Where your data stays
Birdsuite processes files in your browser wherever possible; everything else runs on servers in the EU (Germany and France). Here you can see for each tool what happens where, what we store for how long and which processors are involved.
Only in your browser
Clip, Trim, Shrink, Sign, Fill, Bill and Solve work entirely in your browser, as do static QR codes from Scan and Note without an account. Your files are not uploaded. Talk also translates in the browser, and the camera image for gesture control is analysed on your own device.
On servers in the EU (Germany and France)
Whatever has to be stored stays in the EU: the web app and our mail server at Host Europe in Strasbourg, France, files from Transfer encrypted in Hetzner object storage. These servers also hold notes of account holders, bookings, encrypted secrets from Seal, encrypted voice messages from Talk, tracked QR codes and the connection data of Meet. Our Matomo analytics runs without cookies on our own server in the EU (Germany and France).
The processors we use
Besides Host Europe (hosting) and Hetzner (file storage) there are three exceptions: Stripe in Ireland for payments, OpenAI in Ireland for the optional AI summary in Meet, and a Cloudflare relay when Meet finds no direct connection. In Talk, your browser's or operating system's speech recognition may send audio to its maker (e.g. Apple or Google); that is a service of your device, not ours.
Test it yourself: Open Clip, Trim, Shrink or Bill, load your file, then switch off Wi-Fi and mobile data and keep working: it still works, because the processing happens in your browser. Sign and Fill load their PDF components only when you open and save a file; there, the network tab of your browser’s developer tools shows that your PDF is never uploaded.
Tool by tool: where processing happens and what is stored
| Tool | Processing | Storage | Processors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meet | Audio and video travel encrypted, directly between the participants' browsers (WebRTC, peer-to-peer). Our server in France only helps set up the connection. | We do not store audio or video. Room name, display names and connection data are deleted when the meeting ends; for plan limits we record start time, duration and number of participants. Scheduled meetings stay in your account until you delete them. | Host Europe (Strasbourg, France) runs our servers. Only when no direct connection is possible, for example behind a firewall, a Cloudflare TURN relay forwards the already encrypted data; Cloudflare sees IP addresses but no content. |
| Book | Bookings run on our servers in the EU (Germany and France) (Host Europe, Strasbourg, France). Confirmations are sent by our own mail server, also at Host Europe. | We store the time, name, email address and optional message of the guest and make them available to the host. Booking data is kept until the host deletes their account. | Host Europe (Strasbourg, France) for servers and mail. No calendar service, no ad network. |
| Note | Without an account, only in your browser. With an account, on our servers in the EU (Germany and France) (Host Europe, Strasbourg, France). | Without an account, notes live in your browser's localStorage; clearing your browser data removes them. With an account we store title, content and category until you delete the note or your account. | Host Europe (Strasbourg, France) as our hosting provider. No other services. |
| Talk | Recording, transcription, encryption and translation happen on your device. If your browser uses the operating system's speech recognition, its maker may process the audio; otherwise a Whisper model transcribes fully locally. | Our server in France only stores encrypted messages, random device IDs, timestamps and sizes. After 30 days messages expire and are deleted the next time the conversation is fetched. | Host Europe (Strasbourg, France) as our hosting provider. Depending on your device, also the speech recognition and push service of your browser or operating system, such as Apple or Google; push notifications contain no content. |
| Transfer | Your browser uploads the files straight to our object storage in a data centre in Germany. The website, database and email delivery run on servers in Strasbourg, France. | We store the files (encrypted), your email address, the recipients' addresses and your message. When the period you chose ends, everything is deleted automatically and permanently. | Hetzner Online GmbH (file storage, data centre in Germany) and Host Europe GmbH (hosting and email delivery, Strasbourg, France). |
| Seal | Encryption and decryption happen only in your browser and in the recipient's browser. Our server in Strasbourg, France only stores and delivers the encrypted text. | We store only the encrypted text and its expiry time, plus the link to your account if you are signed in. The content is deleted on the first open; expired seals can no longer be opened and are unreadable without the key from the link. | Host Europe GmbH (hosting and email delivery, Strasbourg, France). Nobody gets the key except the people who have the link. |
| Scan | Static codes, colours and your logo are made entirely in your browser. Only tracked codes run through a short link on our server in France. | For static codes we store nothing. For tracked codes we store name, target, short link and style plus daily counters, until you delete the code or your account. | Host Europe GmbH (hosting, Strasbourg, France). We store neither IP addresses nor cookies of the people who scan. |
| Clip Browser only | Recording, combining screen and camera and the preview all happen in your browser. | We store no recordings. Our server only counts, anonymously, that a recording was finished — no content, no personal data. If you choose "Send via Transfer", Birdsuite Transfer uploads the file and stores it encrypted in Germany under its own rules. | None for your recordings. The page itself is served by our server at Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
| Trim Browser only | Trim plays your video in the browser and re-encodes the sections you keep on your device. | We store no videos. Our server only counts, anonymously, that an export was finished — no content, no personal data. If you choose "Send via Transfer", Birdsuite Transfer uploads the file and stores it encrypted in Germany under its own rules. | None for your videos. The page itself is served by our server at Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
| Shrink Browser only | Shrink decodes, scales and encodes your images with your browser's Canvas API, on your device. | We store no images. Our server only counts, anonymously, how many images were finished — no content, no personal data. | None for your images. The page itself is served by our server at Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
| Sign Browser only | Entirely in your browser. pdf.js renders the PDF and pdf-lib writes the signature into it; neither the document nor your signature is sent to our server. | Nothing. Sign stores neither your PDF nor your signature, not even in your browser — close the tab and it is gone. We only count anonymously how many documents are signed per day. Only if you choose "Send via Transfer" does Birdsuite Transfer upload the finished PDF to servers in the EU (Germany and France). | None. Your document reaches no service provider; only the page itself is delivered by our host, Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
| Fill Browser only | Entirely in your browser. pdf.js renders the form and reads its fields, pdf-lib writes your entries into it; neither the document nor your entries are sent to our server. | Nothing. Fill stores neither the PDF nor your entries, not even in your browser — close the tab and it is gone. We only count anonymously how many forms are filled per day. Only if you choose "Send via Transfer" does Birdsuite Transfer upload the finished PDF to servers in the EU (Germany and France). | None. Your form reaches no service provider; only the page itself is delivered by our host, Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
| Bill Browser only | Entirely in your browser. Bill reads the XML file, or extracts it from the PDF, and lays it out; the invoice is not sent to our server. | Nothing. Bill does not store the invoice, not even in your browser. We only count anonymously how many invoices are opened per day — without any content. | None. Your invoice reaches no service provider; only the page itself is delivered by our host, Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
| Solve Browser only | Puzzles, play and PDF booklets are created in your browser. For hand control, a model analyses the camera image on your device; we serve that model from our own server. | We store no game progress and no camera images. Our server only counts, anonymously, that a puzzle or booklet was created — no personal data. | None. The page itself is served by our server at Host Europe in Strasbourg, France. |
The processors we use
Host Europe GmbH
Hosting of the web app including server log files, and our mail server for emails such as download links and booking confirmations
Strasbourg, France
Hetzner Online GmbH
Encrypted object storage for files from Transfer and for videos watched together in Meet
Data centre in Germany
Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd.
Payment processing for paid plans; we do not store full payment details
Dublin, Ireland
OpenAI Ireland Ltd
Transcription and summary, only when the AI summary runs in Meet and only for participants who consented; no training on this data
Dublin, Ireland
Cloudflare, Inc.
TURN relay for Meet, only when no direct connection is possible; Cloudflare sees IP addresses but not the encrypted content
USA (certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework)
The binding text is our privacy policy (Datenschutzerklärung, in German). This page explains it in plain words; where they differ, the privacy policy applies. Privacy policy (German)
Frequently asked questions
- Are my files uploaded?
- Not with Clip, Trim, Shrink, Sign, Fill and Bill: they process your files only in your browser. Only what you choose to send is uploaded, for example with Transfer, where files are stored encrypted in Germany and deleted when they expire.
- Are Meet calls end-to-end encrypted?
- Audio and video travel encrypted directly between participants (WebRTC, DTLS-SRTP) and are not stored on our servers; our server only sets up the connection. End-to-end encryption in the strict sense is what Birdsuite Talk and Seal offer.
- Which cookies does Birdsuite set?
- Only technically necessary ones, for example for signing in, protecting forms and your display settings. We set no tracking or marketing cookies; Matomo runs without cookies and with shortened IP addresses on our own server.
- Does my data go to the US?
- Only in one case: if Meet finds no direct connection, a Cloudflare relay forwards the encrypted audio and video. Cloudflare sees IP addresses but no content, and is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. All other processors are in Germany or Ireland; services of your own device, such as speech recognition in Talk, are not included.
- How long do you keep my data?
- As briefly as possible, depending on the tool. Transfers are deleted after the period you choose, Seal secrets on first open or at expiry at the latest, Meet connection data after the meeting and Talk messages automatically after a fixed period. Notes, bookings and tracked QR codes stay until their account holder deletes them or the account.