Summary
Low Key Translate is designed as a local-first translation app. Speech recognition, translation, and text-to-speech are performed on your iPhone or iPad when supported by the device, operating system, installed language assets, and selected languages.
Connect Nearby
Connect Nearby connects nearby participants using local peer-to-peer networking where available. Low Key Labs LLC does not receive Connect Nearby audio, transcripts, translations, voice selections, or messages. Participating devices exchange conversation data directly with each other.
Connect Worldwide
Connect Worldwide uses a Low Key Labs LLC relay server so participants can connect over distance. The relay receives room and transport metadata needed to operate the service, including room code, device UUID, connection timestamps, IP address, message routing metadata, and short-lived public key-exchange frames used to establish encrypted device-to-device messages.
When participants join a Connect Worldwide room, the relay may show other room participants basic connection details for safety and verification, including profile name, device type, app version, and the relay-observed IP address.
Conversation payloads are encrypted by the app before they are relayed. The relay server is not designed to decrypt message contents, perform speech recognition, perform translation, perform text-to-speech, or store audio, transcripts, translations, or voice selections.
Voice Preferences
Each user may choose a translated voice preference. That preference is shared with other participants' devices so those devices can play translated speech using the requested voice style when available. Installed voices vary by device, so a receiving device may use the closest available voice. Low Key Translate does not infer speaker gender from speech in the launch implementation.
Profile Photos and Safety Reports
Profile photos are optional. If enabled, Low Key Translate downsizes the selected image before safety analysis, scans it locally when supported, stores only a small approved square image on your device, and shares that small image only with participants in your current room.
Room participants can hide a profile photo locally, report a person/photo to Low Key Labs LLC, block a participant, and unblock someone if blocked by mistake. Safety reports are private reports to Low Key Labs LLC and are not shown to other room participants.
A safety report may include room and device metadata needed for review, including reporter and reported device identifiers, room code, mode, reported display name, reported device type, reported app version, relay-observed IP address when available, whether a profile photo was present, timestamps, and the reporter's connection IP as observed by the relay. Safety reports do not include audio, transcripts, translations, or voice selections.
Permissions
Low Key Translate requests microphone access to capture speech, speech recognition access to transcribe speech, local network access for Connect Nearby discovery, and camera access only if you choose to take a profile photo. Audio playback uses the current iOS audio route, including built-in speaker, Bluetooth speaker, wired audio, earbuds, or headset as selected by the user in iOS.
Purchases
Subscriptions are managed by Apple through StoreKit. Low Key Labs LLC does not receive full payment card details from Apple.
Conversation History
Conversation history is off by default. If you enable local history, completed conversation entries are stored locally on your device and can be cleared from Settings. Clearing local history removes saved entries from your device only and does not delete anything from another participant's device.
Data Retention
Remote relay room metadata and public key-exchange frames are short lived and expire automatically. Operational relay logs use hashed room, device, and IP identifiers and do not include raw IP addresses, audio, transcripts, translations, voice selections, or message payloads.
Recent safety reports may be retained by Low Key Labs LLC long enough to review, respond, block abuse, troubleshoot service misuse, and meet legal obligations.
Contact
For Low Key Translate support, use the app support form. For website or company inquiries, use the Low Key Labs contact form.