Privacy Policy
The short version. Epoch Studio is local-first. Your manuscripts and projects are stored on your device and are not sent to us. We do not operate a server that receives your creative work, we do not sell your data, and we do not train AI models on your manuscripts.
The current desktop release does not offer hosted AI providers or cloud API-key configuration. Your work can leave your device only for the limited, disclosed functions below — for example, a model download you start, an update check, or a local-network service you deliberately configure. Section C lists every destination the software can reach.
1Who we are
Epoch Studio is published by Epoch Works LLC (PO Box 514, Jerome, PA 15937, USA). For privacy questions, contact epochworksllc@gmail.com.
2What we store, and where
| Data | Where it lives | Sent to us? |
|---|---|---|
| Manuscripts, chapters, characters, analysis, images, project files | Your device — local browser storage and, in the desktop app, your operating system's user-data folder | No |
| Voice-reference recordings or audio files you previously chose to save | Your device — local browser storage; retained until you delete them | No |
| App settings | Your device — local settings storage | No |
| Error logs, if a feature fails | Your device — a local log file, rate-limited | No |
| Session and writing statistics, goals, streaks | Your device | No |
The Epoch Studio app does not maintain accounts, and the software contains no analytics, advertising, or telemetry. The optional Epoch Field Notes mailing list described below is separate from the app and never receives your manuscript or project.
2AThe website and Epoch Field Notes
The website loads no analytics, advertising, newsletter scripts, or tracking pixels. If you choose to join Epoch Field Notes, the signup form sends your email address directly to Buttondown, our newsletter service provider. Buttondown sends a confirmation message, and you are not added to the active list unless you confirm.
Epoch Works can access the confirmed address in Buttondown and uses it only to send Epoch Field Notes: product demonstrations, development notes, playtest invitations, and related Epoch Studio news. Every issue includes an unsubscribe path. We use the address for active delivery until you unsubscribe, ask us to delete it, or the newsletter service is closed. After an unsubscribe, Buttondown may retain limited records after unsubscribe as described in its privacy policy. Buttondown processes the signup under its privacy policy.
3Hosted AI and API keys
The current desktop release does not provide hosted AI providers, cloud inference, or a place to add cloud API keys. Its writing, analysis, narration, and local image features run through bundled models or a local service you operate. If no local model is available, the requested AI feature stops rather than sending your work to a cloud provider.
Legacy credentials from prior releases
A prior release may have saved a cloud-provider credential in your operating system's credential vault. The current desktop release does not load or use such a credential for AI requests, and it does not automatically delete it during an upgrade. Contact us if you need help understanding this transition.
4When your content leaves your device — and only then
Nothing about your work is transmitted off your device except in the cases below. These are summarised here and listed exhaustively in Section C.
- You use a local or local-network service. If you deliberately configure a model, image, speech, or search service on your own computer or local network, the text, prompt, audio, or search query needed for that feature is sent to that service. It is not sent to Epoch Works LLC.
- You enable your own SearXNG instance. Web search is off by default. If you enable it and provide the address of a SearXNG instance you operate, Epoch sends the fixed connection-test phrase or the search query you submit to that instance. It does not send manuscript text as a web-search query.
- You download a model. The software fetches the model file from the model host (Hugging Face, or its mirror) and verifies it by checksum. No personal data is sent.
- The desktop app checks for updates. A version check, and if you update, a download, from the update host (GitHub releases).
- You start local-network discovery. If you ask the software to find a model server on your own network, it probes local addresses. This stays on your network; nothing goes to the internet.
4AMicrophone, dictation, and local speech tools
Epoch asks for microphone access only after you start a recording. For dictation, the temporary recording is held in memory, sent only to the transcription service running on your own device, and discarded after the transcript is returned. Epoch Works LLC does not receive or retain that recording.
Earlier builds also allowed you to record or import a voice-reference sample with your permission. Any sample you chose to save remains in local browser storage on your device until you delete it. Local narration and transcription services receive text or audio at a local address — by default, a loopback address on your device, or a service you deliberately configure on your own local network. They do not send it to Epoch Works LLC.
5Local-only AI policy
The current desktop release enforces a local-only AI policy. Hosted AI providers, cloud API keys, and cloud manuscript routing are not available to players. If no local model is available, the feature is blocked rather than sent off-device.
6We do not train on your work
We do not use your manuscripts or projects to train, fine-tune, or evaluate AI models. Any model training would require your explicit, separate, opt-in consent, which we do not currently request or collect.
7We do not sell your data
We do not sell or rent your personal information or creative work. We disclose personal information only to a service provider needed for a feature you deliberately use—for example, Buttondown when you join Epoch Field Notes—or when legally required. There is no advertising.
8Children
The software is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.
9Your rights
Because your data is stored locally and we do not hold it, you control it directly — you can view, edit, export, and delete your projects within the software at any time. For any personal data you believe we hold (for example, if you email us), you may request access or deletion at epochworksllc@gmail.com.
10Third-party services
Buttondown handles the optional website newsletter as described in Section 2A. Model-download hosts, the update host, and any local or local-network service you choose to operate have their own terms and privacy practices. The current set of software destinations is listed in Section C.
11Security
Your data is stored locally under your operating system's protections. The software restricts file access to approved locations and validates external links before opening them. No system is perfectly secure; keep your device and accounts protected.
12International users
Your projects stay on your device wherever you are. If you use the website newsletter, download a model, check for an update, or connect to a service you operate, the relevant provider or host processes the limited request described in this policy.
13Changes
We may update this policy. Material changes will be communicated in the app or on next launch.
CEvery destination the software can reach
| Destination | Trigger | Data sent |
|---|---|---|
| A local or local-network LLM, image, or speech service you configure | You invoke the related feature | The text, prompt, microphone recording, narration text, or locally stored voice reference needed for that feature; never sent to Epoch Works LLC |
| A SearXNG instance you operate | You enable web search and test the connection or run a search | The fixed phrase "Epoch Studio connection test," or the search query you submit; not manuscript text |
| Hugging Face, or its mirror | You download a model | Nothing — a file download |
| Update host (GitHub releases) | Desktop app launch, and a download if you update | A version check |
| Your own local network | You start local model discovery | A local probe only; it stays on your network |
| A host named by an image you choose to export in a DOCX | You export a remote image URL rather than an embedded image | A request to retrieve that image for the export |
The software contains no analytics, advertising, or telemetry calls. Namespace identifiers that appear in exported files, such as EPUB XML namespaces, are not network requests.