Descript
- Your data trains their AI unless you switch it off in settings.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
They keep voiceprints and face data, train on projects unless you toggle off, and can close you without notice.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, your videos and voice, device IDs, cookies, and data from ads and social networks.
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Privacy policy
“The types of information we collect may include your name, email address, postal address, password, content like video, voice, or audio recordings and images, and other information you choose to provide.”
Training
They run the editor, train AI unless you opt out, make voiceprints and avatars, and target ads.
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Privacy policy
“Personalize and improve the Descript Service and for research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models;”
Sharing
Vendors, ad partners, and staff who listen to AI Speaker samples; projects stay private unless you share.
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Privacy policy
“we disclose personal information to vendors, consultants, and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work on our behalf, including, but not limited to, third-party payment processors, advertising partners”
Kept
They keep data as long as they need it; voiceprints and face scans can last up to three years.
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Privacy policy
“We will retain those voiceprints until the purpose of collection has been satisfied or for up to three years after you last accessed your account, whichever occurs first.”
Controls
Turn off Share Data with Descript, delete your account in settings, and opt out of interest-based ads.
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Privacy policy
“You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service by disabling the Share Data with Descript setting (article here).”
Fine print
They can close you anytime and wipe your files.
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Terms of service
“we reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate or suspend your account and your license to use the Descript Service”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Turn off Share Data with Descript
Share Data with Descript setting (privacy policy links an article)
Delete your account
Account settings, or contact support@descript.com
Opt out of interest-based ads
https://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN and device Limit Ad Tracking / Opt Out of Interest-Based Ads
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
Using voice clone features creates a biometric voiceprint of you.
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Privacy policy
“When you use AI Speakers, we generate voice prints from your consent statement and the audio recording you are editing to authenticate you and prevent fraud.”
For example, recording a consent line for an AI Speaker stores a voiceprint they may keep for up to three years after you last log in.
Your data can be used to train their AI unless you turn that off.
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Privacy policy
“Personalize and improve the Descript Service and for research and development purposes including training our artificial intelligence models;”
For example, a podcast you edit could help train Descript’s models if Share Data with Descript is still on.
People, including gig workers, can listen to your voice-clone recordings to check quality.
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Terms of service
“our employees, vendors, and contractors ( including Amazon Mechanical Turk workers) may listen to audio samples of your Training Audio and your synthesized audio”
For example, a contractor could hear a sample of your cloned voice even if you never asked for support.
They take a lasting license to use what you upload, even after you leave, to run and improve the service.
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Terms of service
“You hereby grant to us a , , nonexclusive, , , fully paid, worldwide license to create derivative works from, access, reproduce, distribute, process, publish, display, perform, adapt, modify, analyze, and otherwise use the User Content”
For example, they can keep processing a video you uploaded even after you stop paying.
They can shut your account at any time without warning and then delete your files.
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Terms of service
“we reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate or suspend your account and your license to use the Descript Service”
For example, you could lose a project you did not back up if they close the account overnight.
If someone sues them over your content or use, you may have to pay their legal bills.
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Terms of service
“you will , us and our subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of our respective officers, directors, agents, partners and employees”
For example, if a clip you uploaded sparks a copyright fight, you could owe their lawyer fees.
They may share browsing-style data with ad partners so you see targeted ads elsewhere.
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Privacy policy
“These activities may result in us selling or sharing identifiers, internet or other electronic network activity information, and inferences with our advertising partners”
For example, visiting Descript could help an ad network show you editor ads on another site.
Regular editing projects are not opened by staff unless you agree or the law requires it.
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Privacy policy
“The Descript Service automatically processes your Projects, but it does not involve human access to your Projects unless: 1) you provide your consent; or 2) we are required to do so by law.”
For example, a private interview transcript should not be read by a Descript employee just because you uploaded it.
There is an in-product switch to stop using your projects to improve the product.
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Privacy policy
“You can opt out of having your Projects used to improve the Descript Service by disabling the Share Data with Descript setting (article here).”
For example, you can turn off Share Data with Descript so a client video is not used for training.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- biometric
- Measurements of your body that identify you, like your face, fingerprint or voice. For example, a selfie used to unlock the app or a voice recording matched to you.
- opt out
- Something is on by default and stays on until you find the setting and turn it off. For example, your chats may be used for training unless you go into settings and switch it off.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- irrevocable
- Cannot be taken back or cancelled once given, even if you change your mind or delete your account. For example, an irrevocable licence to your photos means you cannot withdraw it later.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- sublicensable
- The company can pass its rights over your content on to other companies without asking you. For example, an app can let an advertiser or a partner reuse your video under the licence you gave.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
How we got here · grade D · score 35/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account details, your media, logs, device IDs, cookies, and some data from ad and social networks.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Voiceprints and vendor face scans are created, kept up to three years, and voice is used to train AI Speakers.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
Projects can train and improve models unless you turn off Share Data with Descript in the product.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Projects are not human-read without consent or law, but staff and contractors listen to AI Speaker samples for quality.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
Third parties collect cookies and device data to serve interest-based ads on other sites, with industry opt-outs.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say some identifiers and browsing data may be sold or shared with ad partners, and you can opt out.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You own input and output, but you grant a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable license to use your content to run and improve the service.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete the account in settings, but they keep data as needed and voiceprints or face scans up to three years.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They say they take reasonable measures but do not promise security and mention no audit or bug-bounty program.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
You must be 13 or older; under 18 needs a parent who agrees to the terms. No extra age check is described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Terms are dated February 25, 2025 and they say they will notice changes; the privacy policy text has no date and continued use can count as acceptance.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They can close you without notice and say they will delete stored User Content; you must keep your own backups.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The service is as-is, liability is capped at $10 or what you paid, and you must indemnify them for many claims.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 3,432 words at a professional or legal expert level (Flesch reading ease 18.7); the terms are 8,602 words at a professional or legal expert level.
