Privacy policy for the SignPiP app
Last updated: 16 August 2026
SignPiP (“the app”) is a research and accessibility tool developed by The Open University that adds a sign-language interpreter, in a picture-in-picture window, to lecture and other videos so that Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers can follow along. This policy explains what information the app handles and why.
The data controller is The Open University (Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, United Kingdom). For any question or request about your data, contact yijun.yu@open.ac.uk.
| Data | Why | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Video links you submit (e.g. a YouTube or Bilibili URL) | To fetch the video and generate a signed version | Deleted with the job once you are done |
| Audio from that video | Transcribed automatically so the avatar can sign what is said | Processed transiently; not retained after the video is produced |
| The generated video and its transcript | So you can watch, download, and correct the signing | Stored temporarily on the processing server and removed when the job is deleted |
| Basic technical information (e.g. request logs needed to run the service) | To operate and troubleshoot the service | Short-lived operational logs |
The app does not require an account, and it does not ask for your name, email, contacts, location, or photos.
When you submit a link, the app sends it to the SignPiP processing service. There the audio is transcribed, translated into sign, and rendered by a 3-D avatar, then composited into the video. Speech recognition runs on the service; the produced file is returned to you in the app.
Fetching a video from a third-party platform (such as YouTube or Bilibili) is subject to that platform’s own terms. You are responsible for having the right to use any video you submit.
We do not sell your data. We do not share the content you submit with third parties except as strictly necessary to run the service (for example, fetching the video from the platform you linked). Where SignPiP is used as part of an approved research study, only anonymised, aggregated results are used in publications — never content that identifies you.
The shipped app does not include third-party advertising or tracking SDKs. If advertising is introduced in a future version, this policy and the App Store privacy information will be updated first, and any tracking will require your consent where the law requires it.
Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (and, where you are in China, the PIPL) you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your data. You can delete a job — and all of its files — from within the app at any time. To exercise any other right, contact yijun.yu@open.ac.uk. You may also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk).
SignPiP is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect data from children.
We may update this policy; the “last updated” date above will change. Material changes will be reflected in the app’s App Store listing.
The Open University — SignPiP · yijun.yu@open.ac.uk