Privacy Policy

1. Overview & Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to all products and services offered under the Aura and HapticCore platform ecosystem, including:

• Aura Mobile Apps(iOS & Android) — the streaming platform for theatrical movie trailers, action set pieces, and vertical Shorts with synchronized Core Haptics and tactile feedback.
• HapticCore Studio (macOS, Windows, Linux) — the professional desktop DAW workstation for authoring, editing, and validating Apple Core Haptics (.ahap) patterns in sync with video.
• HapticCore Preview(iOS & Android) — the companion app enabling real-time on-device hardware preview and tactile QA over local Wi-Fi.
• Aura Web Platform & APIs — including account portals, campaign analytics dashboards, and customer support channels.

2. Subscriptions, In-App Purchases & Billing Data

Aura and HapticCore Studio may offer free tiers, paid subscription plans (e.g., Creator Pro, Studio Team, Enterprise Publisher), and standalone in-app purchases.

2.1 Mobile In-App Purchases (Apple App Store & Google Play)

• Payment Processing: When you purchase a subscription or digital item within the iOS or Android mobile apps, transactions are processed directly by Apple (Apple App Store) or Google (Google Play Store). We do not collect, process, or store your raw payment card numbers or banking information.
• Receipts & Entitlements: We receive cryptographically signed transaction receipts, subscription status tokens, and anonymized identifiers (e.g., Apple Original Transaction ID) solely to activate and maintain your subscription features across devices.
• Auto-Renewal & Cancellation: Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current billing cycle. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time via your Apple ID Settings or Google Play Subscriptions menu.

2.2 Direct Web & Enterprise Billing

• For enterprise licenses, studio seat allocations, and direct web purchases, payments are processed securely by PCI-DSS compliant third-party payment gateways (e.g., Stripe).
• We retain transaction records, billing addresses, VAT/tax IDs, and subscription tier history for accounting, tax compliance, and license validation.

3. Information We Collect

We adhere to strict data minimization principles, collecting only the information necessary to provide, secure, and improve our services.

4. Local Machine Learning & Media Privacy in HapticCore Studio

We believe creators must have complete sovereignty over unreleased movie cuts, proprietary audio stems, and confidential assets.

• 100% Local AI Processing: HapticCore Studio's Semantic AI Engine (powered by PANNs sound-event detection and Silero VAD) runs entirely on your local machine via a bundled offline sidecar.
• Zero Media Uploads for AI: Video footage, dialogue stems, and soundtracks imported into Studio for haptic generation are analyzed in local memory. They are never transmitted to cloud servers or used to train public machine learning models.
• Local Project Storage: Your project files (.hvproj), extracted waveforms, and generated Apple .ahap patterns reside locally on your disk unless you explicitly publish them to the Aura Cloud.

5. Local Wi-Fi & Bonjour Preview Privacy

When pairing HapticCore Studio with HapticCore Preview on your iPhone or Android device:

• Discovery and synchronization occur exclusively over your local area network (LAN) using standard Bonjour / mDNS protocols.
• Video streams, playhead scrub commands, and Core Haptics actuation packets flow directly between your computer and mobile device over local Wi-Fi.
• No preview media or live project data is routed through external cloud proxies or remote relay servers.

6. How We Use Information

We use the collected information for specific, lawful purposes:

• To authenticate users and provide access to Aura streaming feeds, Worlds, and Studio licensing.
• To process in-app subscription orders, upgrades, and renewals.
• To ensure zero-drift, frame-locked synchronization between video and tactile feedback on mobile devices.
• To generate aggregated, non-personally identifiable campaign analytics for film studios and marketing teams.
• To detect, prevent, and address technical bugs, security breaches, and fraudulent activity.

7. Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data or creator content. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service Providers: Trusted third-party vendors who assist with infrastructure hosting, database management, authentication, email delivery, and customer support (e.g., AWS, Supabase, Stripe). These providers are bound by strict data protection agreements.
• App Store Operators: Apple and Google for receipt verification, subscription entitlement checks, and crash diagnostic reporting.
• Legal Obligations: When required by law, subpoena, or legal process to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

8. Data Retention & Security Measures

• Security Protocols: We employ industry-standard encryption standards, including TLS 1.3 for all data in transit and AES-256 encryption for data at rest.
• Data Retention: We retain account and subscription information for as long as your account remains active. If you request account deletion, your personal data is purged or irreversibly anonymized within 30 days, except where retention is required for legal or tax compliance.

9. Your Privacy Rights (GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA)

Depending on your jurisdiction, you have specific legal rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: You may request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request the permanent deletion of your account and associated personal data.
• Right to Data Portability: You may request an export of your account data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your statutory privacy rights.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@aura.app or submit a request through our contact page.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are designed for general audiences and film production professionals (App Store rating 4+ for vibration feedback). We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal data from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in the European Union). If we learn that we have inadvertently collected data from a child without verified parental consent, we will promptly delete that information.

11. Policy Updates & Contact Information

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect technological enhancements, new product features, or regulatory requirements. We will notify you of material changes by updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this document or via email.

If you have questions, feedback, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

• Email: hello@aura.app
• Support Portal: aura.app/contact
• Corporate Address: Aura Technologies Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA