This translation is provided for convenience. The German version is the legally binding one.

Privacy Policy for the app "Clipnado"

Last updated: 13 September 2026

In short

Clipnado has no user account of its own, no server of its own and no analytics of its own. There are no ads and no advertising identifier. Everything you edit in the app stays on your device. Your videos are never uploaded anywhere. One exception you should know about: Google libraries (ML Kit) report technical usage data to Google as soon as you create subtitles, translate, or edit the background in the studio. Point 5 explains exactly what.

The app does connect to the internet, and we name every connection: to the platform you load a post from, once to the servers that provide the app's speech models, and in precisely described special cases to three further addresses. Each of them is listed below with the trigger, the recipient and what is transmitted.

Controller

Sebastian Niehues, Haltern am See, Germany (postal address: see legal notice)
Contact: hallobustn@gmail.com

What the app stores on your device

On your device only, nowhere else:

• Downloaded files (video, image, audio) in the gallery album "Clipnado" or in the app's folder, plus a list with name, size, duration, platform, author and post text, and a thumbnail per file.
• History of the links you entered or shared, including failed ones, with time and reason. After a failed attempt the entered text (up to 300 characters) may appear in the history. You can swipe away single entries or clear the whole history.
• Settings, including the @name you chose for the watermark and whether you are signed in to Instagram.
• Brand profiles (up to five): name, @name, watermark settings, your subtitle template, protected terms (glossary) and your translation memory, meaning subtitle sentences you corrected by hand so that the app translates them the same way next time.
• Projects from the Studio: one file per project with subtitle lines, the recognised transcript of the video, style, elements, filter, cuts, music and the origin of the post. Videos that do not come from the app (gallery, share receipt) are copied once into the project folder; the original stays untouched. Deleting a project removes file and copy.
• Your own content for the Studio: photos, music and videos you pick with the system file picker or share into Clipnado are copied into the app's cache for editing (photos are downscaled and rotated upright). Merged videos are kept in the app folder.
• Speech models: the speech recognition model (about 356 MB) and a small voice activity model (about 1 MB) in the app folder; deletable in the settings. In addition, one Google ML Kit language pack (about 30 MB) per translation language, managed by that library.
• Cookies: Like a browser, the app keeps cookies that a platform sets during a request. After a voluntary Instagram sign-in your Instagram session lives there; TikTok sets a technical cookie without which its video server does not deliver the file. "Disconnect Instagram" in the settings deletes all cookies.
• Cache: thumbnails, an audio track of the video during subtitle recognition (deleted after the run), rendered videos before saving, copies for sharing. Android may clear this cache at any time.
• A note of the maintenance file (see connections, item 6), unrelated to you.

None of this is transmitted to the developer or to third parties. Uninstalling the app removes all of it. Files you saved into your gallery remain, because at that point they belong to the device and no longer to the app.

Which connections the app makes

1. To the platform of the post you load. When you enter, share or paste a link, the app requests the public post page or the public retrieval interface of that platform to find out which file is behind it: Instagram (instagram.com), TikTok (tiktok.com), X (cdn.syndication.twimg.com), Facebook (facebook.com), Twitch clips (gql.twitch.tv), Snapchat Spotlight (snapchat.com), Pinterest (widgets.pinterest.com), Xiaohongshu (www.xiaohongshu.com). Short links (for example t.co, fb.watch, vm.tiktok.com, pin.it, xhslink.com) are resolved to their target first. The app then asks the platform's content server for the file size of each offered version (a header request) and downloads the file and the thumbnail directly from there. The privacy policy of that platform applies; it processes your IP address among other things and may set cookies. What is transmitted is the post address; your credentials are not used unless you deliberately signed in to Instagram (item 2).
2. To Instagram with your own account, only if you want to. For posts that are visible only when signed in (privately followed accounts, 18+ content) you can sign in on Instagram's own login page inside a window of the app. Clipnado does not see and does not store your password. Instagram then places a session as a cookie in the app's cookie store. Clipnado reads that session and sends it exclusively to instagram.com to fetch posts your account is allowed to see. While the session exists, the app's other Instagram requests carry it as well. "Disconnect Instagram" in the settings deletes the session and all other cookies. There is no sign-in for other platforms.
3. To a fallback service for X, only when needed and switchable off. If X does not respond, the app can send the post number to a public mirror service (api.fxtwitter.com) to obtain the video address. Only the post number goes there, never your video or any other data; the app identifies itself as "Clipnado". You can turn this off completely in the settings under "Allow fallback service". There is no such service for other platforms.
4. To Hugging Face, once, for the speech model. The first time you create subtitles, the app downloads the speech recognition model (about 356 MB) and a small voice activity model (about 1 MB) from huggingface.co (Hugging Face, Inc., USA). Nothing but the request itself is transmitted; a log entry with your IP address is created there for technical reasons. Speech recognition then runs entirely on your device. The audio of your video never leaves the device. If you want to tell two speakers in an interview apart, the app downloads an additional voice model (about 27 MB) from the same place; that too runs only on your device afterwards, and you can delete it again in the settings.
5. To Google, for translation, language detection and background (ML Kit). Translation, detection of the spoken language and separating the person from the background run with Google ML Kit on your device. Per translation language, that library downloads a language pack (about 30 MB) once from Google servers, over Wi-Fi only; as with any download, Google sees your IP address. The text to be translated and the translation do not leave your device. However, Google's terms for ML Kit state that the library sends metrics about performance and usage to Google. According to Google's own list these are: device details (manufacturer, model, Android version), the app's package name and version, a per-installation identifier, latencies, error codes, the type of event (start, pack download, detection), the size of input and output, the configured language pair and the identified language. Not included are the text itself, your video and your audio track. Google says it uses this data to measure and improve ML Kit and to detect abuse, transmits it encrypted and does not pass it on to third parties. The developer of Clipnado receives none of it. These reports cannot be switched off in ML Kit. They occur when the app uses ML Kit: during recognition (the language of the recognised text is determined once per video), when translating, and when editing the background in the studio. The background model ships inside the app, nothing is downloaded for it, and it only detects where a person is in the picture; the picture itself does not leave your device. If you do not want this, do not use the subtitle feature and leave the background set to "Off"; everything else in the app works without ML Kit. Google's privacy policy applies in that respect (policies.google.com/privacy).
6. To a maintenance file, exclusively in case of an error. Instagram can change its interface at any time. So that the app does not stay unusable until an update arrives, a small text file with the current technical parameters is hosted at clipnado.org/clipnado.json. The app reads it only after an Instagram request has failed, and at most every 15 minutes. The file is merely fetched; no data is transmitted, no link, no identifier, nothing about you or your device. As with any web request, the host creates a server log entry containing your IP address. As long as everything works, this request never happens.
7. To Google Play, for the rating prompt. After your third successful save, the app asks once, through the Google Play rating dialog, whether you would like to rate it. The dialog belongs to Google Play; whether it appears is decided by Google. The counter lives only on your device and the prompt never returns. "Rate Clipnado" in the settings opens the Play Store listing.
8. Addresses you tap yourself. The home screen offers buttons that open the app or website of a platform; the history opens the original post; the privacy link opens this page. You leave Clipnado at that point and the privacy policy of the opened app or site applies.

There is no developer server that downloads or videos pass through. The only connection to the developer is the maintenance file described in item 6, and only in case of an error.

Clipboard

When the app is opened and each time it returns to the foreground, Clipnado checks the clipboard for a post link of a supported platform. If it finds one, the download starts automatically depending on your settings. The clipboard content is evaluated for that purpose only and stays on the device. You can turn this off in the settings under "Check clipboard". Conversely, the app places text into the clipboard at your request (subtitles, post text, the support address).

Feedback by e-mail

"Report a bug", "Suggest an idea" and "Send feedback" open your mail app with a prepared subject and your text addressed to hallobustn@gmail.com. Only what you see there and send yourself is sent. Only for "Report a bug", and only with the checkbox set, the app attaches app version, Android version and device model. No videos, no links, no silent sending. If no mail app is available, the app puts the address into the clipboard.

What the app explicitly does not do

• no ads, no advertising identifier, no ad network
• no analytics, statistics or crash reports for the developer; the only technical usage data that leaves the device is what the Google library ML Kit sends (point 5)
• no access to contacts, location, camera or microphone; speech recognition works on the audio track of the video file, not on the microphone
• no reading or storing of passwords; the Instagram sign-in happens on Instagram's own page, Clipnado only manages the session cookie set there
• no uploading of your videos, photos or music, no cloud storage
• no sharing or selling of data

Permissions and why they exist

If you deny access to photos and videos, the app keeps working. Downloads are then kept in the app folder only and the "Phone videos" tab stays empty. Technical libraries in the app bring two permissions without a prompt: reading the network state (for image and video display) and keeping the device awake during playback.

Android backup

Android can back up app data to the user's Google account and restore it after a reinstall or device transfer (Android backup). For Clipnado this only concerns settings, lists and brand profiles. Your videos, projects, the Instagram session, the speech models and the cache are explicitly excluded. Whether and how Android backs up is controlled in your Android settings under "Backup".

The website clipnado.org

This policy also applies to the website clipnado.org.

• Hosting. The site is hosted by Vercel Inc., 440 N Barranca Avenue #4133, Covina, CA 91723, USA. On every visit Vercel processes technically necessary details such as your IP address, the requested address, the time and your browser identifier in order to deliver the site and protect it against abuse. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; the legitimate interest is a secure and working website. Vercel is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and the transfer to the USA is based on the European Commission's adequacy decision (Art. 45 GDPR). Vercel's privacy notice applies in addition (vercel.com/legal/privacy-notice).
• No cookies, no analytics. The site itself sets no cookies, uses no analytics or advertising tools and loads no fonts or scripts from third-party servers.
• Videos from YouTube, only after you tap. The home page shows two videos hosted on YouTube. At first you only see a thumbnail served by clipnado.org itself; nothing is loaded from YouTube. Only when you tap play does the page load the player in privacy-enhanced mode from youtube-nocookie.com. Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland, then receives your IP address and the address of the page, among other things. YouTube may store cookies or similar technologies on your device and transfer data to Google LLC in the USA; Google LLC is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The legal basis is your consent given by tapping (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG). You can withdraw it at any time with effect for the future by not starting any more videos and deleting cookies stored by YouTube in your browser. Google's privacy policy applies (policies.google.com/privacy).
• E-mail. The mail link on the site opens your own mail app. The section "Feedback by e-mail" applies to messages you send us.

Your rights

The app transmits no personal data to the developer. Technically caused log entries containing your IP address are created at the parties your device connects to (platforms, Hugging Face, Google, the host of the maintenance file). The developer does not evaluate his host's logs and does not combine them with anything else. You have the GDPR rights of access, rectification, erasure and complaint to a supervisory authority; use the contact address above. Everything else is in your hands, through the app's library and settings and through your device settings.

Copyright and content

Without signing in, the app only accesses publicly available content; with your own Instagram account also posts that account is allowed to see. You are responsible for how you use downloaded content, inserted music and photos. Only save and edit what you own or have permission to use. Clipnado is not intended for children.

Instagram and Facebook are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. X is a trademark of X Corp. TikTok is a trademark of ByteDance Ltd. Twitch is a trademark of Twitch Interactive, Inc. Snapchat is a trademark of Snap Inc. Pinterest is a trademark of Pinterest, Inc. Vimeo is a trademark of Vimeo.com, Inc. Xiaohongshu (rednote) is a trademark of Xingyin Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies.

Changes

If anything about data processing changes, this policy will be updated and the date above adjusted.