Yoober

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 17, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Yoober (“we”, “us”) handles information when you use the website at https://yoober.app and the Yoober desktop application. Yoober is designed to be privacy-first: there are no Yoober user accounts. The desktop app stores data locally on your device.

Summary

  • The desktop app runs on your own machine. Downloads are saved locally.
  • We do not operate Yoober servers that receive your videos, transcripts, or library data from the desktop app.
  • This website operates a narrow Webmention backend for IndieWeb interactions on public pages (see below). It does not use first-party analytics or tracking cookies.
  • Optional OpenAI Whisper API transcription only happens if you choose that backend and provide your own API key. YouTube captions and local Whisper stay on your machine.

The website

The site is hosted on Cloudflare Workers. We do not run first-party analytics, advertising pixels, or tracking cookies.

Cloudflare may process standard request data (IP address, user agent, requested URL) while delivering and securing the site. That processing is governed by Cloudflare’s policies.

Webmentions

When someone sends a Webmention to a page on this site, we receive the source URL and target URL they provide. A background worker fetches the public source page to verify that it links to the target, classifies the interaction type (reply, like, repost, or mention), and extracts a short plain-text excerpt plus public author name/URL when available in microformats markup.

  • We do not store full remote HTML bodies.
  • Records are stored in Cloudflare D1 and processed via Cloudflare Queues. Mentions are moderated before public display.
  • Endpoint: https://yoober.app/webmention
  • To request removal of a stored mention, email jay@yaa.bz with the source URL.

The desktop app

Yoober is a free, MIT-licensed desktop app. It downloads media through yt-dlp into a local Library, plays files with captions in-app, and can get transcripts from site subtitle tracks or OpenAI Whisper.

  • Downloads. Network requests go from your machine to the video site (and related CDNs). Files are written to the output folder you choose. Nothing is uploaded to Yoober.
  • YouTube captions. If you download existing captions, yt-dlp fetches subtitle tracks from the video site onto your machine. No OpenAI involvement.
  • Local transcription. If you use the local Whisper backend (CPU, CUDA, or Apple Metal), processing stays on your machine.
  • OpenAI API transcription. If you opt into the OpenAI API backend, audio is sent to OpenAI according to their terms and privacy policy. Your API key is stored in your operating system keychain via Electron safeStorage. It is not written to disk in plaintext by Yoober.
  • Local settings and history. App preferences, download history, library index, captions, and playlists are stored locally on your device. Nothing is synced to Yoober servers. Settings → Data → Delete all data… wipes that local database and the encrypted API key; an optional checkbox also deletes media under the Library folder.
  • App updates. Packaged macOS and Windows builds can check update.yoober.app (Cloudflare R2) for a newer version. Linux does not check in-app. You can turn automatic checks off in Settings → Updates.
  • yt-dlp updates. When Keep yt-dlp up to date is on, the app may download a newer yt-dlp binary from GitHub’s yt-dlp releases into app data. The copy bundled with Yoober is not overwritten.

Third parties

Depending on how you use Yoober, the following third parties may process data:

  • Video platforms when you fetch or download content through the desktop app.
  • OpenAI, only if you enable API-based transcription.
  • GitHub, only when the app fetches a yt-dlp update.
  • PayPal, if you use the optional donate link.
  • Cloudflare, for hosting this website, Webmention infrastructure, and the optional app-update CDN at update.yoober.app.

Children

Yoober is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will change when we do.

Contact

Questions? Contact Jay Simons at jay@yaa.bz.