PolitePost, a service born out of generosity, has gained unforeseen popularity, leading to unexpected costs. While not intended for profitability, it relies on coffee donations to sustain its operations. The service is grateful for the community's support, ensuring that the founder's personal contributions remain reasonable. In return, PolitePost promises transparency in its operations.
PolitePost employs Microsoft Azure's OpenAI GPT Completion and Chat API for its functionality. The monthly costs since December 2022 are as follows:
December 2022: $90.77
January 2023: $239.76
February 2023: $302.14
March 2023: $326.95
April 2023: $326.90
May 2023: $241.15
June 2023: $495.72
July 2023: $92.34
August 2023: $114.63
September 2023: $113.22
October 2023: $139.58
November 2023: $140.14
Costs depend on the selected model and API, with the current usage of the gpt-3.5-turbo model. PolitePost navigated through various models, including GPT-4, evaluating performance and cost-effectiveness. GPT-4, despite being 15x the standard cost, did not meet expectations and was discontinued in July 2023.
Microsoft charges per "token," with the word count of the original email and the rewrite contributing to the total. The longer the email, the higher the charge. PolitePost limits submissions to 2,000 characters to maintain affordability and fairness.
PolitePost prioritizes user privacy, emphasizing its lack of interest in user data. While the service employs Microsoft Azure and OpenAI APIs, it acts as a secure intermediary, not storing or caching any user data. The backend filters inappropriate content, manages longer emails, and regulates usage to prevent abuse.
To bolster privacy assurance, PolitePost transitioned from OpenAI LLC to Microsoft Corporation on August 1, 2023. This move aims to ensure that user data is not used in model training. Microsoft provides stronger privacy guarantees, keeping data within the United States.
PolitePost employs Cloudflare Web Analytics, focusing on privacy-first principles. The service does not require logins or credentials, and analytics are basic, providing view counts and user country without tracking IP addresses or other identifiers.
