InterviewBeaconPrivacy
InterviewBeacon records almost nothing. Your interview audio is transcribedlocally on your machine and is never saved to disk or sent anywhere — the only thing that ever leaves your computer is the text of a transcribed question, sent directly to your own LLM provider with your own key. The desktop app hasno analytics, no telemetry, and nothing from your interview ever passes through infrastructure we operate — the only exception is a minimal free-trial hint counter, described below. This marketing website runs no page-view analytics at all today. That's the whole picture — the specifics are below.
At a glance
| Interview audio | No. Transcribed locally, held in memory, never written to disk, never transmitted. |
|---|---|
| Transcribed question text | Sent directly to your own LLM provider (OpenAI/Anthropic) only when you submit it. Not stored by us — we have no server in that path. |
| Your API key | Stored in OS-native secure storage (macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager), never a plaintext file. |
| Hint history | Resets when you close the app. Not kept between sessions by default. |
| Settings & license state | Plain local JSON files on your own machine, in the OS per-app data directory. |
| Free-tier hint count | A hashed device identifier — never anything about your interview — while you're on the free tier only. Stops entirely once you activate a license. |
| App telemetry / analytics | None. No product-usage tracking of any kind. |
| Website analytics | Cloudflare Web Analytics only — cookieless, no personal data, no cookie banner needed. |
| Payment / card details | Handled by LemonSqueezy (Merchant of Record) and Stripe. We never see or store card numbers. |
In the app: what's handled, and where it lives
Audio. Captured and transcribed on your own device with a local model, kept in memory only. It is never written to disk and never transmitted — nothing audio-shaped ever crosses the network. The only thing that leaves your machine is the text of a transcribed question, plus an optional screenshot image if you choose to capture one, sent straight to your chosen LLM provider using your key.
Your API key. Stored in your operating system's secure storage — macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager — not a plaintext file. When you clear the key field in the app, it actually deletes that entry rather than just hiding it from view.
Hint history. The hints you see during a session are cleared when you close the app. They aren't persisted between sessions by default.
Settings and license state. Your provider choice, interview context, hotkeys, and license state are stored as plain local JSON files in the OS's standard per-app data directory. These are preferences, not secrets — which is exactly why they live in ordinary files while your API key lives in the Keychain.
Free-tier hint count. While you're on the free tier, the app sends a hashed identifier for your device — never your name, email, or anything about your interview — to track how many free hints you've used, so the count survives reinstalling the app. This stops entirely once you activate a license; a licensed copy never contacts this at all.
The full list of every network connection the app makes, with exact endpoints and how to verify it yourself with a network monitor, is on the Security page.
On this website: analytics and cookies
interviewbeacon.com uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page views. It's cookieless — no cookies are set, no cross-site profile is built, and no personal data is collected — so there's no cookie banner because there's nothing to consent to. We don't run Google Analytics or any other page-view tracking script. If that changes in the future, this page will describe exactly what's added and how to opt out of it.
Payment and licensing data
InterviewBeacon is sold through LemonSqueezy acting as Merchant of Record.Your payment details — card information and billing address — are collected and processed by LemonSqueezy and Stripe, not by InterviewBeacon. We never see or store card numbers.
Your license activates against a license key and a device label, capped at 1 device, with self-serve deactivation from your own LemonSqueezy portal. If you're in the EU, you also have a statutory 14-day withdrawal right for digital goods — the mechanics of that are covered on the Refund Policy.
The optional screen-share setting
InterviewBeacon has an optional setting that keeps the hint window out of yourown screen-capture stream, so that if you share your screen, your private hint window isn't part of what your machine broadcasts — the same way notifications stay off a shared screen. It's off by default, and you can turn it on or off at any time. It's a display preference about your own screen; it stores nothing extra and sends nothing anywhere. Whether using it fits the rules of a specific interview or assessment is between you and whoever set those rules — check them before you rely on it.
What this page does not cover
Being plain about the current limits, because that's what makes the rest trustworthy:
- There is no product-usage telemetry, opt-in or otherwise. InterviewBeacon does not track a funnel of what you do in the app. That feature simply doesn't exist today.
- This page describes what's collected and stored. For how to verify the app's network behavior and download integrity, see the Security page. For questions about your data, contact us directly.
FAQ
Does InterviewBeacon record or save my interview audio?
No. Audio is transcribed locally on your machine with an on-device model, held in memory, and never written to disk or transmitted anywhere. The only thing that leaves your machine is the text of a transcribed question, sent directly to your own LLM provider — never any audio.
Does the app track what I do or send usage analytics?
No. The desktop app has no telemetry, no crash reporting, and no usage-tracking backend of any kind. It makes four network connections: to your LLM provider, to LemonSqueezy for licensing, to GitHub to check for updates, and — only during the free trial — to a free-tier hint counter (see the next question for exactly what that sends).
What does the free-tier hint counter send?
Only a hashed identifier for your device. It's used solely to track your remaining free hints so the count survives reinstalling the app — never your name, email, audio, questions, screenshots, or AI answers. This check happens only during the free trial; once you activate a license, the app stops contacting it entirely.
Does this website track me?
We use Cloudflare Web Analytics — a cookieless, privacy-friendly page-view counter that doesn't set cookies or fingerprint you, so there's no cookie banner because there's nothing to consent to. We don't run Google Analytics or any script that builds a profile of you across sites.
Who handles my payment information?
LemonSqueezy, acting as Merchant of Record, along with Stripe. Your card details and billing address are collected and processed by them, not by InterviewBeacon — we never see or store card numbers. Your license ties to a key and a device label, capped at 1 device.
Where is my API key stored, and can I remove it?
In your OS's secure storage — macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager — never in a plaintext file. Clearing the key field in the app deletes that secure-storage entry outright, not just from the UI. Your key is only ever used to talk directly to your chosen LLM provider.