Privacy Policy for Orate
Effective date: July 15, 2026
Introduction & Scope
Orate is a native macOS app that reads your text aloud. You select text in any app, and Orate speaks it using a text-to-speech voice that runs entirely on your Mac.
This Privacy Policy explains how Orate handles information. It covers the Orate macOS app and the Orate website at orate.to. Orate is published by Gnome Bobon, LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), the company behind other apps such as Ruckus.
We built Orate to be private by design. The short version: the text you have Orate read, and the audio it generates, never leave your Mac. The rest of this policy explains the details, including the small amount of information involved when you purchase a license.
Summary: What Orate Does and Doesn't Collect
What Orate does: When you trigger Orate (using the macOS Services menu or a global hotkey), it reads your current text selection using macOS Accessibility, adds that text to a listening queue stored locally on your Mac, and synthesizes speech from it entirely on-device. The speech synthesis uses the Kokoro model running through ONNX Runtime, on your Mac's own hardware.
Nothing leaves your Mac. The text Orate captures, the audio it produces, and how you use the app are never transmitted off your device. There are no servers involved in reading your text. There is no account and no login.
The one exception is buying a license. When you make a one-time purchase, our third-party payment processor handles your payment, and we receive your email address so we can issue and support your license key. That's the only personal information we ever receive, and it comes from the purchase — not from using the app. Details are below.
The optional HD voice downloads software. Orate's built-in voice is fully on-device and works offline. If you choose to turn on the optional, higher-quality "HD" voice, Orate downloads that voice's engine and model files (about 4 GB) from third-party software and model hosts. This download fetches only software; it does not send us or anyone the text you read, the audio Orate produces, or any information about how you use the app. Once downloaded, the HD voice also runs entirely on your Mac. Orate may likewise contact the Website to check for and download app updates; those requests include only the technical details needed to deliver an update (such as the app version), never your text, audio, or usage.
No analytics. No telemetry. No tracking. The Orate app contains no analytics, no telemetry, and no tracking of any kind.
Information We Do NOT Collect
We want to be explicit, because this is the heart of how Orate works.
- The text you have Orate read. When you select text and trigger Orate, that text is read from your current selection via macOS Accessibility and placed in a listening queue stored locally on your Mac. It is never uploaded, transmitted, logged remotely, or shared with us or anyone else. It stays on your device.
- The audio Orate generates. Speech is synthesized 100% on-device using the Kokoro model via ONNX Runtime. The generated audio is produced on your Mac and is never sent anywhere.
- Your usage of the app. We do not collect analytics, telemetry, diagnostics, crash reports tied to you, feature-usage data, or any record of what you read, how often you use Orate, or what you do with it. The app does not track you.
- Your identity or location as you use the app. Because there is no account and nothing is transmitted, we have no way to know who you are or where you are from your use of the app.
In short: what you read with Orate is your business, and it never becomes ours.
Information We Do Collect
The only personal information connected to Orate comes from purchasing a license.
- Your purchase email address. When you buy Orate, we receive the email address you used for the purchase. We use it to deliver and support your license key. This is the only piece of personal information we (Gnome Bobon, LLC) hold about you.
- Payment and billing information (handled by our payment processor). Orate is sold as a one-time purchase through a third-party payment processor, Lemon Squeezy (the merchant of record for the sale). The processor collects the information needed to complete your payment — such as your name, email address, and billing or payment details — under its own privacy policy. We do not receive or store your full payment card details. The processor acts as the merchant/seller of record and/or payment processor for the transaction.
- Website server logs. Our website, orate.to, is hosted on Cloudflare, which keeps ordinary server logs (for example, IP address, browser type, and pages requested) for security and reliability. Website analytics: privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics (Cloudflare Web Analytics), which does not use cookies or track individuals across sites.
How We Use It
We use the limited information above only for these purposes:
- To issue your license key after purchase and to validate it (see below).
- To provide customer support, respond to your questions, and help with license or refund issues.
- To operate and secure our website, including keeping it available and protecting against abuse.
- To comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations related to your purchase.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising or profiling.
License validation is offline. Your Orate license is validated on your Mac using a cryptographic key check. The app does not phone home or contact our servers to confirm your license. Validation works without any network connection.
Third-Party Processors
We rely on a small number of third parties to run the business side of Orate. When required, we put appropriate agreements in place with them.
- Payment processor: Lemon Squeezy (the merchant of record for the sale). Processes your purchase and collects the payment and billing information described above under its own privacy policy. Please review that processor's privacy policy for how it handles your data.
- Email / license delivery: Lemon Squeezy. Delivers your license key with your purchase confirmation. Support correspondence is handled over email to our support inbox (support@orate.to).
- Website hosting: Cloudflare (Cloudflare Pages). Hosts orate.to, keeps standard server logs as described above, and provides the cookieless analytics noted above.
These providers process information on our behalf or as independent controllers of their own services. We share only what is necessary for each provider to perform its function.
Data Retention
- On-device data (captured text and generated audio): Stored locally on your Mac in Orate's listening queue and controlled entirely by you. You can remove items from the queue or delete the app's local data at any time. Because it never reaches us, we cannot retain it — only you hold it.
- Purchase email and license records: We keep your email address and license/purchase records for as long as needed to support your license, provide customer service, and meet legal, tax, and accounting requirements. When no longer needed, we delete or anonymize this information.
- Payment records held by the processor: Retained by Lemon Squeezy (the merchant of record for the sale) according to its own policies and legal obligations.
- Website logs: Retained for a limited period consistent with normal security and operational needs.
Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal information under laws such as the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). These may include the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate personal information.
- Delete your personal information.
- Portability — receive a copy of your information in a portable format.
- Object to or restrict certain processing.
- Opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information — note that we do not sell or share your personal information.
- Non-discrimination for exercising your rights.
Because the only personal information we hold is your purchase email address and related license records, most requests are straightforward. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@orate.to. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. For payment and billing data held by our payment processor, you may also contact the processor directly.
Children's Privacy
Orate is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@orate.to and we will delete it.
International Users
Orate is designed so that your captured text and generated audio stay on your own Mac, wherever you are in the world. The limited purchase information we do handle (your email address and license records) may be processed and stored in countries other than your own, including where we or our third-party processors operate. Where required by law, we rely on appropriate safeguards for any cross-border transfers of personal information. By purchasing Orate, you understand that your purchase information may be processed in these locations.
Security
We take reasonable measures to protect the limited information we handle. The strongest protection is architectural: the text you read and the audio Orate generates never leave your device, so they are not exposed to network transmission or server storage. For the purchase email and license records we do hold, and for payment data handled by our processor, we and our providers use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, if we change payment or email providers, or to reflect legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "Effective date" above and post the revised policy at orate.to. Your continued use of Orate after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how Orate handles your information, please contact us:
Gnome Bobon, LLC Email: support@orate.to Website: orate.to
(A postal address is available on request by emailing support@orate.to.)