read.markets/app/templates/privacy.html

{% extends "public_base.html" %}
{% block title %}{{ BRAND_NAME }} · Privacy{% endblock %}

{% block main %}

<section class="public-section">
  <h1 class="public-section__head">Privacy notice</h1>
  <p style="color: var(--muted); font-size: 13px;">
    Last updated: 2026-05-24. The operator (data controller) is
    {{ LEGAL_OPERATOR }}, {{ OPERATOR_JURISDICTION }}. Registered with
    the UK Information Commissioner&rsquo;s Office under reference
    <strong>ZC098928</strong>. Questions:
    <a href="mailto:{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}">{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}</a>.
  </p>
  <p>
    This page describes exactly what we collect, what we don&rsquo;t,
    where it lives, and how long we keep it. It is written from the code,
    not from a template &mdash; every claim corresponds to an explicit
    code path we&rsquo;re happy to point a reviewer at.
  </p>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">What we collect</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>Your email address</strong>, when you sign in. We use it
      only to send one-time login codes.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>An argon2 hash of each login code</strong>, plus expiry
      and attempt counts. The plaintext code is sent to your inbox and
      never written to disk on our side.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>A signed session cookie</strong> after you verify a code.
      It contains your user id only and is signed so we can detect
      tampering. Cookie is marked Secure and HttpOnly.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Anonymous ticker universe</strong>: when you upload a
      portfolio CSV we record which Yahoo tickers appear, with
      <em>no link</em> to your account. The same row would exist whether
      any specific user holds the ticker or not &mdash; once a ticker is in
      the universe, the row carries no signal as to whose import added it.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>If you opt in to encrypted cloud sync</strong>: an opaque
      blob of bytes per user. The blob is your portfolio, encrypted in
      your browser with a PIN you choose, then wrapped a second time on
      the server with a key only the server holds. We can&rsquo;t decrypt
      the blob to plaintext without your PIN, and we can&rsquo;t recover
      your PIN if you forget it. By enabling cloud sync you give your
      consent (UK-GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)) to this processing; you can
      withdraw consent at any time by disabling sync in Settings, which
      also removes the server-side blob.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Anonymised cost ledger</strong> of AI calls (model, tokens,
      cost). No portfolio or personal data is attached to ledger rows.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Referral linkage</strong>: if you signed up via an invite
      link, we record which existing user&rsquo;s code you used so we can
      apply the agreed referral credit later.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Job-run telemetry</strong>: success/failure timestamps for
      the scheduled jobs that fetch market data and generate AI reads.
      No user identifiers are attached.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">What we don&rsquo;t collect</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>Your portfolio holdings as plaintext on the server.</strong>
      Parsed pies are returned to your browser and kept in
      <code>localStorage</code>. The server&rsquo;s view is the anonymous
      ticker universe described above.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Third-party analytics or ad cookies.</strong> No Google
      Analytics, no Hotjar, no Segment, no Facebook pixel, no LinkedIn
      tag. (You can verify by viewing-source on any page.)
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Browser fingerprints.</strong>
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>IP-address joins to your user identity.</strong> IP
      addresses are processed transiently by the reverse proxy for
      security and access logging, retained for up to 30 days, and not
      linked to your account record.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Lawful basis (UK-GDPR Art. 6)</h2>
  <p>We rely on the following lawful bases:</p>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>Performance of a contract</strong> (Art. 6(1)(b)) &mdash; for
      operating your account, the sign-in flow, paid features, and the
      mechanics of encrypted cloud sync.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Legitimate interests</strong> (Art. 6(1)(f)) &mdash; for the
      anonymous ticker universe, the anonymised cost ledger, job-run
      telemetry, and reverse-proxy access logs. Our interest is the
      secure, abuse-resistant, cost-controlled operation of a free
      public service, balanced against the minimal and de-identified
      nature of the data.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Consent</strong> (Art. 6(1)(a)) &mdash; where you opt in to
      encrypted cloud sync (and the related caching of a derived
      encryption key in your browser&rsquo;s <code>sessionStorage</code>).
      You can withdraw consent at any time by disabling sync in
      Settings; the cached key is cleared and the server-side blob is
      removed.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Automated decisions and profiling</h2>
  <p>
    The Service does not make decisions about you that produce legal or
    similarly significant effects in an automated way (UK-GDPR Art. 22).
    The AI portfolio analysis is editorial commentary on the holdings
    you upload; it does not approve, reject or rank you, and you remain
    the sole decision-maker about anything in your account.
  </p>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Cookies and local storage</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>Session cookie</strong> &mdash; strictly necessary for keeping
      you signed in (PECR reg. 6(4)). No prior consent required.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Local preferences</strong> &mdash; your chosen theme (light /
      dark) and reading level (Novice / Intermediate) are stored in
      <code>localStorage</code> on your device. They never leave the
      browser.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Local portfolio + cached sync key</strong> &mdash; parsed pies
      live in <code>localStorage</code> on your device. If you enable
      cloud sync, the derived encryption key is cached in
      <code>sessionStorage</code> so you don&rsquo;t have to re-enter
      your PIN on every navigation. This caching is performed only with
      your consent (given when you enable sync); it is cleared when you
      close the tab or disable sync.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Where the data lives, and international transfers</h2>
  <p>
    The server runs in {{ OPERATOR_JURISDICTION }}. Data is stored in a
    MariaDB database on the same host, backed up locally.
  </p>
  <p>
    Two flows can take personal data outside the UK:
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>SMTP</strong> for sending one-time login codes. Operator-hosted,
      currently inside the UK; if that changes we will update this notice.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>AI provider calls</strong> for the strategic log, indicator
      summaries, and (paid) portfolio analysis. Where the provider sits
      outside the UK, we rely on the UK International Data Transfer
      Agreement (IDTA) / the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual
      Clauses where no adequacy decision applies. Each outbound request
      carries an explicit no-training opt-out header
      (<code>X-OR-Allow-Training: false</code> on OpenRouter); see the
      Third parties section below for the caveats.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Retention</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>Login codes</strong>: expire after a few minutes; row
      remains briefly to enforce single-use, then is purged.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Session cookies</strong>: expire automatically; you can
      sign out at any time to revoke.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Ticker universe</strong>: rows untouched for 60 days are
      evicted by a nightly job. Active tickers remain.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Encrypted portfolio blob</strong>: kept until you disable
      cloud sync (one click in Settings) or delete your account. We hold
      one row per user; new uploads overwrite the previous blob.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Account</strong>: held until you ask us to delete it.
      Email <a href="mailto:{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}">{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}</a>.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Cost ledger and job telemetry</strong>: retained for
      operational accounting; no personal data attached.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Third parties</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <strong>SMTP provider</strong>: an operator-hosted Mailu server
      sends the one-time login codes. The provider sees your email
      address and the code body (the code itself).
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>AI provider(s)</strong>: DeepSeek (primary) with OpenRouter
      as a fallback. They see the prompt for the strategic log, the
      indicator summaries, and the portfolio analysis call &mdash; which
      contains your holdings only when you press
      &ldquo;Generate AI analysis&rdquo; on a paid plan, and only for the
      duration of that single call. The portfolio analysis output is not
      persisted on the server.
      <br>
      <strong>No-training opt-out.</strong> Every OpenRouter request
      carries the <code>X-OR-Allow-Training: false</code> header, which
      signals to OpenRouter and any compatible upstream that the prompt
      must not be used to train or improve models. DeepSeek does not
      currently expose a per-request opt-out; if you do not want your
      holdings to leave our server at all, do not use the AI portfolio
      analysis feature. We do not control retention or training policies
      on the provider side beyond the headers we set &mdash; the provider&rsquo;s
      own published data policy is the binding statement on that point.
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Market-data sources</strong>: Yahoo Finance and a small set
      of public RSS feeds. We request prices and headlines; we don&rsquo;t
      send them any user identifier.
    </li>
  </ul>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Your rights (UK-GDPR)</h2>
  <p>You have the right to:</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Ask what personal data we hold about you (Art. 15, right of access).</li>
    <li>Have inaccurate data corrected (Art. 16, rectification).</li>
    <li>Have your account and associated data deleted (Art. 17, erasure).</li>
    <li>Export the data you can recognise (Art. 20, portability): your
        email, any active encrypted blob, your referral linkage.</li>
    <li>Restrict processing (Art. 18).</li>
    <li>Object specifically to processing carried out on the basis of
        legitimate interests (Art. 21), including any direct marketing.</li>
    <li>Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on
        consent (Art. 7(3)), e.g. by disabling cloud sync.</li>
    <li>Lodge a complaint with the
      <a href="https://ico.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Information Commissioner&rsquo;s Office</a>
      if you think we&rsquo;re mishandling your data.</li>
  </ul>
  <p>
    Email <a href="mailto:{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}">{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}</a> to
    exercise any of these.
  </p>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Children</h2>
  <p>
    The Service is not directed at, and is not intended for use by,
    anyone under 18. Do not create an account if you are under 18. If
    you believe a child has provided personal data to us, contact
    <a href="mailto:{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}">{{ OPERATOR_EMAIL }}</a> and we
    will delete it.
  </p>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Security incidents</h2>
  <p>
    If we discover a personal-data breach likely to result in a risk to
    your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours of
    becoming aware of it, as required by UK-GDPR Art. 33, and notify
    affected users without undue delay where Art. 34 requires.
  </p>
</section>

<section class="public-section">
  <h2 class="public-section__head">Changes to this notice</h2>
  <p>
    Material changes will be flagged in-app and dated above. Trivial
    edits (grammar, restructuring) won&rsquo;t.
  </p>
</section>

{% endblock %}