Last updated: February 24, 2026
Vidgest is designed with privacy at its core. All your data stays on your Mac. We do not operate servers, collect analytics, or track your usage in any way.
Nothing. Vidgest does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information to external servers. There is no account system, no registration, and no telemetry.
Vidgest fetches publicly available video metadata and captions directly from YouTube. No YouTube account access is required or requested. Video URLs you process are stored locally on your device only.
When you use AI features, transcript text is sent directly to your chosen AI provider (Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, or OpenAI) for processing. Vidgest acts as a client — we never see or intercept this data. Refer to Google's, Anthropic's, and OpenAI's respective privacy policies for their data handling practices.
Your API keys for Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and OpenAI are stored securely in the macOS Keychain, encrypted by the operating system and accessible only to Vidgest. Keys are never transmitted anywhere except directly to the respective AI provider's API endpoint.
When using audio transcription (powered by Whisper), all processing happens entirely on your Mac using Apple's Neural Engine. No audio data ever leaves your device.
Vidgest contains zero analytics, telemetry, crash reporting, or tracking code. We do not use any third-party SDKs that collect data. We do not track which videos you transcribe, how often you use the app, or any other usage metrics.
In-app purchases are processed entirely by Apple through StoreKit. Vidgest never sees, handles, or stores your payment information.
All app data — transcripts, AI analysis results, and preferences — is stored locally in your Mac's Application Support directory. You can delete all data at any time from Settings. No data is synced to external services.
Vidgest communicates only with:
(1) YouTube's public servers to fetch captions and metadata
(2) Google's Gemini API when you initiate AI analysis with a Gemini key
(3) Anthropic's Claude API when you initiate AI analysis with a Claude key
(4) OpenAI's API when you initiate AI analysis with an OpenAI key
No other external services are contacted.
Vidgest does not knowingly collect any information from children under 13. The app does not require or collect personal information from any user.
If we update this privacy policy, the changes will be included in the next app update and posted on this page. The "Last updated" date at the top will reflect the most recent revision.
Questions about this privacy policy can be directed to: support@vidgest.app