Privacy Policy

1. Data We Collect

1.1 Account information

When you register a local account, we store your email address, a display name (login name), and a password hash (Argon2). When you sign in via GitHub OAuth, we store the provider account identifier and any profile data GitHub returns (display name, email, avatar URL). We do not store your GitHub password or OAuth token long-term.

1.2 Session data

Each time you sign in, we create a server-side session record containing a session token, your IP address, your browser's User-Agent string, and an expiry timestamp. Sessions expire after seven days.

1.3 Content

Notes you create — including titles, metadata, and collaborative document state — are stored in our database. Document bodies are stored as binary CRDT (Yjs/Yrs) state vectors, not plain text.

1.4 Cookies

We set two cookies:

• session_id: session_id: An HTTP-only, Secure cookie with SameSite=Lax. It contains only the session token used to authenticate your requests.
• lang: lang: A preference cookie that stores your selected interface language.

We do not use advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies. Both cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of the Service.

1.5 Server logs and metrics

Application logs may contain request metadata (timestamps, URLs, status codes). Sensitive fields — request bodies containing passwords, cookie headers, and authorization headers — are redacted before logging. OAuth tokens and third-party user profiles are not logged. We run self-hosted Prometheus and Grafana for operational metrics; no data is sent to third-party analytics or monitoring services.

2. Data We Do Not Collect

We do not integrate third-party analytics (Google Analytics, Segment, etc.), advertising networks, or payment processors. There is no client-side telemetry, no local-storage tracking, and no fingerprinting beyond the User-Agent string stored in your session record.

3. How We Use Your Data

• Account information: to authenticate you and display your identity within the application.
• Session data (IP, User-Agent): to maintain your login session, detect session anomalies, and comply with security best practices.
• Content: to provide the note-taking and real-time collaboration features of the Service.
• Operational metrics: to monitor service health, performance, and error rates.

4. Consent

When you create an account, you are asked to confirm that you have read and accept this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service. This confirmation is required before your account can be created.

5. Third-Party Services

The only external service the application communicates with is GitHub, and only when you choose to sign in via GitHub OAuth. In that flow, GitHub receives a standard OAuth authorization request and returns your profile information. GitHub's own privacy policy governs its handling of that data.

6. Data Storage and Security

All account and note data is stored in a self-hosted PostgreSQL database. Passwords are hashed with Argon2 and never stored or logged in cleartext. Session secrets and database credentials are managed via Docker secrets files. Communication between the browser and the server passes through an Nginx reverse proxy configured with TLS.

7. Data Retention

• Sessions are automatically deleted after their seven-day expiry.
• Account and note data are retained for as long as your account exists.
• Server logs are retained according to the deployment's log-rotation configuration.

8. Data Export

You can export your personal data at any time from your Account settings. The export includes:

• Your profile information (login name, email, role, status, avatar URL, creation date).
• Linked authentication providers and their account identifiers.
• Active sessions (expiry time, user-agent, IP address).
• All notes you own, including their CRDT state vectors.

The export is provided as a JSON file.

9. Data Deletion

You can delete your account at any time from your Account settings. Account deletion cascades to:

• All associated sessions and provider-account links.
• All notes owned by the account and their collaborative state entries.

Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

10. Children

The Service is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

11. Changes to This Policy

We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page when we make material changes. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact

For questions about this policy, contact us at myakoven@student.42berlin.de.