Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

Peoplense ("we", "our", "us") operates the Peoplense platform at peoplense.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

Account Information: When you register, we collect your full name, username, email address, and password (stored in hashed form using bcrypt). Purpose: Account creation and authentication. Legal basis: Performance of contract (Terms of Service).

Usage Data (Vercel Web Analytics): We use Vercel Web Analytics to understand how visitors use the platform. Vercel Web Analytics does not use cookies and does not track visitors across different websites. It records aggregated data points for each page view, including: the event timestamp, the URL and referrer, approximate geolocation (country, region, city), device operating system, browser, and device type. Visitors are identified by a hash created from the incoming request, which is automatically discarded after 24 hours and is not used to link activity across sessions or across other sites. Purpose: Aggregated traffic statistics and platform improvement. Legal basis: Legitimate interest in operating and improving the service.

Feedback and Contact Submissions: When you submit feedback or contact us, we collect the information you provide (name, email, message). Purpose: Responding to inquiries and improving the platform. Legal basis: Legitimate interest; consent where applicable.

Digest Subscription: If you subscribe to our email digest, we collect your email address and delivery preference. Purpose: Sending requested digest emails. Legal basis: Consent (you actively subscribe).

Essential Cookies: We use strictly necessary cookies to maintain your login session and protect against abuse. These cookies are required for the platform to function and do not require consent under ePrivacy rules. We do not use advertising cookies, third-party tracking cookies, or non-essential analytics cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and maintain the platform (contract performance)
• To authenticate your account and manage sessions (contract performance)
• To personalize your experience — bookmarks, article ratings (legitimate interest)
• To improve our platform based on anonymized usage patterns (legitimate interest)
• To send digest emails if you subscribe (consent)
• To respond to feedback and contact submissions (legitimate interest)

4. Data Storage, Security, and Transfers

Your personal data is processed and stored using the following infrastructure:

• Backend and database: Hetzner Cloud, Helsinki, Finland (European Union)
• Frontend hosting: Vercel, with edge locations globally
• AI processing: Article analysis is performed using the Claude AI API (Anthropic, USA). Only article text from publicly available sources is sent for analysis — no personal data or account information is included in AI processing requests

Your data may be accessed from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for administrative purposes. Where personal data is transferred outside the EU/EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including contractual protections consistent with applicable data protection requirements.

We use industry-standard security measures including:

• HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data in transit
• Hashed passwords (bcrypt)
• JWT-based authentication tokens with expiration
• Firewall-protected servers with SSH key authentication

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

We use the following service providers (processors):

• Vercel — Frontend hosting and privacy-friendly web analytics. Vercel Web Analytics records aggregated traffic data per page view (timestamp, URL, referrer, country/region/city, device and browser) using a short-lived session hash that is discarded after 24 hours. It does not use cookies and does not track visitors across other websites.
• Hetzner Cloud — Backend infrastructure and database hosting (Helsinki, Finland)
• Anthropic (Claude AI) — AI-powered article analysis (only publicly available article text is processed; no personal data is sent)
• Google Workspace — Business email (info@peoplense.com)

We do not use advertising services, third-party tracking cookies, or social media tracking pixels.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Erasure: Request deletion of your account and all associated personal data
• Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Restrict Processing: Request that we limit how we use your data
• Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, withdraw at any time (e.g., unsubscribe from digest emails)

How to exercise your rights: Submit a request via our contact form (select "Privacy Request" as the topic) or email info@peoplense.com.

• We will verify your identity before processing any request
• We aim to respond within 30 days of receiving your request
• If we cannot fulfill your request, we will explain why
• Deletion requests will remove your data from our database, search indexes, and backups within 30 days

If you are in the EU/EEA, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

7. Data Retention

• Account data: Retained for as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion, all personal data is permanently removed within 30 days.
• Feedback and contact submissions: Retained for up to 2 years, then deleted unless required for ongoing correspondence.
• Digest subscriptions: Retained until you unsubscribe. Email addresses are deleted upon unsubscription.
• Server logs: Retained for up to 90 days for security and debugging purposes, then automatically purged.

8. Cookies

We use only the following cookies:

Vercel Web Analytics does not use cookies. It records aggregated traffic data per page view (timestamp, URL, referrer, country/region/city, device and browser) and uses a short-lived session hash derived from the incoming request that is automatically discarded after 24 hours. It does not track visitors across different websites and does not build cross-site profiles. See Section 2 (Usage Data) above for details.

9. Children's Privacy

Our platform is not intended for users under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. If you have an account, we may also notify you of significant changes via email.

11. Contact

For privacy-related questions, data requests, or complaints, please contact us or email info@peoplense.com.