# Frequently Asked Questions Find answers to common questions about Brainstream. ## Getting Started ### What is Brainstream? Brainstream is an AI-powered note-taking app designed to help you capture, organize, and understand your thoughts. It combines rich text editing, voice transcription, semantic search, and AI analysis to make your notes more valuable over time. ### How do I get started? Start by creating your first note! Tap the + button on the Notes screen or use the quick capture option on the Today screen. You can type or use voice recording. Add tags to organize, and let AI help with summaries and insights. ### What is Brain Chat? Brain Chat is your AI assistant with two modes: Search Notes to find and discuss your notes using natural language, or Just Chat for general AI conversations. You can also take action by saying things like "remind me to call John" or "mark the grocery task as done". ## Features ### How do I create notes from email? Forward any email to [notes@usebrainstream.app](mailto:notes@usebrainstream.app). The email subject becomes the note title, and the body becomes the content. Attachments are included too. Make sure to forward from the same email address you use for your Brainstream account. You can forward up to 50 emails per day. ### What actions can AI take for me? Brain Chat can create tasks ("remind me to call John tomorrow"), complete tasks ("I finished the groceries"), update task details, delete tasks (with confirmation), create notes, and manage tags. Every action shows what was done and can be undone with one tap. ### Can I undo AI actions? Yes! Every action taken by the AI can be undone immediately. You'll see an undo button next to each action. Destructive actions like deleting tasks also require confirmation before they happen. ### How does voice transcription work? Tap the microphone icon in the note editor to start recording. Speak clearly, and when you're done, the audio is sent to OpenAI Whisper for transcription. The transcribed text appears in your note. Voice transcription is accurate for most languages. ### What are Daily and Weekly Briefs? Briefs are AI-generated summaries of your notes. Daily Briefs summarize notes from the previous day plus today's tasks. Weekly Briefs analyze patterns across the whole week including themes, stats, and insights. They help you stay on top of your thoughts. ### How do Search and Brain Chat differ? The Search feature uses text-based search to find exact words and phrases. Brain Chat's Search Notes mode uses semantic search, which understands meaning - it finds relevant notes even if the exact words differ. Use Search for quick keyword lookups, Brain Chat for concept-based exploration. ### What counts as an AI action? AI actions include: Brain Chat messages, note summaries, task extraction, tag suggestions, content rewriting, and brief generation. Note: Voice transcription and embeddings do NOT count against your quota - they are infrastructure features. ## AI & Privacy ### Where is my data processed? Your notes are stored securely in Google Firebase. AI features are powered by OpenAI's API. Your data is sent to OpenAI only when you use AI features. We don't train AI models on your data. See our Privacy Policy for full details. ### Is my data used to train AI models? No. We use OpenAI's API with settings that prevent your data from being used for model training. Your notes remain private and are only processed to provide the features you use. ### What are embeddings and are they safe? Embeddings are mathematical representations of your notes that enable semantic search. They're stored securely in your account. Embeddings cannot be reversed to recreate your original text - they're one-way transformations used only for search. ## Subscription & Billing ### What's the difference between Free and Pro? Free plan: 50 AI actions/month, 50 notes total, 5MB attachments. Pro plan: 500 AI actions/month, unlimited notes, 20MB attachments, Google Calendar integration, and priority support. ### How do I upgrade to Pro? Go to Settings > Subscription and tap "Upgrade to Pro". You can choose monthly or annual billing. Payment is handled securely through your app store (Google Play or App Store). ### How do I cancel my subscription? You can manage your subscription through your app store (Google Play Store or App Store). Find Brainstream in your subscriptions and tap Cancel. You'll retain Pro access until the end of your billing period. ### When does my AI quota reset? Your AI action quota resets on the 1st of each month (UTC). You can see your current usage and reset date in Settings > Subscription. ## Data & Security ### Is my data secure? Yes, your data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We use Firebase's enterprise-grade security infrastructure. Your notes are only accessible to you. ### How do I export my data? Go to Settings > Export Notes to download a backup of all your notes. Export formats include JSON. For a complete data export including all data, use Settings > Download My Data. ### How do I delete my account? Go to Settings > Account > Delete Account. This permanently deletes all your data including notes, tasks, tags, and AI usage history. This action cannot be undone. We recommend exporting your data first. ### Can I access my notes offline? Brainstream uses Firebase with offline persistence. Recently accessed notes are cached locally. However, AI features require an internet connection. We recommend syncing before going offline for extended periods. ## General ### Is there a mobile app? Yes! Brainstream is available on iOS and Android. Download it from the App Store or Google Play. Your notes sync across all devices. ### Can I share notes with others? Note sharing is coming soon. Currently, notes are private to your account. You can export and share manually. ## Troubleshooting ### Voice recording isn't working. What should I do? Make sure you've granted microphone permission to Brainstream. Check your browser or device settings. Also ensure you have a stable internet connection for transcription. Try refreshing the page if issues persist. ### My notes aren't syncing across devices. Check your internet connection. Make sure you're signed in with the same account on all devices. Try refreshing the page or pull-to-refresh on mobile. If issues persist, sign out and sign back in. ### I'm getting a "quota exceeded" error. You've used all your AI actions for the month. Your quota resets on the 1st of next month. Consider upgrading to Pro for 500 AI actions/month. Note that embeddings and voice transcription don't count against your quota. ## Did not find what you were looking for? Contact us at [info@usebrainstream.app](mailto:info@usebrainstream.app)