Herald Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 2, 2026
Last updated: September 2, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Upstate Data Systems LLC ("Upstate Data Systems," "we," "us," or "our") accesses, uses, stores, protects, shares, retains, and deletes information in connection with Herald, our email-to-podcast automation service.

Herald is currently operated as a limited-access service.

1. What Herald does

Herald allows an authorized user to submit content by email and receive a generated audio episode. To provide this functionality, Herald may retrieve an intended message from Gmail, process the submitted content, use the Google Gemini API to create a narration script, synthesize the narration through Herald's privately operated text-to-speech system, upload the completed audio to Google Drive, and send the result by email.

2. Information Herald accesses or receives

Depending on the features a user authorizes and uses, Herald may process the following categories of information.

Google account authorization information

Herald uses Google OAuth to obtain authorization to access the Google services required for the requested functionality. OAuth credentials and tokens are used to maintain the authorized connection.

Gmail data

Herald may access Gmail information needed to identify and process messages intended for Herald, including:

  • message identifiers and thread identifiers;
  • sender and recipient information;
  • subject lines;
  • message bodies and submitted source content;
  • message metadata needed to operate the intake and reply workflow.

Herald uses Gmail access to process messages intentionally submitted to the service and to send acknowledgments, status information, and completed-episode responses.

Google Drive data

Herald may access Google Drive information needed to store and deliver completed podcast files, including:

  • the configured destination folder;
  • files Herald creates or uploads;
  • file identifiers;
  • file metadata;
  • links used to deliver completed episodes.

Herald uses Drive access to upload and manage files created as part of the user's requested Herald workflow.

Content submitted to Herald

Submitted content may include article text, newsletter text, notes, links, instructions about the requested episode, and other material intentionally sent for conversion into audio.

Operational and diagnostic information

Herald may create operational records such as job identifiers, processing state, timestamps, error details, checksums, duration, file size, and service logs needed to run, secure, troubleshoot, and recover the service.

3. How Herald uses information

We use information processed by Herald only as necessary to:

  • authenticate and maintain authorized Google connections;
  • identify messages intentionally submitted for Herald processing;
  • clean, extract, and prepare submitted content;
  • generate the podcast script requested by the user;
  • synthesize and assemble the audio episode;
  • upload the completed result to Google Drive;
  • send acknowledgments, status messages, and completed results by email;
  • prevent duplicate processing and recover interrupted jobs;
  • maintain security and investigate abuse or technical failures;
  • comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not use Google user data for advertising, retargeting, personalized advertising, credit decisions, lending decisions, or sale to data brokers or information resellers.

Upstate Data Systems does not use Google user data to train generalized or non-personalized artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models.

4. Use of Google API data and Limited Use

Herald's use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

We request and use Google API access only for the user-facing Herald functionality described in this Privacy Policy and for permitted security, operational, and legal purposes.

5. Service providers and data transfers

Herald relies on service providers and infrastructure necessary to perform the requested workflow.

Google

Herald uses Google Gmail and Google Drive APIs to receive intended submissions, send replies, and store completed episodes.

Google Gemini API

Portions of content submitted for podcast generation may be transmitted to the Google Gemini API solely to create or transform the narration script requested by the user.

Hosting and infrastructure providers

Herald is operated on cloud infrastructure used by Upstate Data Systems to host the application, database, orchestration components, and supporting services. Those providers may process data on our behalf as necessary to provide infrastructure.

Private text-to-speech processing

Herald's text-to-speech processing is performed by a privately operated speech-synthesis service under Upstate Data Systems' control rather than by an advertising or data-broker service.

We do not sell Google user data or submitted content. We do not transfer Google user data to advertising platforms, data brokers, or information resellers.

6. Data storage and security

Herald uses reasonable technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect information processed by the service.

These safeguards include practices such as:

  • OAuth-based authorization for Google services;
  • encrypted credential storage within the service's orchestration platform;
  • private service-to-service networking for backend components;
  • access restrictions for administrative interfaces;
  • HTTPS for external service communications;
  • logging practices intended to avoid unnecessary exposure of secrets and submitted content.

No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Retention and deletion

We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary to provide Herald, recover or troubleshoot jobs, maintain service security, comply with legal obligations, and support legitimate operational needs.

Temporary processing artifacts are intended to be removed after they are no longer needed for the requested episode. Operational records and message-derived processing data may be retained for a limited period for reliability and troubleshooting.

Completed podcast files uploaded to a user's Google Drive remain subject to that user's Google Drive account and retention choices.

OAuth authorization information may be retained while the user keeps Herald connected to their Google account. Revoking Herald's Google access prevents future API access through the revoked authorization.

When retained information is no longer needed for the purposes described above, we delete or destroy it in accordance with our operational retention practices, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.

A user may request deletion of information held by Upstate Data Systems in connection with Herald by emailing upstatedatasystems@gmail.com. We may need enough information to verify the request and identify the relevant Herald records.

8. User choices and controls

Users may:

  • revoke Herald's Google access from their Google Account permissions;
  • delete completed Herald files from their own Google Drive;
  • stop submitting content to Herald;
  • request deletion of information held by Upstate Data Systems by contacting us.

Revoking Google access may prevent Herald from receiving submissions, sending replies, or storing completed episodes.

9. Human access to user data

We do not routinely read user content manually. Human access may occur only when reasonably necessary for purposes such as responding to a user's support request, investigating a security or abuse issue, diagnosing a technical failure, complying with applicable law, or when the user has otherwise authorized the access.

10. Children's privacy

Herald is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly offer the service to children under 13.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Herald changes or as legal, operational, or Google API requirements change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent revision.

If we materially change how Herald uses Google user data, we will update this policy and any applicable user-facing disclosures before using the data in the new manner.

12. Contact

Questions, privacy inquiries, or deletion requests may be sent to:

Upstate Data Systems LLC
Email: upstatedatasystems@gmail.com

Herald homepage: https://upstatedatasystems.com/Herald
Privacy Policy: https://upstatedatasystems.com/Herald/privacy