in, enter a code, write to us or manage your account don't.
- We set a few cookies the site needs to work; Google Analytics, Cloudflare and TinyAdz set their own. We don't sell personal data or pass it to data brokers.
Who we are
GetTheText, at getthetext.com and youtubetext.com, is an independent project. "We" and "us" on this page mean the people who run it. We decide what the site collects and why, so we're the ones responsible for it, and the ones to ask about it.
What we collect
When you paste a link, we receive the video ID so we can prepare its transcript. The transcript is cached on our server for up to seven days, keyed by the video ID only, so the next person asking for the same video gets it instantly.
To apply the daily limit we record which videos, and in which language, were opened each day. For accounts that record belongs to the account. Without an account it belongs to a random identifier stored in a cookie in your browser, plus a one-way hash of your IP address so the limit can't be dodged by clearing cookies. The hash can't be turned back into the address. Daily counts are kept for 90 days for accounts and 30 days otherwise.
Our web server keeps standard access logs (IP address, browser type, requested page, time) for up to 30 days. They exist for security, rate limiting and debugging, and are not used to build profiles.
If you use the contact form, we keep your name, email, the message and the video link you included for as long as it takes to deal with it, then for up to a year in case you follow up.
Accounts
An account needs an email address and a password. We store the password only as a salted scrypt hash, which can't be reversed; nobody here can see it. If you sign in with Google instead, Google tells us your email address and a Google account number, and nothing else.
Signed-in visitors get a history: for each transcript you open or download, the video's title and channel, the language, the format and the time. Batch downloads (bulk links, playlists, channels) appear as one entry, and their files are kept for seven days so you can download them again. On the Free plan history is kept for seven days; on paid plans until you clear it.
If you ask to be told when a paid plan opens, we note which plan and when. If you redeem a code, we note which code and when. If you forget your password and ask for a reset, we email you a link that works for one hour.
You can clear your history, or delete your account and everything attached to it, from the Usage page at any time. Deleting is immediate and permanent.
What we don't collect
No payment details, and no names unless you choose to give one in a contact message. We don't sell personal data or pass it to data brokers, and we don't give TinyAdz your email, your history or anything you type.
Cookies and local settings
The site sets only the cookies it needs to work. gtt_s keeps you signed in, for up to 30 days. gtt_csrf is a random security token that stops other websites from submitting forms as you. gtt_a is a random identifier used to count your daily transcripts when you aren't signed in. gtt_oauth exists for a few minutes during Google sign-in. None of them is used for advertising or shared with anyone.
Your theme (light or dark), your preferred view and your text size are saved in your browser's local storage, which stays on your device. Clearing site data in your browser removes them, and the cookies above.
Google Analytics and TinyAdz set their own cookies, described below. Blocking those doesn't affect anything on the site. If Cloudflare, which protects the site, asks your browser to prove it isn't a bot, it sets a cookie called cf_clearance so it doesn't ask again on every page.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics 4 to see which pages are visited, roughly where visitors come from and which features get used. It sets cookies (named _ga and _ga_ followed by an id) that give your browser a random identifier so repeat visits can be counted as one visitor rather than many. Google processes this data on our behalf; it does not include your name or anything you type into the site, and we do not use it for advertising.
Google anonymises IP addresses in Analytics 4 and its own privacy policy covers how it handles the data it receives. If you would rather not be counted, a content blocker, the browser's tracking protection or Google's own opt-out extension all stop the script, and the site works exactly the same without it.
Advertising
Some pages show ads served by TinyAdz (tinyadz.com), an advertising network. Its script, loaded from apitiny.net, runs in your browser on those pages. It receives your IP address, your browser details and the address of the page you're on, may set cookies or similar identifiers, and uses them to pick, show and measure ads under its own privacy policy.
Pages where you sign in, create an account, reset a password, redeem a code, write to us or manage your account load no ads, so the script never sees what you type there. A content blocker stops the ads, and the site works the same without them.
Third parties
The site runs on a rented server, and its traffic passes through Cloudflare, which keeps out attacks and automated abuse. Like any network in that position, Cloudflare sees your IP address and the pages you request. Password-reset emails are sent through an email delivery provider, which sees your email address and the message. Each works under its own data-processing terms. TinyAdz is described above.
Video thumbnails are loaded from YouTube's image servers, so YouTube may see your IP address when one loads. The homepage shows a small launch badge loaded from SohamLaunches, which may see your IP address in the same way. If you sign in with Google, Google knows you did. Other than that, no third party receives data about you unless the law requires it.
Links to other websites, including YouTube itself, lead to services with their own privacy practices that we don't control.
Where data is stored
Our servers may be located outside your country. Whatever we hold is limited to the items above, and the same protections apply wherever it sits.
Security
Connections use HTTPS. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes, and sign-in sessions only as hashes of their tokens, so a copy of our database couldn't be used to sign in as you. Everything is kept on access-controlled systems and deleted on the schedule above. No system is perfectly secure, so we keep as little as possible to begin with.
Children
GetTheText isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal data through the contact form, tell us and we'll delete it.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete personal data about you, to object to or restrict its use, and to complain to a data-protection authority. You can delete your account and history yourself from the Usage page. For anything else, including a copy of what we hold or removing a contact thread, write to us through the contact page; we answer within 30 days.
Changes
If this page changes in a way that matters, we'll update the date at the top. Continued use after a change means you're fine with it.
Contact
Questions about privacy, and requests about your data, go through the contact page. Mention privacy in the message and it goes straight to the right place.