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Privacy Policy

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Namu (“Namu,” “we,” “us”) is an African AI research and technology company building speech-native AI infrastructure for African languages, starting with Hausa. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through namuai-lab.com, including its demos and its developer platform (together, the “Services”), how we use and share it, and the choices available to you.

This Privacy Policy describes how Namu collects, uses, and shares personal information when you use the Services. It does not apply to products we have not yet publicly released, or to third-party services we don’t control.

By using the Services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here. If you do not agree, please don’t use the Services.

  • Information you provide to us. Your name, email address, and the contents of any message you send us through our contact channels or forms, the information you provide when you create an account, as well as any information you provide if you ask to hear from us about new Namu products.
  • Content you submit through the Services. Text, audio, voice recordings, images, documents, and files you submit through the demos, the developer platform, or similar features (“Content”), including audio captured through your microphone if you grant permission.
  • Output we generate for you. Results our models produce in response to your Content, such as a transcript of your speech or audio synthesized from your text (“Output”).
  • Information collected automatically. IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring pages, and similar diagnostic data, collected through standard server and hosting logs. When you use the API or the developer platform, we also record which service was called, when, and whether it succeeded, so we can count usage; these records do not contain your audio or your text.
  • Provide, maintain, and secure the Services.
  • Respond to questions and requests sent through our contact channels.
  • Communicate with you about Namu, if you’ve asked to hear from us.
  • Monitor and analyze usage to understand and improve the Services.
  • Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
  • Comply with our legal obligations.

Namu’s mission is to build AI that understands and speaks African languages, including many that are barely represented in AI systems today. Doing that well depends on real speech and language data.

Where a feature of the Services, such as a demo, asks for your permission to use your Content to help train or evaluate Namu’s models, we will tell you before you provide it. We only use your Content to develop or improve our models where you’ve given that permission, or where we’re otherwise permitted to do so by law.

You can withdraw that permission, and ask us to delete Content you’ve submitted, at any time: see Your rights & choices.

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose it only to:

  • Service providers who host the Services or help us operate them, such as hosting and infrastructure providers, bound by confidentiality and data-protection obligations.
  • Legal and safety authorities, where required by law, regulation, or legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Namu, our users, or the public.
  • Successors, in connection with a merger, financing, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to standard confidentiality arrangements.
  • Other parties with your consent, for any purpose we disclose to you at the time of collection.

The Services use a small cookie to remember your language (English or French), and browser storage to remember a few display choices, such as the light mode for slow connections. If you sign in, cookies keep you signed in. We measure visits and page speed with Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights, which set no cookies. We do not use advertising cookies. If that changes, we will update this policy and, where required, ask for your consent.

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the Services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Content you submit through the demos and the developer platform, including audio, is retained only for as long as needed for the purpose you provided it for, such as keeping a project, an agent, or a conversation you saved, or until you delete it or ask us to delete it.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correct inaccurate personal information.
  • Delete personal information we hold about you.
  • Object to, or restrict, certain processing of your personal information.
  • Withdraw consent you’ve previously given us, including consent to use your Content to develop our models.
  • Receive a copy of your personal information in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email legal@namuai.org. We will respond to verified requests within the time required by applicable law.

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Namu is built in Niger and the United States. Your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in either country, or in other countries where our service providers operate. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards to protect personal information transferred internationally.

The Services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us so we can delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy as Namu and the Services evolve. We’ll revise the date at the top of this page and, where a change is material, take reasonable steps to notify you.

Questions about this policy or how we handle personal information can be sent to legal@namuai.org.

See also our Terms of Service.