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Privacy Policy

Last updated

Notex is an open-source tool that lets you manage Google Sheets lists by voice or chat. This page describes — in plain language — what data it touches, where each piece goes, and what it never sees.

1. Who runs Notex

Notex is an open-source project published at github.com/mazoqui/notex. The hosted instance at app.notex.me is operated by the project's maintainer as a free, best-effort service. Anyone can also self-host the code on their own infrastructure; in that case the operator of that instance — not Notex's maintainer — controls the data.

2. What Notex collects

The hosted instance touches only the data needed to provide the service. Concretely:

2.1 Identity

  • Google account email. Provided by Google Sign-In. Used as the key to open your isolated per-user database on the server, and to associate the right Google Sheet with your account.
  • Google OAuth access token. Stored in your browser's localStorage for the duration of your session, so you don't have to re-authenticate on every action. The token is sent to the Notex backend as a Bearer credential on each request and is validated against Google. It is not persisted on the server.

2.2 Settings you save

  • The LLM provider you choose (Gemini, OpenAI, or Anthropic), the model name, and the API key for that provider.
  • The URL of the Google Apps Script that's bound to your Google Sheet.
  • UI preferences (e.g. language).

These are saved in your per-user database on the Notex server, kept in a directory keyed by your email. Your API key is used only to authenticate the requests Notex forwards to the provider on your behalf.

2.3 Your prompts (in transit)

When you send a chat message, the text is forwarded to the LLM provider you chose, using your API key. Notex does not store the prompt or the model's response on its server. The chat thread you see in the browser is held in memory for the current session and is cleared when the page unloads or when you tap the "clear conversation" button.

2.4 List operations

When the LLM decides an action is needed (add an item, mark all, delete a list, etc.), the Notex backend translates the call into a request to the Google Apps Script bound to your Google Sheet. The Apps Script writes to your spreadsheet under your Google account's permissions. Notex itself does not keep a copy of your list contents.

3. What Notex does not collect

  • Microphone audio. Speech recognition runs entirely in your browser via the Web Speech API. Audio never leaves your device.
  • Conversation history on a Notex-owned database. Past chats are not retained between sessions on the server.
  • Behavioural analytics for advertising, marketing, or resale.
  • Profile information beyond your Google account email (no name, no picture, no contacts).
  • Payment information. Notex does not sell anything and does not process payments. Charges from your LLM provider go directly to your account with that provider.

4. Third parties involved

Using Notex involves four external services, in addition to Notex itself:

Google Identity Services
Used for "Sign in with Google" and to issue the OAuth access token Notex uses to talk to your Google Sheet. Subject to Google's privacy policy.
Your chosen LLM provider
Your text prompts and the model's replies pass through the provider you pick in Settings (Gemini, OpenAI, or Anthropic), authenticated with your own API key. Their handling is governed by their own privacy policy — review it directly: Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic.
Google Apps Script & Google Sheets
The script you deploy runs under your Google account and writes to a spreadsheet on your Drive. Notex calls the script's public URL; Google is the data controller for whatever lands in the sheet.
MQTT broker (optional, print-to-paper only)
If you use the optional Thermy companion to print lists, the backend publishes the plain-text list body to an MQTT topic keyed by your email. The hosted Notex instance ships this to localhost by default; nothing is published to a third-party broker unless an operator configures one. The published payload is the list contents that the print agent will hand to your local printer.

5. Cookies and local storage

Notex does not set tracking cookies. The web app uses your browser's localStorage to remember two values across reloads:

  • notex_google_token — the Google OAuth access token for your current session.
  • notex_google_email — the email tied to that token.

Clearing your browser's storage for app.notex.me removes both. The website at notex.me (this marketing site) sets nothing.

6. Data retention

  • Settings & API keys persist in your per-user database on the server until you remove them or your account is deleted (see §7).
  • List contents live in your Google Sheet and are retained according to your Google Drive settings. Notex does not control their lifecycle.
  • Chat threads are held in browser memory only and disappear when you close the tab or clear the conversation.
  • Server logs may contain request metadata (timestamp, route, status) for short-lived operational debugging. They are not sold, shared, or used for profiling.

7. Your choices and rights

  • See your data. Your Settings and lists are visible directly in the app and in your Google Sheet. There is no hidden profile.
  • Change your data. Settings can be edited from the Settings dialog. List contents are editable directly in Google Sheets — Notex re-reads them on demand.
  • Revoke access. Remove Notex from your Google account at myaccount.google.com/permissions. Notex will no longer be able to read or modify your sheet.
  • Delete your account. To remove your per-user database from the hosted instance, open an issue at github.com/mazoqui/notex/issues from the email tied to that account, or include enough information to identify it. Your Google Sheet is not affected by this — it stays on your Drive.

8. Security

Traffic to and from app.notex.me and api.notex.me is served over HTTPS. Your per-user database is isolated by Google email at the filesystem level. API keys are stored in plain form within that isolated database, which is why Notex strongly recommends generating keys scoped to this single purpose and rotating them if you suspect compromise.

No system is perfectly secure. Use API keys with the least privilege your provider allows, and review your provider's usage dashboards regularly.

9. Children

Notex is not directed to children under the age required to hold a Google account in their jurisdiction. If you believe a minor's data is in the hosted instance, contact us (§11) and we'll delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

Material changes will update the "last updated" date at the top of this page and, where reasonable, be announced in the project's GitHub repository. Continued use of the hosted service after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

Questions, data-access requests, or deletion requests: open an issue at github.com/mazoqui/notex/issues. Public issue trackers are not the right place for secrets — do not paste API keys, tokens, or sensitive personal data. If you need to share something private, say so in the issue and we'll arrange a channel.

See also: Terms of Service.