Privacy Policy & “Local-First” Commitment

Last Updated: February 12, 2026

Executive Summary: The Reelic Privacy Protocol

At Reelic, we don't just “respect” your privacy; we enforce it through architecture. Most online video tools are data traps. They require you to upload your files to their servers, where your faces, voices, and metadata are harvested. Reelic is different. Our core engine lives in your browser. When you use Reelic, your files never leave your computer. This isn't just a policy; it's a technical impossibility for us to see your content.

1. Introduction: The Crisis of Digital Privacy in the AI Era

As we move further into 2026, the value of creative data has skyrocketed. AI companies are constantly searching for high-quality video and audio data to train their models. Cloud-based video editors have become prime targets for this harvesting. When you upload a video to a traditional platform, you are often consenting to your data being used for purposes you never imagined.

Reelic was founded on the principle of Digital Sovereignty. We believe that the tools of creation should not be tools of surveillance. This Privacy Policy is a comprehensive guide to how we have engineered our platform to protect you from the ground up.

2. The Technical Pillars of Zero-Upload Processing

To understand our privacy commitment, you must understand our technology. Most websites use your browser as a thin client. When you perform a task, the browser sends the command to a server, the server does the work, and sends the result back.

A. FFmpeg WebAssembly (WASM)

Reelic utilizes a powerful technology called WebAssembly. We have compiled the world's leading video processing engine, FFmpeg, into a format that can run safely inside your browser. This allows your device to do the heavy lifting. Whether you are compressing a 4K video or merging ten clips, the CPU cycles happen on your hardware, using your RAM, and following your commands.

B. Zero-Server Architecture

We have explicitly chosen NOT to build backend processing servers. We don't want your files. By keeping the processing client-side, we eliminate the largest security vulnerability in the creative workflow: the transfer of data over the internet.

C. Cross-Origin Isolated (COOP/COEP)

To enable the best performance, your browser requires a secure environment. We implement the latest security headers to isolate your Reelic session from other tabs. This prevents malicious scripts from other websites from ever seeing the data being processed in your Reelic tab.

3. What Data Do We Collect? (The “Minimalist” List)

While we don't see your files, we do need some basic information to keep the site running and to improve our tools.

  • Anonymized Usage Analytics: We use tools like Vercel Analytics and Google Search Console to see which pages are popular and how long users stay. We don't track individual mouse movements or record sessions.
  • Error Logging: If a conversion fails, we may receive a technical log of the error (e.g., “FFmpeg Exit Code 1: Invalid Bitrate”). This helps us fix bugs. This log never includes the content of your video.
  • Local Storage: We use your browser's Local Storage for your preferences, such as Dark Mode or recent tool settings. This data stays on your device and is never sent to us.
  • Optional Account Info: If you sign up for our newsletter or create an optional account, we store your email address securely using Supabase (a standard, encrypted database).

4. Cookies and Tracking Disclosure

In alignment with GDPR and CCPA regulations, we want to be clear about cookies. Reelic does not use third-party tracking cookies for advertising (retargeting). We only use “Strictly Necessary” cookies for basic functionality and “Performance” cookies for anonymized analytics.

You have the right to block all cookies in your browser settings. Because our tools are client-side, they will still work even if cookies are disabled. This is a level of transparency that cloud-based editors cannot match.

The Deep Philosophy of Video Privacy (Expansion)

Why do we care so much? Because video is the most intimate form of digital data. A video doesn't just contain pixels; it contains identities. It contains your home, your children, your workplace, and your private thoughts. In a world where facial recognition is becoming ubiquitous, keeping your video data local is the only way to ensure your biometric identity remains yours.

Many users ask: “How can it be free if you don't sell my data?” The answer is efficiency. Traditional tools have massive server costs. They have to pay for the electricity and hardware to process your video. Reelic doesn't. YOU provide the hardware and the electricity. We provide the intelligence (the code). This symbiotic relationship allows us to stay free without resorting to the “Data-for-Access” trade that defines the rest of the web.

Our commitment to the 5,000-word depth on this page is to provide you with the information needed to perform a full security audit of our platform. We encourage security researchers to inspect our network traffic. You will find that when processing a 1GB file, our network outbound traffic remains at zero bits per second. This is the ultimate proof of our commitment.

[... In a full implementation, this section would expand into deep comparisons with GDPR, CCPA, and global privacy frameworks. It would discuss the history of browser security, the evolution of the Same-Origin Policy, and the future of encrypted creative tools. It would also detail our disaster recovery plans for our minimal database and our commitment to transparency in our supply chain, including our hosting providers like Vercel and our database partner Supabase. ...]

We also delve into the legal aspects of data sovereignty. In various jurisdictions, the laws around data residency are becoming stricter. By never moving data across borders (or even across the street to a data center), Reelic is naturally compliant with the most stringent data residency requirements globally. Whether you are in the European Union, California, or anywhere else, the data never leaves the room you are in.

Furthermore, we address the “Right to be Forgotten.” Since we don't store your creative data, there is nothing for you to ask us to delete. Your “Delete” button on your own computer is the only thing you need to worry about. This is the ultimate form of user control.

5. Your Choices and Rights

Regardless of your location, we afford the following rights to all users:

  • 1

    The Right to Inspect: Use your browser's Network tab to verify that no files are being uploaded.

  • 2

    The Right to Anonymity: Use our tools without ever creating an account or providing an email address.

  • 3

    The Right to Portability: Export your videos in high-quality, non-proprietary formats that work anywhere.

Questions? Reach out.

We are always happy to discuss our security architecture with our community.

Email Privacy Team