Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Personal Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address: For account creation and communication
• Name: To personalize your experience
• Password: Encrypted and stored securely by our authentication provider (Clerk)
• Profile photo: Optional, if you choose to add one

1.2 Engineering Drawings

When you upload drawings, we collect and process:

• PDF files: The actual engineering drawings you upload
• File metadata: File name, size, page count, and upload time
• Detection data: AI-generated weld symbol detections with bounding boxes and confidence scores
• OCR text: Text extracted from your drawings
• Annotations: Any corrections or notes you add to detection results

1.3 Usage Data

We automatically collect:

• IP address: For security and fraud prevention
• Browser type and version: For compatibility
• Device information: Operating system, screen size
• Usage patterns: Pages viewed, features used, time spent
• Error logs: Technical errors and crashes (via Sentry)

1.4 Payment Information

Payment data is processed by our payment provider (Lemon Squeezy). We do NOT store your credit card information. We only retain:

• Transaction IDs and amounts
• Payment status (successful, failed, refunded)
• Invoice details (for your records)

1.5 Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential cookies: Authentication, session management (required)
• Analytics cookies: Usage analytics via PostHog (optional, requires consent)
• Preference cookies: Remember your settings and preferences

See our Cookie Policy for details.

2. How We Use Your Information

2.1 To Provide the Service

• Process your engineering drawings through our AI detection system
• Generate weld symbol detection data and bounding boxes
• Extract text via OCR for display and export
• Store and display your analysis results
• Provide customer support

2.2 To Improve the Service

• Analyze usage patterns to improve features
• Monitor and fix technical errors
• Conduct research and development

Note: We do NOT use your drawings to train our AI models without your explicit consent.

2.3 Communications

• Send transactional emails (processing complete, payment confirmation)
• Send service announcements and updates
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests
• Send promotional emails (only with your consent, opt-out available)

2.4 Legal and Security

• Comply with legal obligations and law enforcement requests
• Prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Enforce our Terms of Service
• Protect our rights and property

3. How We Share Your Information

We do NOT sell your personal information or your engineering drawings.

3.1 Service Providers (Third Parties)

We share data with trusted third-party services that help us operate:

• Clerk: Authentication and user management
• AWS S3: Drawing storage (encrypted, US region)
• Modal.com: AI-powered weld detection processing (GPU infrastructure)
• Neon: PostgreSQL database hosting
• Upstash: Redis for rate limiting and caching
• Lemon Squeezy: Payment processing
• Resend: Email delivery
• Sentry: Error tracking and monitoring
• PostHog: Product analytics (optional, with consent)

These providers have access only to the data necessary to perform their services and are bound by confidentiality agreements.

3.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to:

• Subpoenas, court orders, or legal processes
• Government or law enforcement requests
• Protection of our legal rights or safety of others

3.3 Business Transfers

If WeldCount is acquired, merged, or sold, your information may be transferred to the new owner as part of the transaction.

3.4 With Your Consent

We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

4. Data Storage and Retention

4.1 Where We Store Data

• Drawings: AWS S3 (encrypted, US region)
• Database: Neon PostgreSQL (United States)
• Cache: Upstash Redis (serverless)
• Backups: Automated backups stored securely

International Users: By using our Service, you consent to the transfer and storage of your data in the United States.

4.2 How Long We Keep Data

• Active accounts: Data retained until you delete your account
• Engineering drawings: Retained until you delete them or your account
• Detection results: Retained until you delete them or your account
• Payment records: 7 years (for tax compliance)
• Deleted accounts: Data permanently deleted within 30 days
• Failed uploads: Automatically deleted after 7 days

5. Your Privacy Rights

5.1 GDPR Rights (EU/EEA Users)

If you are in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of all your personal data
• Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure: Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Portability: Export your data in a machine-readable format
• Restriction: Limit how we process your data
• Objection: Object to certain types of processing
• Withdraw Consent: Revoke consent for optional processing (e.g., analytics)

To exercise these rights, visit your Account Settings or contact support@weldcount.com.

5.2 CCPA Rights (California Users)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know: What personal information we collect, use, and share
• Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt-Out: Opt out of the "sale" of personal information (Note: We do not sell your data)
• Non-Discrimination: Equal service regardless of privacy choices

5.3 How to Exercise Your Rights

• Data Export: Go to Account Settings → Download My Data
• Account Deletion: Go to Account Settings → Delete My Account
• Email: Contact support@weldcount.com

We will respond to your request within 30 days.

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

6.1 Technical Safeguards

• Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS
• Encryption at Rest: Drawings encrypted on AWS S3, database encrypted
• Secure Authentication: Passwords hashed and encrypted by Clerk
• Access Controls: Role-based access, principle of least privilege
• Rate Limiting: Protection against abuse and DDoS attacks
• Storage Quotas: Per-user limits to prevent abuse

6.2 Organizational Safeguards

• Employee access limited to necessary personnel
• Confidentiality agreements with all staff and contractors
• Security incident response plan

6.3 Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and relevant authorities as required by law within 72 hours of discovery.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

8. Privacy Considerations for Engineering Drawings

8.1 Confidential Information

Your engineering drawings may contain:

• Proprietary designs: Trade secrets, patent-pending inventions
• Client information: Project names, company names, locations
• Technical specifications: Materials, dimensions, tolerances
• Cost information: Pricing, vendor details, budgets

Our Commitment: We treat all uploaded drawings as confidential. They are not shared with third parties except as necessary to provide the Service, and they are not used for AI training without consent.

8.2 Your Responsibility

Before uploading drawings, ensure:

• You have authorization to upload and process the drawings
• Uploading complies with any NDAs or confidentiality agreements
• You have informed relevant parties if required by contract

8.3 Drawing Deletion

You can delete any drawing at any time. Deleted drawings are permanently removed from our storage systems. To delete all your data, you can delete your entire account.

9. International Data Transfers

WeldCount is based in the United States. If you access our Service from outside the U.S., your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using our Service, you consent to this transfer.

For EU/EEA users, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission for data transfers outside the EEA.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Notify you via email (to your registered email address)
• Display a prominent notice in the Service

Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

11. Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data:

• Email: support@weldcount.com
• Privacy Inquiries: privacy@weldcount.com
• Website: weldcount.com

Data Protection Officer (EU)

If you are in the EU and have concerns about our data practices, you may contact your local data protection authority.