What does "we never see your data" mean exactly? +
It means there is no server we own that holds your subscribers, your content, your prompts, your tokens, or your sent emails. The EditionFlow engine is a bundle of Apps Script and a Google Sheet template that you copy into your own Workspace. When it runs, it runs there — on Google's infrastructure, under your account, governed by your admin's controls. The only thing that travels to us is a periodic license check: "is this subscription still active?" Yes/no. That's the entire data flow.
Where does EditionFlow actually run? +
Inside your Google Workspace. Specifically: Apps Script bound to a Google Sheet in your Drive. AI calls go from your Apps Script directly to Google's Gemini API using your API key — those calls don't pass through us either.
What about FERPA / GDPR / CASL compliance? +
You remain the data controller; we are never a processor because we never receive the data. FERPA, GDPR, CASL, PIPEDA, and similar regimes all govern data you hold. Since your data never leaves your Workspace, your existing Google Workspace compliance posture carries through. Talk to your counsel — we won't pretend to be one.
What happens if EditionFlow goes out of business? +
Your Sheet, your archive, your subscribers, and your past editions stay in your Drive, owned by you. The license check will eventually fail and the AI features will stop, but the Sheet keeps opening, your data keeps being yours, and you can continue exporting past editions as PDFs forever. We will also publish a final license-check bypass so the AI features keep working until you migrate.
What does BYO Gemini API key mean? How much does it cost? +
You generate a free API key from Google AI Studio, paste it into your Sheet, and the AI features call Gemini under your account. Typical small-org usage is well under $5/month in API charges — many organizations stay inside Google's free tier. We never see this key or these calls.
How does the AI write in my voice if you can't see prior editions? +
It can — because the AI runs in your Workspace, not on our servers. The Apps Script reads your prior editions from your own Drive and sends them, along with your prompt, directly to Gemini from inside your account. We're not in that loop.
What if I don't want to self-deploy? +
Add the $199 white-glove setup. We schedule a screen-share, walk you through the five steps, and you click everything yourself. We never touch your Google account.
What's the catch? +
Two honest tradeoffs. (1) Setup is five manual steps — not "sign up with Google and you're in" the way Mailchimp is. (2) We can't push instant new features to your account; new capabilities come as a Library version bump you opt into. We think these are the right tradeoffs for the trust model. If you don't, the SaaS alternatives are excellent.
Is there a discount for nonprofits, schools, or congregations? +
Write us. We answer plainly and have a small fund for organizations that need it.
