Last updated · May 2026
Begu is built so the things you record stay on your phone. This policy explains exactly what data Begu uses, what stays on your device, and the one narrow case where text leaves it.
Short version
- Your audio never leaves your iPhone. Every recording lives only on your device.
- Free tier: nothing leaves your device, period. Recording, transcription, and AI critique all run on-device.
- Pro tier (only after you explicitly consent): text transcripts — never audio — are sent to OpenAI for deeper analysis.
- Begu has no account system. We don't see your name, email, or Apple ID. No analytics, no trackers.
Data Begu accesses on your device
Begu accesses four kinds of data, all of which stay on your device: microphone audio (to record your spoken journal entries), speech recognition (to transcribe what you said into text — iOS 26's on-device SpeechAnalyzer is used, so no audio is sent to Apple's servers), your journal entries (audio, transcripts, critiques, and coaching — the whole point of the app, stored in iOS's protected app storage), and notification preferences (if you opt in to a daily local reminder; no notification tokens leave your phone).
Begu does not collect: name, email, phone number, Apple ID, location, contacts, photos, IP address, advertising identifiers, or any tracking signal.
When (and only when) text leaves your device
Begu Pro can route the text transcript of your recording to an AI model for richer critique and coaching. This happens only if both are true: you have an active Begu Pro subscription, AND you have explicitly enabled "Cloud-powered critique" — either on the consent sheet shown after you purchase Pro, or later in Settings → Pro analysis. Until you flip this on, no transcripts leave your device.
When the toggle is on, here is exactly what happens. Begu sends the prompt, your transcript, and your CEFR level to a Cloudflare Worker running at begu.parhamkarbasi.com. The Worker verifies the request comes from an active Pro subscriber by checking Apple's signed StoreKit receipt — an anonymous proof of subscription that contains no personal information about you, not even your Apple ID. The Worker forwards the request to OpenAI's chat completions API with a flag (store: false) that tells OpenAI not to retain the request for its 30-day abuse-monitoring window. The result is returned the same way and saved on your device.
Your audio recording is never shared. It is not sent to the Cloudflare Worker. It is not sent to OpenAI. It only exists on your iPhone. You can turn cloud analysis off at any time in Settings → Pro analysis. After that, no further requests leave your device.
Relevant third-party policies
- Apple: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/
- OpenAI (used only as described above, for Pro users with cloud consent on): https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy
- Cloudflare (only proxies requests to OpenAI on Begu's behalf): https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/
Subscriptions and Apple
Begu Pro is sold as an auto-renewing subscription through the App Store. Apple handles the purchase, billing, renewals, and your Apple ID — the developer never sees your payment details. Apple's privacy policy covers what they do with that information.
Children's privacy
Begu is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect any data from anyone, including children.
Changes to this policy
If anything material changes, this page and the date above will be updated. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email parham.karbasi78@gmail.com. Begu is independently developed by Parham Karbasi.