Privacy Policy

Overview

This Privacy Policy describes how Alistair ("we," "us," or "our") handles information when you use the Alistair creative writing software ("Software") and visit our website at alistaircrowe.com.

We built Alistair around a simple principle: your writing is yours. The Software is designed to run entirely on your machine. Your manuscripts, notes, and creative work are never uploaded to our servers.

What We Collect

We collect a minimal set of information necessary to operate and improve the Software:

Diagnostic and usage data is collected in aggregate and anonymised where possible. We do not associate diagnostic reports with your identity unless you voluntarily contact us for support.

What We Don't Collect

To be explicit about what we do not do:

• Never   We do not read, upload, or transmit your manuscripts, documents, notes, or any creative content.
• Never   We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
• Never   We do not use your writing to train AI models.
• Never   We do not send your text to external AI APIs for processing.
• Never   We do not track your location.
• Never   We do not collect financial details — payments are handled by our payment processor.

How We Use Data

We use the information we collect solely for the following purposes:

• To activate and validate your software license;
• To deliver software updates and security patches;
• To process payments and deliver license keys;
• To respond to support enquiries;
• To comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond what is listed above.

Data Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• Payment processors. When you purchase a license, payment details are handled directly by our payment processor (e.g., Stripe or equivalent). We receive a transaction ID and your email address to deliver your license. We do not store your card details.
• Service providers. We may use third-party services for crash reporting or analytics. These providers are contractually prohibited from using your data for any purpose other than providing those services to us.
• Legal compliance. We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority.
• Business transfers. In the event of a merger or acquisition, user data may be transferred. We will notify users of any such change in advance.

AI & Local Processing

Alistair's AI writing features are powered entirely by locally installed language models. This is a fundamental design decision — not an afterthought.

• All AI inference runs on your CPU or GPU, on your machine.
• Your manuscript text is never sent to any external server, API, or cloud service for AI processing.
• Optional AI model files (Mistral-7B variants) are downloaded once from Hugging Face and stored locally. The download itself is subject to Hugging Face's privacy policy, but thereafter the models run entirely offline.
• Optional GPU acceleration (CUDA) operates locally and transmits no data externally.

Automatic Updates

When checking for updates, the Software sends your current version number and operating system type to our update server. No personal information or content is included in update checks.

You may disable automatic update checks in the Software settings. We recommend keeping updates enabled to receive security patches.

Data Retention

We retain data for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy:

• License records are retained for the lifetime of your license to support activation and legitimate re-installations.
• Purchase records are retained as required by applicable financial and tax regulations (typically 7 years).
• Support correspondence is retained for up to 3 years, unless you request deletion.

You may request deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us (see Section 13). We will comply with all valid deletion requests, subject to any legal obligations to retain records.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the limited data we hold. These include encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), access controls, and regular security reviews.

However, no system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted over the internet. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal data, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

Children's Privacy

Alistair is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately so we can delete it.

Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access. Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction. Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion. Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Portability. Request your data in a machine-readable format.
• Objection. Object to certain types of processing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 13. We will respond within 30 days.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, for material changes, make reasonable efforts to notify you (e.g., via an in-app notice or email).

Your continued use of Alistair after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your data rights, or have a privacy concern, please get in touch. Ryan reads every message.

Copyright © 2026 Alistair. All rights reserved.