Privacy Policy

In short. Storello stores your writing so you can work on any device. We do not sell personal data, show ads, or track you across other websites or apps. Your text and voice are sent to outside AI services only after your separate consent, and only when you use an AI feature. Under their published terms our AI providers do not train models on your data, and neither do we. Our main database and backups are located in Russia. You can delete your account and all your data in Settings → Delete account, and download your data in Settings → Download my data. Questions: support@storello.ru.

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) explains how personal data of users of Storello — the website https://storello.ru and the apps for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows (the “Service”) — is processed. It follows the laws of the Russian Federation (Federal Law No. 152-FZ of 27 July 2006 “On Personal Data”, “FZ-152”) and takes into account the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK GDPR for users in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, and, for residents of the United States, Section 14 below.

When creating an account the user confirms that they have read this Policy and accepts it with a separate checkbox. If the user does not agree with any provision of the Policy, they should stop using the Service and delete their account.

1. Personal Data Operator

The operator processing personal data within the meaning of Article 3 of FZ-152 is Individual Entrepreneur (Sole Proprietor) Zakharov Nikita Yurievich, INN 100130477573, OGRNIP 322100000019548, registered address: Russia, Petrozavodsk, Sortavalskaya str. 9a, apt. 48 (the “Operator”).

The person responsible for organising personal data processing (under Article 22.1 of FZ-152): Zakharov Nikita Yurievich. Email address for data subject inquiries: support@storello.ru.

The Operator is entered in the register of personal data operators of Roskomnadzor under registration number 10-26-011282.

The Service is aimed at users outside the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, and the mobile apps are not offered there. If you are nevertheless in the EU or the UK, data protection questions and requests to exercise your rights (Section 8) are accepted at support@storello.ru. Appointment of a separate DPO within the meaning of Article 37 GDPR is not required given the scale and nature of processing.

When you pay through Paddle, Paddle.com Market Limited (United Kingdom) is the merchant of record and an independent controller of your payment data under its own privacy notice.

2. Definitions

Personal data — any information relating directly or indirectly to an identified or identifiable natural person (the data subject).

Processing of personal data — any operation or set of operations performed on personal data, including collection, recording, organisation, accumulation, storage, adaptation, retrieval, use, transfer, anonymisation, blocking, erasure and destruction.

User — a natural person who has registered with the Service and created an account.

Content — any text, headings, covers, comments and other materials created or uploaded by the user while using the Service.

3. Categories of data processed

The Operator processes the following categories of personal data, depending on which features of the Service the user uses.

3.1. Account data

Email address, name or pseudonym, avatar (if provided by the user), hashed password (argon2id algorithm; the original password is never stored on the Operator’s servers). When a passkey is used — the public key and the credential identifier; the private key and your biometrics (Face ID, fingerprint) never leave the user’s device and are not transmitted to the Operator.

Signing in with other services. If you sign in with Yandex ID, we receive from Yandex a user identifier, your email address and name, and Yandex learns that you are signing in to Storello. If you use Sign in with Apple, we receive an Apple identifier and (as you choose) your real or a private relay email address. If you link Telegram, we store your Telegram ID to send notifications. We never receive your passwords for those services.

Records of acceptance. We keep the date and version of the Terms and Policy you accepted, your confirmation that you are at least 16, and your consent to personal data processing, as proof that you gave them.

3.2. User content

Document text, headings, covers, comments, version history, edit metadata (timestamps, author of the change). Content refers to material voluntarily created by the user and is not a special category of personal data within the meaning of Article 10 of FZ-152, unless the user themselves chooses to place such information in it.

3.3. Technical data

The user’s device IP address, browser type and version, operating system, session identifier, request timestamps, in-Service page transitions. This data is collected automatically and used to operate, secure and diagnose the Service, as well as for anonymous visitor analytics (visit and page-view counts, approximate country derived from the IP address). Such analytics are processed on the Operator’s own infrastructure, are not transferred to any third party, and use no cookies or third-party counters: visits are counted on the server by an anonymised code that changes every day; the IP address is not stored.

In the apps we additionally process: a random device identifier created by the app (your device list, device limit, QR sign-in); a push-notification token (if you turn notifications on); the app version and operating system; crash reports (without your text or email). The camera is used only to scan a sign-in QR code and the microphone only while you dictate. Biometrics are handled by your operating system and never reach us.

3.4. Payments

How you pay determines who processes the payment:

— on the website in roubles — through YooKassa (YooMoney NBCO LLC): we receive the fact, date, amount and an identifier of the payment; for auto-renewal, a payment token but never your card data;
— on the website in other currencies — through Paddle (the merchant of record is Paddle.com Market Limited, United Kingdom): we receive subscription status, an identifier and the plan; Paddle handles your card and tax data;
— inside the apps — through the Apple App Store, Google Play, RuStore or Microsoft Store: we receive from the store a purchase identifier, the product and the subscription status, but not your card details or name.

Payment records (date, amount, identifier, plan), without your texts, are kept for 5 years after the end of the year of payment for tax and accounting purposes, including after you delete your account. The Operator does not collect or store full bank card details.

3.5. Support correspondence

The content of correspondence with the user sent via support@storello.ru or the in-app feedback form, together with related technical metadata of the inquiry.

4. Purposes of processing

The Operator processes personal data solely for the following purposes:

— registering and identifying the user in the Service;
— providing the Service’s functionality: editing, storing, synchronising and exporting documents, collaborative editing;
— securing the account (protection from unauthorised access, incident investigation);
— handling user inquiries to customer support;
— accepting payments and fulfilling obligations related to paid features;
— operating AI features at your request and with your consent;
— improving the quality of the Service based on anonymised usage statistics;
— complying with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, including tax and accounting duties.

5. Lawful basis

Providing the data needed to register is necessary to use the Service; without an email address an account cannot be created. Consent to AI features is voluntary and refusing it does not affect anything else. Bases by purpose (purpose — data — GDPR basis — FZ-152 basis):

— registration, sign-in, operation of the Service (storage, sync, co-authoring, export) — account data, texts — contract, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR — Art. 6(1)(5) FZ-152;
— account security, brute-force protection, sign-in log (90 days) — IP address, device, time — legitimate interests, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR — Art. 6(1)(7) FZ-152;
— AI features — texts, voice, requests — consent, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR — Art. 6(1)(1) FZ-152;
— payments and receipts — payment identifiers — contract, Art. 6(1)(b), and legal obligation, Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR — Art. 6(1)(5) and (2) FZ-152;
— support — correspondence — contract or legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(5) FZ-152;
— service emails and notifications — email, tokens — contract — Art. 6(1)(5) FZ-152;
— anonymous visit statistics (no cookies, no IP address) — daily anonymous code, country — legitimate interests, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR — Art. 6(1)(9) FZ-152 (anonymised data);
— publishing a specialist profile in the marketplace — profile data — consent, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR — consent to dissemination, Art. 10.1 FZ-152;
— compliance with the law (tax, accounting, authority requests) — payment records — Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR — Art. 6(1)(2) FZ-152.

Consent to personal data processing at registration is given with a separate checkbox on the account-creation screen; consent to sending text and voice to AI services is given separately, in its own window (see Section 7).

6. Methods and retention

Personal data is processed both with and without the use of automation. Operations include collection, recording, organisation, accumulation, storage, adaptation, retrieval, use, transfer (in cases provided for by this Policy), anonymisation, blocking, erasure and destruction.

Personal data is retained for the duration of the user’s account. After the account is deleted, personal data is removed from the Service’s primary database immediately. Encrypted backups are kept for no more than 90 (ninety) days from the date of their creation, after which they are automatically deleted by the storage rotation policy.

If a backup is restored, data of deleted accounts will be deleted again.

Audit log records (sign-in events, security setting changes, administrator actions) are retained for 90 days. After this period the records are automatically deleted.

The log of accepted documents and consents (acceptance of the Terms and Policy, confirmation of age 16+, AI consent) is kept while the account exists and is deleted together with it. Support correspondence is kept no longer than needed to reply and to protect the Operator’s rights.

Data whose processing is required to comply with tax, accounting and other legislation of the Russian Federation is retained for the periods set by the respective regulations (as a rule — 5 years), including after the account is deleted.

7. Transfers and cross-border transfers

The Operator does not sell personal data and does not disclose it to third parties, except in cases expressly provided by law or by this Policy.

Parties engaged by the Operator for the purpose of storing and processing data:

— Hosting provider — a Russian company (TIMEWEB.CLOUD LLC) providing a virtual server located within the Russian Federation on which the Service’s application and database are hosted; image and cover storage is an S3 storage of the same provider;
— Object storage for backups — a Russian S3-compatible storage provider (Selectel, Moscow); only encrypted backups are uploaded to it (age algorithm, XChaCha20-Poly1305); the decryption key is held exclusively by the Operator;
— Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.; data stored in the EU, Germany) — software error telemetry service; only technical crash data is transmitted (error type, call stack, client version); document content and user email addresses are not transmitted to Sentry;
— YooKassa (YooMoney NBCO LLC) — accepting and processing payments for paid plans and AI credit packs; full bank-card numbers are neither transmitted to nor stored by the Operator — they are handled by the PCI DSS-certified payment agent; for subscription auto-renewal the Operator stores only a payment token, not card data;
— Paddle (Paddle.com Market Limited, United Kingdom) — payments on the website in currencies other than roubles; Paddle is the merchant of record and an independent controller of payment data; we receive the subscription status, an identifier and the plan;
— App stores — Apple App Store, Google Play, RuStore, Microsoft Store: for in-app purchases we receive a purchase identifier, the product and the subscription status, but not card details or name;
— Yandex (Russia) — only when signing in with Yandex ID: identifier, email address and name; Apple (USA) — only when using Sign in with Apple: identifier and email address (real or private relay);
— AI feature providers — DeepInfra, Inc. (USA) and GPTunnel (Russia; requests are executed by OpenAI, L.L.C. models, USA): see Section 7.1;
— DuckDuckGo, Inc. (USA) — web search when the assistant looks up information for a reply; the search phrases composed by the assistant are transmitted (they may contain words from the user’s question);
— Resend (Plus Five Five, Inc., USA) — sending service emails (sign-in codes, password recovery, co-author invitations, payment notices); the email address, name and message text are transmitted;
— Telegram (Telegram FZ-LLC, UAE) — only if the user has linked Telegram: the Telegram ID and the notification text;
— Push notification services of the browser or operating system (Google, Apple, Mozilla, Microsoft) — only if the user has enabled notifications: the technical delivery address and the notification text;
— Government authorities — upon a substantiated lawful request, to the extent required by law.

7.1. AI features: what is sent, to whom and when

The AI assistant, proofreading, dictation, “project memory” and meaning-based search work through outside providers.

When. Only after your separate consent in the AI consent window (in the app: Settings → Legal information → “AI services: text and voice processing”). Before you consent and after you withdraw, no text or voice is sent to anyone, and you can write, edit and store texts as usual. Buying a plan is not consent and does not start any transfer without your consent.

What. Your request to the assistant; the passage or chapter you ask it to review; the project details needed for the reply (cards, notes); for dictation, the voice recording. Your email, name and payment data are not sent; requests are sent by the Operator’s server.

To whom. DeepInfra, Inc. (USA) — assistant replies, text editing, speech-to-text; open models (including DeepSeek and gpt-oss) run on DeepInfra’s servers, so data is not sent to China. GPTunnel (Russia) running OpenAI, L.L.C. (USA) models — meaning-based search and a fallback channel. DuckDuckGo, Inc. (USA) — search phrases composed by the assistant for web lookups.

Training. We do not train models on your texts. Under their published terms, our AI providers do not use the data we send for training and do not keep it after the reply, except to investigate a fault at our request or where the law requires.

Accuracy. AI replies are generated automatically and may be inaccurate or incomplete; whether to use them is your decision. You can report a reply with the flag button in the assistant panel.

Withdrawal. At any time in the same settings; the consent log is kept as proof that consent was given.

This matches the page “Consent to processing of text and voice”. For background AI features (“project memory”, the search index on the “Author” plan and above) text is likewise sent only while consent is in force.

7.2. Where data is stored and cross-border transfers

Where data is stored. The primary database, chapter texts and backups are located in the Russian Federation, which complies with the localisation requirement for personal data of Russian citizens set out in Article 18(5) of FZ-152. The decryption key for backups is held only by the Operator.

For users in the EU and the UK. Russia is not on the list of countries for which the EU or the UK has adopted an adequacy decision. Russian law gives public authorities rights of access to data stored in Russia. To reduce the risk we: encrypt backups with a key that only we hold; collect the minimum of data; do not use data for advertising and do not sell it; send texts to outside AI services only after your consent; and answer authority requests only where there is a lawful basis. If you do not accept storage of your data in Russia, please do not create an account, or delete it.

Onward transfers. Some data is transferred outside the Russian Federation (Article 12 of FZ-152), only to the extent needed for the respective feature. Our processors outside Russia receive data on the basis of standard contractual clauses or other safeguards provided by the GDPR and UK GDPR, or on the basis of your consent:

— DeepInfra, Inc. (USA): requests, text fragments, voice — AI features, with consent;
— GPTunnel (Russia) → OpenAI, L.L.C. (USA): text fragments — meaning-based search, fallback channel, with consent;
— DuckDuckGo, Inc. (USA): the assistant’s search phrases — web search, with consent;
— Resend (Plus Five Five, Inc., USA): email, name, message text — service emails;
— Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.; data stored in Germany, EU): technical crash data — diagnostics;
— Paddle.com Market Limited (United Kingdom): payment data and email — payments on the website outside roubles, independent controller;
— YooKassa (YooMoney NBCO LLC, Russia): payment — payments in roubles;
— Apple, Google, RuStore, Microsoft: purchase identifier and status — in-app purchases, push notifications;
— Yandex (Russia): identifier and email — sign-in with Yandex ID;
— Telegram FZ-LLC (UAE): Telegram ID, notification text — only if you linked Telegram, with consent.

We do not sell personal data and do not pass it to advertising networks. The current list of recipients is kept on the page “Data recipients”. The USA and the UAE are not on the list of states providing adequate protection of data subject rights. By using AI features after giving consent, the user consents to such transfer and processing of fragments of their Content.

8. Data subject rights

In accordance with FZ-152, the GDPR and the UK GDPR (for EU and UK users) you have the right to:

— know how we process your data and receive a copy (Settings → Download my data);
— correct inaccurate data;
— delete your data (Settings → Delete account);
— restrict processing;
— object to processing based on legitimate interests;
— data portability (export in a machine-readable format);
— withdraw consent at any time (withdrawal does not affect processing before it);
— not be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing — we make no such decisions (AI only assists with text);
— lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: Roskomnadzor (Russia), the data protection authority of your EU country (list: edpb.europa.eu), or the Information Commissioner’s Office (UK, ico.org.uk).

How to ask. Write to support@storello.ru from the email address of your account (or from the app). To protect you from forged requests we may ask you to confirm you own the account. We reply within 30 days (the law may allow an extension; for California residents up to 45 days). If we refuse, we will explain why and how to appeal.

9. Security measures

The Operator takes legal, organisational and technical measures to protect personal data against unlawful or accidental access, destruction, modification, blocking, copying, distribution, and other unlawful actions, in accordance with Article 19 of FZ-152.

In particular, the following measures are applied: transport encryption (TLS version 1.2 or higher on all connections); hosting the database (PostgreSQL) on a server within the Russian Federation with network access restricted by a firewall and access rights segregated; password storage as an argon2id hash; encryption of backups before upload to external storage (age, XChaCha20-Poly1305; the decryption key is held exclusively by the Operator); protection against credential brute-forcing (rate limiting and automatic temporary lockout on suspicious activity); security event logging; regular software updates; segregation of staff access rights on a least-privilege basis.

The Operator draws the user’s attention to the fact that no system for transmitting data over the Internet and no data storage system can be guaranteed 100% secure. The user is responsible for the safekeeping of their password and for actions performed under their account.

Security incidents. If a breach affects your data, we will notify you by email or in the app without undue delay, and notify supervisory authorities within the legal deadlines (in Russia, Roskomnadzor within 24 hours and the investigation results within 72 hours; in the EU and UK within 72 hours where your rights are at risk).

10. Cookies and local storage

The Service uses only strictly necessary cookies and browser local storage without which the Service cannot operate or would be substantially impaired. Analytics and advertising cookies and third-party counters (Yandex Metrica, Google Analytics and the like) are not set by the Operator. Visit statistics are counted on the server without cookies, by an anonymised code that changes every day; the IP address is not stored.

List of technical storage used:

— Session cookie (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite=Lax flags) — used to maintain an authenticated user session; lifetime — up to 15 minutes with automatic renewal on activity;
— localStorage — used to persist UI preferences (selected theme, language, last open document) and client-side drafts;
— sessionStorage — used for short-lived technical data that lives only for the open browser tab;
— IndexedDB — stores on your device chapter text for offline work and a local image cache (up to 500 MB) for fast display; cleared when you sign out and manually in settings;
— App cache (service worker) — the app’s own files for fast launch and offline use;
— Secure token storage in the apps — to keep you signed in on the device.

We do not use advertising or analytics cookies or third-party counters. “Do Not Track” and Global Privacy Control signals are respected in the sense that nothing tracks you.

The user can delete cookies and the contents of local storage through their browser. After deleting the session cookie the user will be automatically signed out and can sign in again.

11. Minors

The Service is intended for people aged 16 or over. When you register you confirm that you are at least 16; we do not ask for or store your date of birth, only the fact of your confirmation. If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 16, we will block it and delete the related data. If you are a parent and believe a child is using the Service, write to support@storello.ru.

12. Changes to this policy

The Operator may amend this Policy. The current edition is always published at https://storello.cc/privacy. Earlier versions are available on request at support@storello.ru. The Operator will notify users of material changes affecting their rights by email and/or within the Service no less than 14 (fourteen) days before the changes take effect. The date of the latest edition is shown at the top of this document.

13. Contacts and inquiries

For any questions concerning the processing of personal data, the exercise of data subject rights, or other matters relating to interaction with the Operator, please contact: support@storello.ru.

Postal address for official correspondence: Russia, Petrozavodsk, Sortavalskaya str. 9a, apt. 48.

14. Notice for residents of the United States (including California)

Not sold, not shared. In the last 12 months we have not sold personal information or “shared” it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use advertising or cross-site tracking technologies. We therefore do not display a “Do Not Sell or Share” link. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control: our Service does not track users across websites, so we do not change behavior in response to these signals — there is nothing to turn off.

Categories collected in the last 12 months (see Section 3): identifiers (email, name, device ID); commercial information (plan and payment identifiers); internet activity (technical logs, anonymous visit counts); audio recordings (dictation, only when you use it and with your AI consent); content you create (text, notes); sensitive personal information only if you put it in your texts. Sources: you, your device, payment providers and stores, sign-in providers. Purposes and recipients: as described in Sections 4 and 7. We use the contents of your texts only to provide the Service and the AI features you request; we do not use them to build profiles.

Your rights (California and other states with comprehensive privacy laws, as applicable): to know, access and receive a copy; delete; correct; limit use of sensitive information; opt out of sale, sharing and profiling (not applicable); and not to be discriminated against for exercising rights. How: email support@storello.ru from your account address; an authorized agent may act for you with your written permission. We respond within 45 days (extendable once by 45). Appeal: if we refuse, reply to our message with “appeal” and we will review it within 45 days; you may also contact your state attorney general.

Children. The Service is not directed to anyone under 16 and we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13 (COPPA) or under 16. If you believe a child has used the Service, write to us and we will delete the account.

Security breach. If a breach affects your personal information we will notify you and regulators as required by law, without undue delay.