Terms of Service

All policies included. Last updated: April 2026

Part 1 — Who we are

TranscribeAI is an AI-powered transcription and meeting intelligence platform operated by Courtenay Gibb, trading as TranscribeAI, South Africa.

Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com. Paddle.com is the Merchant of Record for all our orders. Paddle provides all customer service inquiries and handles returns. By purchasing a subscription you also agree to Paddle's Buyer Terms.

• Website: transcribe-ai.info
• Support: support@transcribe-ai.info
• Legal: legal@transcribe-ai.info
• Privacy: privacy@transcribe-ai.info
• Billing: billing@transcribe-ai.info

Part 2 — Eligibility

To use TranscribeAI you must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have legal capacity to enter into binding agreements
• Not be located in a country subject to international sanctions
• Not have been previously banned from our service

By using our service you confirm you meet all requirements above. If you are under 18 you may not use this service under any circumstances. We will immediately terminate accounts found to belong to minors.

Part 3 — AI accuracy disclaimer

Read this section carefully. This is your most important acknowledgement.

3.1 Transcription accuracy

TranscribeAI uses AI transcription technology that is not and cannot be 100% accurate. You explicitly acknowledge that transcription errors are normal and expected, and that accuracy varies based on:

• Audio quality and clarity
• Background noise levels
• Speaker accents and dialects
• Multiple simultaneous speakers
• Technical or specialist terms
• Microphone quality
• Audio compression
• Recording distance
• Audio file format

We make no guarantee of any specific accuracy level. We are not liable for any transcription errors. You must review all transcripts before using them for any purpose.

3.2 AI-generated content

ARIA and all AI features (summaries, blog posts, action items, meeting minutes, social content) may:

• Contain factual errors
• Miss important information
• Incorrectly attribute statements to the wrong people
• Misrepresent decisions made
• Generate plausible but incorrect information

AI output is not professional advice of any kind and is not a substitute for human judgment.

3.3 Prohibited reliance

You must not rely solely on TranscribeAI output for:

• Legal proceedings or evidence
• Medical diagnoses or treatment
• Financial decisions or advice
• Safety-critical operations
• Publishing without human review
• Official documentation
• Academic submissions
• Any high-stakes decision

3.4 Your responsibility

You accept full responsibility for reviewing all AI output, verifying accuracy independently, correcting errors before use, and any consequences or decisions made based on our output. TranscribeAI is a productivity assistant, not a professional service provider.

Part 4 — Service availability

4.1 No uptime guarantee

We do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, or error-free operation, that the service will meet your specific requirements, or that defects will be corrected.

4.2 Service interruptions

Service may be interrupted due to scheduled maintenance, emergency technical issues, third-party service failures (Deepgram, Supabase, AI providers), internet infrastructure issues, cyber attacks, force majeure events, or events beyond our reasonable control.

4.3 Force majeure

We are not liable for failures caused by natural disasters, war or civil unrest, government actions, power grid failures, internet backbone failures, pandemic or epidemic, third-party service failures, cyber attacks on our providers, or acts of God.

4.4 Third-party services

Our service depends on Deepgram (transcription), Supabase (database storage), Google Gemini (AI), Supadata (YouTube transcripts), and payment processors (billing). We are not responsible for failures of these third-party services. Their terms and privacy policies also apply to how they handle your data.

Part 5 — User accounts

5.1 Account security

• Keep your password confidential
• Do not share your account
• Use a strong unique password
• Enable two-factor auth if available
• You are responsible for all activity under your account

5.2 Account accuracy

Provide accurate information, keep it up to date, use your real identity, and do not impersonate others.

5.3 Account termination

We may suspend or terminate accounts without notice for serious violations, with 7 days' notice for other violations, immediately for illegal activity, for repeated acceptable-use violations, or for payment fraud or chargebacks. On termination, access ends immediately or at the notice period end, data is deleted within 30 days, and no refunds are issued for the remaining period except as required by the CPA.

Part 6 — Acceptable use

6.1 Permitted use

• Transcribe your own content
• Record meetings with all participant consent
• Generate content for your use
• Business productivity purposes
• Personal use within plan limits

6.2 Prohibited use

You may not use TranscribeAI to:

Illegal activities: record anyone without consent, transcribe stolen content, facilitate criminal activity, violate any applicable law, circumvent export controls.

Harmful activities: upload malware or viruses, attempt to hack our systems, conduct denial-of-service attacks, scrape our platform with bots, reverse-engineer our code.

Abusive activities: create multiple accounts to abuse the free tier, harass or threaten our team, spread misinformation, or upload child sexual abuse material, terrorist or extremist content, content inciting violence, hate speech, non-consensual intimate images, or stolen personal information.

Commercial abuse: resell our service without written permission, white-label without agreement, use our API beyond agreed limits.

Violations result in immediate account termination and may be reported to law enforcement and relevant authorities.

Part 7 — Recording consent

This section is critically important for your legal compliance.

7.1 Your responsibility

You are solely and entirely responsible for:

• Obtaining explicit informed consent from all participants before recording any conversation
• Complying with recording laws in your country, province, and city
• Informing all parties that recording is taking place
• Stopping recording if any participant withdraws consent

7.2 South African law

Under POPIA and common law, recording private conversations without consent may be illegal. Consent must be informed and voluntary, and participants must know they are being recorded.

7.3 International recording laws

Many countries require all parties to consent to recording, including the United States (many states), United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, European Union countries, and many others. It is your responsibility to know and comply with the laws of your jurisdiction.

7.4 Our position

TranscribeAI is not liable for illegal recordings you make, will cooperate with law enforcement investigations, will terminate accounts used for illegal recording, and cannot verify that consent was obtained. By using our recording features you warrant that you have obtained all necessary consents.

Part 8 — Intellectual property

8.1 Your content

• You own all content you upload and all transcripts generated
• You grant us a limited licence to process your content to provide our service
• This licence ends when you delete your content or account
• We do not claim ownership of your content
• We do not train AI models on your content
• We do not share your content with third parties except as required to provide the service

8.2 Our platform

We own all platform code, designs, branding, ARIA, and AI features. You may not copy, reproduce, or distribute our platform, or use our brand without written permission.

8.3 Copyright infringement

If you believe your copyright has been infringed, email legal@transcribe-ai.info with a description of the work, location of the infringing content, your contact details, a good-faith belief statement, and a statement under penalty of perjury. We respond within 14 days.

Part 9 — Payment and billing

9.1 Subscription plans

Plans are billed monthly or annually. Billing begins immediately on signup. Annual plans are billed upfront.

9.2 Refund policy

Paddle acts as our Merchant of Record and handles all refund requests.

Standard refund window:

• 14 days from purchase date for monthly plans
• 30 days from purchase date for annual plans

To request a refund, contact billing@transcribe-ai.info or visit paddle.net.

Refunds are not available for:

• Requests after the refund window above
• Accounts terminated for violations
• Transcription inaccuracy
• AI content you disagree with

For refund disputes, contact Paddle directly at paddle.net.

9.3 Cancellation

Cancel anytime from your dashboard. Access continues until the billing period ends. No partial refunds for unused time. Cancellation takes effect at the next billing date.

9.4 Price changes

30 days' written notice required. You may cancel before changes take effect. Continued use after changes means acceptance.

9.5 Failed payments

We make 3 automatic retry attempts. Accounts are downgraded to free after 3 failed payments. Data is retained for 30 days. You can reactivate anytime by updating your payment method.

9.6 Chargebacks

Initiating a fraudulent chargeback will result in immediate account termination, permanent ban from the service, debt recovery proceedings, and a report to payment processor fraud databases.

Part 10 — Data and privacy

10.1 Data we collect

• Email address
• Usage statistics
• Transcripts you save
• Meeting records you save
• Payment information (processed by payment processor)
• IP address and device info
• Cookies (see Cookie Policy below)

10.2 Data we do not collect

• Audio files (deleted immediately after transcription)
• Payment card details (handled by payment processor)
• Passwords (stored as a secure hash)

10.3 How we use your data

To provide the service, send service notifications, improve the service, prevent abuse, and comply with legal obligations.

10.4 What we never do

• Sell your data to anyone
• Share your data for advertising
• Use your content to train AI
• Share with unauthorised parties

10.5 Sub-processors

Your data is processed by Supabase (database — London, UK), Deepgram (transcription — USA), Google Gemini (AI — USA), Supadata (YouTube data — varies), and Paddle (payments, billing, tax — UK).

10.6 Data retention

• Audio files: deleted immediately
• Transcripts: until you delete them
• Meeting records: until you delete them
• Account data: until account deleted
• Backups: deleted after 30 days
• Audit logs: retained 12 months

10.7 Your rights under POPIA

• Right to access your data
• Right to correct your data
• Right to delete your data
• Right to object to processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to complain to the Information Regulator SA

10.8 Data transfer

Our database is located in London, UK (EU Standard Contractual Clauses apply). Your data may be processed in the USA by our service providers. We ensure appropriate safeguards.

10.9 Children

We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If we discover a minor has registered we will immediately delete their account, delete all their data, and notify relevant parties if required by law.

Part 11 — Cookie policy

11.1 What are cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us provide a better experience.

11.2 Cookies we use

Essential cookies (always active):

• Session authentication cookie — keeps you logged in (24 hours, cannot be disabled)
• Security cookie — prevents CSRF attacks (session, cannot be disabled)
• Cookie consent cookie — remembers your choice (1 year, cannot be disabled)

Analytics cookies (with consent):

• Usage analytics — understand how the app is used (12 months, can be disabled)

Preference cookies (with consent):

• Tab preferences — remember last tab used (30 days, can be disabled)
• Theme preferences — remember dark/light mode (1 year, can be disabled)

11.3 Cookies we do not use

Advertising cookies, third-party tracking cookies, social media tracking pixels, cross-site tracking.

11.4 Managing cookies

Click "Cookie Settings" in the footer or adjust your browser settings. Note: disabling essential cookies will break core functionality.

11.5 Third-party cookies

Our payment processor may set cookies during checkout. These are governed by their own cookie policies.

Part 12 — Disclaimers

12.1 No professional advice

TranscribeAI does not provide legal, medical, financial, psychological, or any other professional advice. Content generated by our AI is not a substitute for qualified professional advice.

12.2 No warranty

The service is provided "as is" without any warranty whatsoever. We explicitly disclaim fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, non-infringement, accuracy of transcription, accuracy of AI content, continuous availability, error-free operation, and security from all threats. Use of this service is entirely at your own risk.

12.3 Beta features

Some features, including ARIA, meeting intelligence, and recording, are provided as beta features. Beta features may have higher error rates, may change without notice, may be discontinued, are provided without warranty, and have no SLA.

Part 13 — Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law:

13.1 We are not liable for

• Incorrect transcriptions
• Incorrect AI-generated content
• Decisions based on our output
• Loss of any data
• Business interruption
• Loss of profits or revenue
• Reputational damage
• Legal costs you incur
• Third-party service failures
• Force majeure events
• Indirect or consequential loss
• Special or punitive damages

13.2 Liability cap

Our total liability to you for any and all claims shall not exceed the total amount you paid us in the 3 months immediately before the claim.

13.3 Consumer protection

Nothing in these terms affects your rights under the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 where applicable.

Part 14 — Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless TranscribeAI, its operators, employees, and partners from any claims, losses, damages, costs, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from:

• Your use or misuse of the service
• Your violation of these terms
• Your violation of any law
• Illegal recordings you make
• Failure to obtain recording consent
• Copyright infringement by you
• Reliance on inaccurate AI output
• Any content you upload
• Your breach of third-party rights
• Fraudulent chargebacks you initiate

Part 15 — Dispute resolution

15.1 Contact first

Before taking legal action, contact support@transcribe-ai.info. We will attempt to resolve disputes within 14 business days.

15.2 Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa.

15.3 Jurisdiction

Disputes will be resolved in South African courts.

15.4 Consumer rights

South African consumers may also approach the National Consumer Commission, the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud, or your provincial consumer court.

Part 16 — General provisions

16.1 Entire agreement

These terms plus our Privacy Policy form the complete agreement between us and supersede all prior agreements.

16.2 Severability

If any provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.

16.3 No waiver

Our failure to enforce any right does not waive that right.

16.4 Assignment

You may not assign your rights under these terms. We may assign our rights with 30 days' notice to you.

16.5 Changes to terms

We may update these terms. We will notify you by email and website notice. Continued use means acceptance. Stop using the service if you disagree.

16.6 Language

These terms are in English. The English version prevails over any translation.

Part 17 — Contact and complaints

• General support: support@transcribe-ai.info — response within 2 business days
• Legal matters: legal@transcribe-ai.info — response within 14 days
• Privacy complaints: privacy@transcribe-ai.info — response within 7 days
• Billing disputes: billing@transcribe-ai.info — response within 2 business days
• Regulatory complaint: Information Regulator South Africa — inforegulator.org.za — complaints.IR@justice.gov.za