Your privacy matters. Here's exactly what we collect, why, and how we protect it.
This Privacy Policy describes how Hot Seat ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you use our iOS application and website at hotseatprep.com (collectively, the "Service"). By using Hot Seat, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
When you create an account, we collect your email address and a securely hashed password (managed by Firebase Authentication). We do not collect your name, phone number, or any other personally identifying information unless you voluntarily provide it.
If you subscribe to Hot Seat Pro, session transcripts (the text of your answers and AI responses) and Knowledge Spiral scores are stored in your private Firestore document to enable session history. This data is tied to your account and is not accessible to other users.
When you upload a PDF or paste text content for a session, that text is transmitted to our Firebase Cloud Functions backend and from there to OpenAI's API to enable the AI to generate relevant questions. We do not persistently store your uploaded document content beyond the duration of a session unless it is part of a saved Pro session transcript.
Hot Seat does not record, store, or retain your audio. Your voice is streamed in real time to Deepgram's transcription API, converted to text, and the audio stream is immediately discarded. We do not have access to your audio recordings.
We collect anonymized, aggregated usage data (e.g., session start counts, feature usage) through Firebase Analytics to improve the app. This data does not identify you personally and cannot be linked back to your account.
We may collect standard technical information such as iOS version, device model, and app version for crash reporting and debugging purposes (via Firebase Crashlytics). This is used solely for app stability purposes.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for advertising or share it with advertising networks.
Hot Seat integrates the following third-party services. Each operates under their own privacy policy:
Account data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your personal data and session history are deleted within 30 days. Anonymized, aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be linked to you.
Session data is processed in real time during active sessions. Session history is saved to your account in Firestore for session history access.
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data against unauthorized access, loss, or disclosure. These include Firebase's industry-standard security infrastructure, encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS), and server-side API key management (your device never holds an API key). No system is perfectly secure — if you become aware of any security issue, please contact us immediately at security@hotseatprep.com.
Hot Seat is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it promptly. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has used Hot Seat, please contact us at support@hotseatprep.com.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@hotseatprep.com. We will respond within 30 days.
If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act. We do not sell personal information. You have the right to know what personal information is collected, to delete personal information, and to opt out of any future sale (which we do not conduct). To exercise these rights, contact privacy@hotseatprep.com.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, by sending a notification through the app. Continued use of Hot Seat after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
For questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact us at:
Hot Seat
Email: privacy@hotseatprep.com
Website: hotseatprep.com