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Privacy Policy

Firsthand · Effective October 11, 2026 · Updated October 13, 2026

What stays on your device

Everything you create in Firsthand is stored only on your iPhone or iPad:

• Your recordings, and any recording of a guest saying their name or agreeing to be recorded
• Transcripts, chapters and notes
• Names, photos, places and other interview details you enter
• Your question templates

We don't run servers that receive this information, and Firsthand never uploads your interviews. Transcription, speaker detection and the drafting of job interview questions from a resume all happen on your device.

Permissions the app asks for

• Microphone: to record your interviews, check your microphones in Recording Setup or when you plug one in, and record a guest saying their name or agreeing to be recorded. Audio is saved only on your device.
• Camera: only if you choose to take a photo for an interview. Photos are saved only on your device.
• Location: only if you ask to use where you are when choosing an interview's place. It's used to show the map and find the place's name; Firsthand doesn't track your location.

You can change any of these at any time in your device's Settings. Firsthand works without camera and location access; it needs the microphone to record.

Apple services the app uses

A few features rely on Apple's own services, which are covered by Apple's Privacy Policy:

• Maps: when you search for a place or use your current location, the search or location is sent to Apple to find matching places. Firsthand only keeps the place you choose, on your device.
• Speech recognition: the first time you transcribe, iOS may download Apple's on-device speech model. Your audio isn't sent anywhere; transcription runs on your device.
• Calendar: Schedule Next Session opens Calendar's own event editor, so the event is saved by you, in Calendar. Firsthand can't read your calendar; it keeps only the date you chose, on your device.
• Apple Intelligence: Tailor to a Resume uses Apple's on-device language model. The resume is read on your device and isn't stored afterwards; only the questions you keep are saved.

Looking up a podcast guest

Tailor to the Guest can draft questions about a guest from public information. If you search for a guest by name, the name is sent to Wikipedia to find their article, and the article (and a photo, if it has one) is downloaded. If you give a link instead, only that web page is opened. Nothing about your interviews is sent, and the questions are drafted on your device. These requests go straight from your device to Wikipedia or the site you chose, never to us.

When you share

If you export or share an interview (audio, video, a PDF or text version, or an interview file to back up or move to another device), it goes wherever you choose to send it, such as Messages, Mail, Files or another app. What happens to it there is governed by that service.

Backups

Like other apps, Firsthand's data can be included in your device's backups, such as iCloud Backup if you've turned it on. Those backups are managed by Apple under your Apple Account. Firsthand has no access to them.

Recording other people

Firsthand records the people you interview. Please make sure everyone being recorded knows it and agrees, and follow the laws where you are about recording conversations. The app reminds you of this before you record.

Deleting your information

Delete an interview in the app and it moves to Recently Deleted, where you can recover it for 30 days; after that, or when you delete it there, its recording, transcript and details are removed from your device. Deleting the app removes everything Firsthand stored.

Children

Firsthand isn't directed at children under 13 and doesn't knowingly collect information from anyone, including children.

Changes

If this policy changes, we'll update it here and change the date at the top. If a change ever affected how your information is handled, we'd say so in the app first.

Contact

Questions about privacy: privacy@firsthandstories.app