Your voice, and what we do with it
Your voice is personal. We ask for your consent before using it, explain where it is kept, and give you a way to remove it.
In short
- We record your voice, at home, with your consent. That recording is what your mother hears.
- You give consent before your voice is used, and you can withdraw it at any time.
- Your recording is never sold, and never used to train other models without your explicit consent.
- Her calls are recorded and the audio is kept in ElevenLabs. Written transcripts let you read what was said.
What are you actually recording of me?
Your voice, and as little else as an account needs. You record at home in one to three minutes: friendly prompts, or a card to read aloud, or a recording you already have. From that recording we make the voice your mother hears when she calls the number saved in her phone under your name. A new recording takes effect on her next call.
Beyond the recording, we hold your name and email address, the answering hours you choose, how you want to be told if she is upset, and the card you pay with. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada treats a voice used to recognise a person as biometric information. That is why sign-up asks for express consent rather than a buried checkbox.
Where does my voice live, and who can hear it?
The recordings you make during voice setup are kept in encrypted storage on Microsoft Azure, the platform Voice Companion runs on. The voice made from them is held by ElevenLabs, the company whose technology answers the call, under its own privacy policy; ElevenLabs uses it only to answer her calls for your account. Audio recordings of her calls are also kept in ElevenLabs. Within Voice Companion, the two founders can reach your recordings, and only to run the service or to help you when you ask.
How long do you keep the recordings and the transcripts?
Your voice setup recordings stay for as long as your account does, so the voice can be rebuilt or improved from them. You can delete those setup recordings from your account at any time. The voice held by ElevenLabs stays while your account is active. The transcript of each call, with its summary and mood note, stays for as long as your account exists. Audio recordings of her calls are kept in ElevenLabs. Contact us if you would like details about how long call audio is kept or to request its deletion.
Can I delete it all?
You can delete your voice setup recordings from your account. To request deletion of your account data, including call audio kept in ElevenLabs, contact us. We handle these requests by hand and confirm when the request is complete. You can also cancel or withdraw your consent by writing to us.
Is my mother's voice recorded?
Yes. Her voice is recorded during calls, and the call audio is kept in ElevenLabs. You can also read a written transcript, a summary and a note on her mood afterwards. She does not need to make a separate setup recording, and nothing is installed on her side. Her part is simply to call the number in her phone, from any phone she already has.
Do you sell or train on any of this?
No. Your recording, the voice made from it, and the transcripts of her calls are never sold. They are never used to train other models without your explicit consent, and if we ever wanted to ask, we would ask in plain words, separately, with no change to your service if you say no. The companies we rely on to run the service are ElevenLabs (the voice and the call), Twilio (the phone number and text alerts), Stripe (payment) and Microsoft Azure (hosting and storage); these providers help us deliver the service.
What about recording the calls?
Calls are recorded, with audio kept in ElevenLabs, and turned into written transcripts for you to read. We explain call recording and transcription during setup. Your loved one is not asked for consent during the call. The legal requirements for this arrangement need to be addressed in the formal privacy policy and terms.
If you live in Quebec
Quebec law asks an organisation that uses biometric information to declare that to the Commission d'accès à l'information, and to tell you before your personal information is sent outside Quebec. At launch Voice Companion is offered in English and is not marketed in Quebec. If that changes, we will make the declaration and say here, before you sign up, where your recording is sent.
Where is the formal privacy policy?
This page is written to be read. The privacy policy is written to satisfy Canada's federal privacy law, and the terms set out what you and we agree to. Both are being prepared with counsel. Where this page and the policy differ, the policy governs and we will correct this page.
Sources
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, guidance on biometrics (2025): a voice used to recognise a person is biometric information; express consent is the standard.
- Criminal Code of Canada, section 184(2)(a): a private communication may be intercepted with the consent of one party to it.
- Quebec, Act to establish a legal framework for information technology, section 45 (declaration of biometric databases), and Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, section 17 (communication outside Quebec).