Privacy Policy

Advocate AI, Inc. ("Advocate AI," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. Advocate AI provides a secure, cloud-based legal technology platform for attorneys, court staff, and other legal professionals to manage transcripts, audio recordings, case documents, user profiles, billing, and team communications. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains what personal data we collect, how we use and disclose it, how we secure it, how long we retain it, your rights (including those under laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)), and how you can contact us with questions or concerns.

This Policy applies to personal data collected through Advocate AI's websites and services (collectively, our "Services"). It does not apply to any client data (such as case files, transcripts, or other content you upload to our platform) that we process solely on behalf of our subscribers for their legal matters; in such cases we act as a service provider/processor and handle that data only as instructed by our subscribers, in accordance with our agreements with them.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect various types of personal data from and about users of our Services, including information you provide directly, information from third parties (including public sources), and information collected automatically through technology.

1.1 Personal Data You Provide

Account and Profile Information: When you register for an Advocate AI account or are invited as an end-user, we collect information such as your full name, email address, phone number, employer or organization name, job title, and login credentials. You may choose to add additional profile information (for example, a profile photo, bio, or location) within the platform. Please do not upload any information to your profile that you would not want to be made public or shared with other authorized users, as profile information may be visible to other users in your organization or team by default.

Contact and Inquiry Information: If you fill out a form on our website (for example, to contact us, request a demo, or ask for support), or if you communicate with us via email, phone, or chat, you will provide personal data such as your name, contact information, and the content of your communication. We will collect the information you choose to provide in these interactions so that we can respond to your inquiry or request.

Billing and Payment Information: If you are a subscriber or make purchases through our Services, we (or our third-party payment processor) will collect information necessary to process your payments. This may include your billing name, billing address, and payment method details (such as credit card number or other financial account information). Payment card information is processed and stored by our PCI-DSS-compliant payment processor and is not retained on our systems except for basic transaction records.

Team Communications and Content: Our platform enables team collaboration features such as messaging, commenting, and file sharing. When you communicate with colleagues or clients through the Services – for example, by sending messages, posting comments, or uploading files (including transcripts, audio/video recordings, documents, or other case-related content) – we collect and store those communications and files as part of providing the Service.

Case Files and Public Records: If you upload or process case materials using Advocate AI, those materials may include personal data about third parties (such as clients, witnesses, or opposing parties). Much of the transcript or audio data processed on our platform may originate from public records (e.g. court hearing transcripts or deposition recordings that are part of the public record). We will treat all such content in accordance with this Privacy Policy and our security practices, regardless of whether it came from public sources or private uploads. We use this information solely to provide and support our Services (for example, to transcribe audio, analyze transcripts, or facilitate search and retrieval) and as otherwise instructed by you, and we do not use it for any other purposes.

Optional Information: You may provide other information to us from time to time. For example, you might submit feedback, participate in surveys, or provide demographic information such as your city, state, country, or postal code to complete your profile. Providing this information is optional.

1.2 Personal Data from Third-Party or Public Sources

We may obtain personal data about you from third parties or public sources and combine it with data we collect from you directly. For example:

Public Records and Government Sources: We may collect information from publicly available sources such as court records, government databases, or public websites. For instance, our Services might utilize publicly filed case information or transcripts available on public record. This public data may be processed to enrich the Services (e.g., to link a case transcript to a court docket) in compliance with applicable law.

Third-Party Services and Integrations: If you choose to integrate or link third-party services with Advocate AI (for example, using Google or Microsoft OAuth to log in, or connecting a cloud storage service), we may receive certain information from those third parties. This could include your username, profile information, or files from the third-party service, as authorized by you and based on your settings with that service.

Partners and Service Providers: We may receive information about you from our business partners (such as a law firm or court that invited you to use the platform) or from service providers that assist us with user verification, payment processing, or analytics. For example, if an administrator creates an account for you, they might provide your name and email to set up your user profile.

1.3 Information Collected Automatically

As you navigate and use our websites and platform, we and our third-party analytics providers use cookies and similar tracking technologies to automatically collect certain technical and usage information about your device and activity. This information may include:

Device and Browser Data: We collect data about your device and internet connection, such as your IP address, device type, operating system and version, browser type and version, device identifiers, and region or language settings.

Usage Data: We collect information on how you interact with our Services, such as the pages or screens you view, the features you use, the dates/times of your visits, the links you click, and the duration of your activities. For example, we may log when you login and logout, which transcript files you access, and your actions within the platform (e.g., creating a project or posting a comment).

Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and local storage to remember your preferences and settings, help authenticate your account, and analyze site usage. These technologies also help us understand aggregate usage patterns so we can improve our Services. For more details on the cookies and tracking technologies we use and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy (below) or our separate Cookie notice on our website. You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Note that if you disable certain cookies, some features of the Service may not function properly.

2. How We Use Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes, relying on a variety of legal bases (including fulfilling contracts, pursuing our legitimate interests in operating our business, complying with legal obligations, and, where applicable, your consent):

Providing and Improving the Services: We use your information to provide our website and Services' functionality to you, to create and manage user accounts, to host and process transcripts and other data, and to facilitate collaboration between users. This includes using data to operate, maintain, and improve the performance and usability of the platform (for example, troubleshooting issues, analyzing usage to enhance features, and developing new functionalities).

Communication and Support: We use contact information and communications data to communicate with you about your account, respond to your inquiries, provide customer support, and send you service-related notifications (such as password reset emails, security alerts, or updates on platform features). If you contact us for help, we will use your information to assist you.

Billing and Transactions: We use billing and payment information to process transactions, manage subscriptions, send invoices, and keep accurate financial records. For example, we may send you billing notices or alert you of upcoming subscription renewals.

Analytics and Product Development: We analyze usage data and feedback to understand how our Services are used and to make improvements. This analysis helps us personalize user experience (such as remembering your preferences), optimize workflows, and innovate new features or AI models to better serve our users.

Marketing and Informational Communications: If you opt-in, we may use your contact information to send you newsletters, updates, or marketing communications about new features, content, or events. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time. (We will not send you marketing communications if you have opted out or if it is prohibited by law.)

Legal Compliance and Protection: We may use or disclose personal data as necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or enforceable governmental requests, and to enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements. This includes using data to prevent, detect, or investigate fraud, security incidents, and other malicious or illegal activities. We also use data as needed to protect the rights, property, and safety of Advocate AI, our users, our employees, or others (for example, to maintain security of our platform, or to prevent misuse of the Services).

With Your Consent: If we expressly ask for your consent to a specific use of your personal data, and you provide it, we will use your data for that purpose. For example, with your consent, we might post a user testimonial that includes your name. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time, as described below.

We will not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with those listed above without providing you notice and, if required, obtaining your consent.

3. How We Disclose Personal Data

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. However, we may disclose or share your personal data with the following categories of recipients for the business or operational purposes described below:

Service Providers: We share personal data with trusted third-party companies that provide services to us or on our behalf, such as cloud infrastructure hosting, data storage, data analytics, payment processing, customer support tools, email delivery, or other technical operations that enable us to provide the Services. These service providers are contractually bound to handle personal data only as necessary to provide their services to us and are obligated to maintain confidentiality and security of the data.

Affiliates: If Advocate AI is part of a corporate family (e.g. subsidiaries, parent company, or affiliates), we may share personal data within that corporate group for internal administrative purposes and to support provision of the Services. At present, Advocate AI hosts its own infrastructure and is not part of a larger corporate conglomerate, so sharing with affiliates is minimal or only if we establish related entities in the future.

Business Partners and Integrations: In some cases, we may share information with third-party business partners or integration partners at your direction. For example, if you choose to use an integration that exports data to another legal application, we will send data to that third party with your consent. If we partner with a law firm or a court system to make our Services available to you, we may share user registration information or usage statistics with that partner as needed (for instance, an administrator at your law firm may see usage reports for your team).

Corporate Transactions: If Advocate AI is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our business or assets, personal data may be disclosed to buyers, investors, or other transaction participants as part of due diligence or as a transfer of assets. In such cases, we will require that the personal data remain subject to confidentiality protections and that the successor entity continue to handle personal data in line with this Privacy Policy.

Legal Compliance and Protection: We may disclose personal data to courts, law enforcement, regulators, government authorities, or other third parties when we believe such disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or request (such as a court order or subpoena), to enforce our Terms of Service or other agreements (including for billing and collection purposes), or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Advocate AI, our users, or others. For example, we might disclose information if required to investigate a security incident or to report illegal activity.

With Your Consent or Direction: We will share your personal data with other third parties when you direct us to do so or expressly consent to such sharing. For instance, if you instruct us to share data with a consultant or if you use a feature that publishes content to a public forum, we will share data as needed to fulfill your request.

Public and Team Sharing: Certain information on our platform may be viewable by other users in your organization or by other persons you collaborate with. For example, if you add information to your user profile or post a message in a team workspace, that information will be accessible to other authorized users of the platform. Likewise, any content you upload (such as transcripts or notes) may be visible to others in your team or anyone you grant access. Please exercise caution when deciding what information to share within the Service. We are not responsible for how other users who have gained access to your content or profile information may use it, so only share information that is necessary for collaboration.

Aside from the disclosures outlined above, we do not disclose your personal data to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes unless you have provided consent. We also do not sell or "share" personal data as those terms are defined under applicable state privacy laws (such as the CCPA/CPRA in California). We do not allow third-party advertisers to track or profile you for targeted advertising on our Services.

4. Data Security and Retention

Data Security: Advocate AI takes the security of your personal data very seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures designed to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. These measures include encryption of data in transit and at rest, access controls to limit who on our staff can access customer information, network security safeguards, and regular monitoring of our systems for vulnerabilities or threats. We host our platform on secure servers in environments with robust security certifications and maintain a private cloud infrastructure under our control (we are not built purely on a third-party shared platform). While we strive to protect your data, please note that no transmission or storage system can be guaranteed 100% secure. We encourage you to use unique and strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication if available, and notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

Data Retention: We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. This means we keep your information for as long as you have an account or ongoing business with us, and for a reasonable period thereafter to comply with our legal obligations (for example, maintaining records for tax and accounting purposes), resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and protect our legal rights.

Account Data: Generally, your profile and account information is kept as long as your account remains active. If you or your organization deletes your account, we will delete or de-identify personal data associated with your account within a reasonable timeframe, except for data we are required to keep by law or for legitimate business purposes.

Case Content: Transcripts, documents, and other case materials that you upload to the Service will be retained until you delete them or for the duration of the subscription. If you remove specific content or request deletion, we will make commercially reasonable efforts to delete it. However, please be aware that removal from our live systems might not immediately purge the content from all backups; we maintain secure backups for disaster recovery, which are retained for a limited time before being automatically overwritten or deleted.

Communications: Any communications you send to us (such as support emails) may be retained as long as necessary to properly address your request and as required by our internal policies (for instance, we may keep a record of support inquiries to improve our customer service).

When we have no ongoing legitimate need to process your personal data, we will either delete it, anonymize it, or if neither deletion nor anonymization is feasible (for example, because your personal data has been stored in backup archives), we will securely store your personal data and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

5. Your Rights and Choices

You may have certain rights and choices regarding your personal data, depending on applicable privacy laws in your jurisdiction. We strive to provide all users with appropriate control over their information. These rights may include:

Access and Portability: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you and to receive a copy of that data in a portable, readily usable format.

Correction: You have the right to request that we correct or update any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we have on file about you.

Deletion: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data that we collected from you, subject to certain exceptions (for example, we may retain data as required by law or for legitimate business purposes). When you delete your data or close your account, some of your personal data may remain in backups or logs for a period of time as mentioned above, but we will purge it in accordance with our retention practices.

Restriction/Objection: You have the right to object to or request that we restrict processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. For instance, you can request that we stop processing your data for marketing purposes, or object to decisions being made by algorithms (if applicable). In cases where we rely on legitimate interests to process data, you may object to such processing and we will consider your request.

Opt-Out of Sales/Sharing of Personal Data: Advocate AI does not sell personal data or share it for targeted advertising. However, if you are a resident of a jurisdiction like California that grants you the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, you can contact us to confirm that we do not engage in such activities or to exercise an opt-out. We honor browser signals such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC) as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data.

Withdraw Consent: If we process your personal data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. For example, you can opt-out of marketing emails by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in the email or by adjusting your preferences in your account settings. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal.

Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. This means we won't deny you our Services, charge you different prices, or provide a different level of service just because you exercised your rights.

Lodge a Complaint: If you believe we have infringed your privacy rights, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority or regulator. For example, residents of the European Economic Area (EEA) can complain to their national data protection authority, and California residents can contact the California Attorney General's Office. We encourage you to contact us first, so we have the opportunity to address your concerns directly.

Exercising Your Rights: To exercise any of your applicable privacy rights (such as access, correction, deletion, or opting-out), please contact us using the information provided in the "Contact Us" section below. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable and in accordance with applicable law. In order to protect your privacy, we will take steps to verify your identity before fulfilling your request. For example, we may ask you to provide information that matches our records. If you use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf, we will require proof of that authorization and also verify the identity of the agent. Please note that certain requests may be denied or only partially fulfilled if we have a lawful basis to do so (for instance, if fulfilling a deletion request would impede our ability to comply with legal obligations). We will explain any denial or partial fulfillment in our response. We do not generally charge a fee to process rights requests, unless the requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive (in which case we will inform you of any fee and explain our decision before completing the request).

5.1 Additional Notice for California Residents

If you are a California resident, you are entitled to additional disclosures about our data practices and your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

Categories of Personal Information Collected: In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information, as defined by California law: identifiers (such as name, contact details, IP address, and account credentials); customer records information (such as payment and billing details you provided); commercial information (such as records of your subscriptions or transactions on our Service); internet or other electronic network activity information (such as usage data, login history, and interactions with our website/app); professional or employment-related information (such as your organization and title, or information contained in case documents uploaded to the platform); and audio, electronic, or visual information (such as the content of transcripts, audio files, or images you upload, which may include voices or likenesses of individuals). We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information like Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, biometric identifiers, or precise geolocation data through the Services, and we do not collect information on protected characteristics (e.g. race, gender, date of birth) unless you voluntarily provide it or it is incidentally contained in uploaded content. We also do not knowingly collect or process personal data of anyone under 13 years of age (and our Services are not intended for minors – see "Use by Minors" below).

Categories of Sources: We collect personal information directly from you (for example, when you register or input data into the platform), from your devices (through automated means like cookies or our application logs), from your organization or colleagues (who may provide information about you so you can use the Service), and from public or third-party sources as needed (for example, public court records or integration partners).

Business or Commercial Purposes for Collection: We collect and use personal information for the business and commercial purposes described in the "How We Use Personal Data" section of this Policy, including to provide and improve the Services, maintain your account, process payments, communicate with you, secure our platform, comply with law, and as otherwise described above.

Disclosure of Personal Information: We have disclosed the above-listed categories of personal information to third parties for business purposes in the last 12 months, as described in "How We Disclose Personal Data." Specifically, we may disclose identifiers, contact information, and usage data to our service providers (such as our hosting and analytics providers); we may disclose transaction-related information to payment processors and accountants; we may disclose necessary identifiers and content to integration partners or at your direction; and we may disclose any category of data if required by law or in the context of a corporate transaction or for safety/legal purposes. We do not sell personal information and do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes (as "sell" and "share" are defined under California law). In other words, we have not sold or shared your personal information with third parties for their own marketing or advertising uses.

Your CCPA Rights: California residents have the privacy rights described in the "Your Rights and Choices" section above, including the right to know/access, right to delete, right to correct, right to opt-out of sale/sharing, and the right to non-discrimination. You also have the right to request information about the personal information disclosed for business purposes to third parties. This Privacy Policy is intended to provide the relevant disclosures. You may exercise your California privacy rights by contacting us as outlined below. If you submit an opt-out request via a user-enabled global privacy control (GPC) signal, we will honor it for devices, browsers, or identities that we can connect to you.

"Shine the Light": California's "Shine the Light" law (Civil Code §1798.83) allows users who are California residents to request certain information about our disclosure of personal data to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. However, Advocate AI does not disclose personal data to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes without your consent. Therefore, we do not maintain a list of such third-party marketing disclosures to provide to you.

6. International Data Transfers and Legal Basis (for EEA/UK Users)

Advocate AI is based in the United States, and the primary location of our servers and operations is in the U.S. If you use our Services from outside the United States, be aware that your personal data may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home country. We will take steps to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with applicable data protection laws. For example, if we transfer personal data from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to the U.S. or another country, we rely on legal mechanisms such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or other approved transfer frameworks to ensure your data is protected.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, our legal basis for collecting and using your personal data will depend on the context in which it is collected. In most cases, we process personal data where: (i) it is necessary to perform a contract with you (for example, to provide the Services you requested and to identify and authenticate you so you can log in); (ii) it is in our legitimate interests (such as to improve our Services, secure our platform, communicate with you, and conduct business in an efficient manner) and our interests are not overridden by your data protection interests or fundamental rights and freedoms; (iii) we have a legal obligation to do so (for instance, keeping records for tax purposes or responding to binding legal orders); or (iv) you have given us your consent to do so (in which case, you can withdraw your consent at any time). Where we rely on legitimate interests, we will take into account the nature of the data, the necessity of processing, and the balance between our interests and your privacy rights.

7. Cookie Policy

This section explains in more detail how we use cookies and similar tracking technologies:

What Are Cookies: Cookies are small text files that websites and applications store on your device to save information about you, such as your login status or user preferences. First-party cookies are set by us, while third-party cookies are set by others (e.g., analytics providers). We also may use related technologies like web beacons (clear pixel images that track opens/clicks on emails or webpages) and device identifiers.

How We Use Cookies: Advocate AI uses cookies for several purposes:

Necessary Cookies: These are essential for our site and Services to function properly. For example, they help authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these cookies, certain features (like staying logged in) would not work.

Functional Cookies: These remember your preferences and settings to enhance your experience. For instance, a functional cookie may store your chosen language or presentation settings on the platform.

Analytics Cookies: We use these to collect information about how users interact with our website and platform, which helps us improve and optimize. For example, we use Google Analytics (or similar tools) to see which pages are popular or to detect problems in the user experience. The information collected is generally aggregated and does not directly identify individuals. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing a browser add-on provided by Google, or by using cookie consent tools on our site.

We do not use cookies to serve third-party advertisements on our platform, and we do not allow third parties to collect your personal information from our site for their own advertising purposes.

Your Choices: Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies or alert you when a cookie is being placed. Please note that if you choose to delete or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of our Services. For example, you may not be able to log in or use certain interactive features. For more information about cookies and how to manage them, you can visit allaboutcookies.org.

8. Use by Minors

Our Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you are under 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you should not create an account or use our Services. In particular, the Advocate AI platform is intended for use by legal professionals and court staff, and not for general consumer use by minors. If we discover that a child has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information from our systems. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we might have any information from or about a minor, please contact us so that we can promptly investigate and address the issue.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

Our website or platform may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties (for example, a legal resource website or a partner's service) for your convenience and information. If you follow a link to any third-party website, please be aware that those sites have their own privacy policies and we do not control their content or privacy practices. This Privacy Policy does not apply to your activities on any third-party websites or services that are not owned or operated by Advocate AI. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site or service that you visit or use. Additionally, if you choose to integrate or use any third-party services in connection with Advocate AI (such as by using an add-on or logging in through a third-party identity provider), your data may be handled by those third parties pursuant to their own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy or security practices of third parties, though we do ask that any integrations or partners handle user data responsibly.

10. Updates to this Policy

We may update or revise this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. If we make material changes, we will notify users by email or by posting a prominent notice on our website or within the platform. The "Last updated" date at the top of this Policy indicates when the latest changes were made. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of the Services after any update to this Policy will constitute your acknowledgment of the changes and agreement to be bound by the updated Policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to help and will respond to your inquiries as promptly as possible.

Alternatively, you may use any available contact form on our website to send us a message. Please include "Privacy Inquiry" in the subject line so we can route your request to the correct team.