Privacy Policy

Akatsuki AI Technologies Inc. (“Akatsuki,” “we,” or “us”) operates Honyaku, a Slack translation service (the “Service”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over your data. We comply with Japan’s Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) and, where applicable, the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Who we are

The data controller for the Service is Akatsuki AI Technologies Inc., a company incorporated in Japan with its registered office at 8F oak meguro, 2-13-30 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021, Japan. For any privacy-related inquiry you can reach us at info@aktsk.ai.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide

• Slack workspace identifiers— when an admin installs Honyaku via Slack OAuth, Slack returns the workspace (team) ID, team name, the installing user’s Slack user ID, and a bot access token. The bot token is stored encrypted at rest using strong cryptographic methods.
• Billing notification email — an optional email address admins can set in the dashboard so invoices and payment alerts route to (for example) the accounting team.
• Support correspondence — content of any email or message you send to our support address.

2.2 Information we receive when the bot operates

• Slack message content — when Honyaku is mentioned in a channel or a message is posted in a channel where Honyaku is enabled, Slack delivers the message text (and any attached image or PDF) to our servers. We process this content in memory only — long enough to perform translation and post the response back to Slack.
• Channel metadata — channel ID, message timestamp, and the user ID of the message author, used to post the translation in the correct thread and to log usage.
• Translation usage records — for every translation attempt we record the workspace ID, channel ID, message timestamp, message type (text / image / PDF), source and target language, character counts (input and output), processing time, and status (successful, failed, or blocked due to usage cap). These records do not contain the message text itself — only counts and metadata used for billing, hard-cap enforcement, and cost analysis.

2.3 Payment information

When you subscribe to a paid plan you provide payment details directly to Stripe, our payment processor. Stripe receives and stores your card information; we never see or store full card numbers. We retain only the Stripe customer ID and subscription metadata returned to us by Stripe (plan, status, current period dates). Stripe is governed by Stripe’s Privacy Policy.

2.4 Cookies and similar technologies

Our website uses a strictly necessary session cookie to keep you signed in to the dashboard after Slack OAuth, and a small amount of local storage to remember your UI language preference. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser, but the dashboard will not be usable without the session cookie.

3. How we use your information

We use the information described above to:

• Provide the Service — perform translations, route replies to the correct Slack thread, and keep your channel settings in sync.
• Bill and prevent abuse — measure character usage to enforce the hard cap on each plan, generate invoices, and detect unusual activity.
• Improve the Service — analyze aggregated, de-identified usage data (counts and timing, never message content) to identify performance issues and improve translation quality.
• Communicate with you — send transactional messages (billing receipts, service notices, security alerts) and, with your consent where required, occasional product updates.
• Comply with law — respond to lawful requests and enforce our Terms of Service.

We do not use your message content to train AI models, and we do not sell your personal information to third parties.

4. Legal bases (for users in the EEA / UK)

If GDPR applies to you, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract — to provide the Service you have subscribed to.
• Legitimate interests — to operate, secure, and improve the Service, and to communicate with administrators.
• Consent — for marketing emails (where required) and any other use that requires it; you may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation — to keep tax, accounting, and regulatory records.

5. Sub-processors and third parties

To operate the Service we share information with a small set of sub-processors, each contractually bound to use the data only on our instructions:

We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect our rights, or in connection with a corporate transaction (e.g. merger or sale of assets), in which case we will notify affected customers in advance where practicable.

6. International data transfers

Honyaku is hosted in Japan (Tokyo region). When you use the Service from outside Japan, your data is transferred to Japan. The European Commission has issued an adequacy decision confirming that Japan provides an adequate level of personal data protection (under the Supplementary Rules under APPI for personal data transferred from the EU). For sub-processors located outside Japan we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards.

7. Data retention

• Slack message content — processed in memory and discarded immediately after the translation is posted. Not written to our database.
• Workspace and subscription records — retained while your workspace is active. After uninstall we soft-delete the workspace and remove identifying data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it (see below).
• Usage records (counts only) — retained for up to 24 months for billing dispute resolution and capacity planning, then deleted or aggregated.
• Billing and tax records — retained for 7 years to comply with Japanese tax law.
• Stripe-held payment data — retained by Stripe under its own retention policy.

8. Security

We follow the organizational, human, physical, and technical measures set out in the Akatsuki AI Technologies group privacy policy, including access controls limited to authorized personnel, strong encryption of Slack bot tokens at rest, encryption in transit, audit logging of administrator actions, and segregation between customer-content surfaces and our internal admin panel (the admin panel is engineered never to expose message content). No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your rights

You may, subject to applicable law, request to access, correct, or delete your personal information; restrict or object to certain processing; or receive a portable copy of the personal data you have provided. To exercise any of these rights, email info@aktsk.ai from the address associated with your workspace. We will verify your identity before responding.

For formal disclosure requests under APPI, the procedure (including identification documents required and the JPY 1,000 handling fee for statutory disclosure requests) is set out in the Akatsuki group privacy policy.

EEA / UK users additionally have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. You can find your local authority via the European Data Protection Board.

10. Children

The Service is intended for use in the workplace and is not directed to anyone under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes to the Service or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will notify workspace administrators by email or in-product notice at least 14 days before the changes take effect. The “Effective” date at the top of this page indicates when the current version became effective.

12. Contact

Akatsuki AI Technologies Inc.
Corporate Division — Privacy Inquiries
8F oak meguro, 2-13-30 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021, Japan
Email: info@aktsk.ai (weekdays 10:00–18:00 JST)