Privacy

This Privacy Policy explains how PileCalc (“PileCalc,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects information in connection with the PileCalc website, applications, public API, MCP server, connected AI integrations, and related services (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to this Policy, which is incorporated into our Terms of Service.

1. Who we are and scope

PileCalc is the controller of the personal information described here. This Policy covers information processed through the Service. It does not cover third-party websites or services that we do not control.

2. Information we collect

Account and identity information. When you sign up, our authentication provider (Clerk) processes your name, email address, authentication identifiers, and any credentials or third-party sign-in tokens you use. We receive account identifiers and basic profile data from Clerk.
Project and analysis data. The pile, soil, loading, and other engineering inputs you enter, together with the analyses and results we compute and store, tied to your account.
Billing information. If you purchase a paid plan, payment is processed by our identity and billing provider (Clerk) and its payment processor (Stripe). We receive limited subscription, plan-status, and billing-contact information and do not store full payment-card numbers.
Organization information. If you create or join an organization (for the Business plan), we process the organization’s name, its membership and roles, and the organization’s subscription and shared API usage, tied to that organization.
API, MCP, and connected-app information. If you use the public API or MCP server, we process API keys or OAuth access tokens and request and usage metadata to authenticate you and meter usage. Authentication tokens are not included in product analytics.
Connected AI services. When you direct a client such as ChatGPT to call a PileCalc tool, the engineering inputs needed for that call and the computed result are transmitted to the client or AI provider you selected. That provider may process and retain them under its own terms and privacy policy.
Help and feedback information. When you ask for support, report a problem, or suggest an improvement, we process the title and description you submit, the page from which you submitted it, your account contact information, and any files you choose to attach. On an analysis screen, you may also explicitly choose to share a JSON snapshot containing your current analysis inputs and latest result. Analysis snapshots may contain project or client information and are never included unless you select that option.
Usage and device data. We collect privacy-respecting usage and performance metrics through Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights, along with standard server logs (such as IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps), to operate and secure the Service. We also retain the first PileCalc page you visited, the referring site’s hostname, campaign parameters, and worked-example interactions. If you later create an account, that first-touch record is associated with your account so we can understand which educational content leads to product use. We do not put engineering inputs or results into this acquisition record.
Cookies and similar technologies. We and our providers use essential cookies for authentication and security, and limited analytics technologies. See “Cookies” below.

3. How we use information

provide, operate, and maintain the Service;
authenticate you and secure your account;
compute, store, and display your analyses and projects;
process subscriptions and billing;
provide customer support;
understand which content and examples lead to account activation;
send a short product-onboarding sequence, which you can opt out of by replying;
monitor, debug, and improve the Service;
detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, and security incidents; and
comply with our legal obligations and enforce our Terms.

4. Legal bases (EEA and UK)

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of our contract with you (to provide the Service); our legitimate interests (to operate, secure, and improve the Service); your consent (where we request it, for example for certain analytics); and compliance with legal obligations.

5. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We disclose information only:

to service providers and subprocessors who process data on our behalf to operate the Service, including Clerk (authentication and billing), Stripe (payment processing), Convex (backend and database hosting), and Vercel (application hosting and analytics); when onboarding email delivery is enabled, Resend processes the recipient address and message solely to deliver those messages;
to comply with applicable law, legal process, or lawful requests, or to protect the rights, property, safety, or security of PileCalc, our users, or the public;
in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, subject to this Policy; or
with your direction or consent, including when you authorize an MCP or AI client to send analysis inputs to PileCalc and receive the resulting Output.

6. Data retention

We retain your account and project data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, and thereafter as required for legitimate business or legal purposes. When you request deletion, we will delete or de-identify your data within a reasonable period, except where we are required to retain it by law.

Help and feedback submissions, submitted attachments, and analysis snapshots you explicitly share are retained as needed to respond, investigate problems, prioritize improvements, maintain appropriate business records, and meet legal obligations. Unsubmitted registered uploads expire and are deleted automatically.

7. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information, and we rely on the security practices of our infrastructure providers. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, update, delete, port, or restrict the processing of your personal information, to object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent. California residents (under the CCPA/CPRA) have rights to know, delete, and correct their personal information, to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information (which we do not do as those terms are defined), and to be free from discrimination for exercising their rights. To exercise any right, email privacy@pilecalc.com; we will verify your request and respond as required by law. You can also manage or delete your account from within the app.

9. International transfers

We are based in, and process data in, the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States and other countries, which may have data-protection laws different from those in your jurisdiction. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for such transfers.

10. Children’s privacy

The Service is not directed to, and is not intended for, individuals under 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies, including local browser storage, that are strictly necessary for authentication, session management, and security, and a limited set of analytics technologies to understand usage, acquisition, and performance. You can control non-essential storage through your browser settings; disabling essential cookies may prevent the Service from functioning.

12. Third-party links and services

The Service may link to or rely on third-party sites and services. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, and we encourage you to review their policies.

13. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. Changes are effective when posted with a new “Last updated” date, and for material changes we will make reasonable efforts to highlight them. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance.

14. Contact

Questions or requests about privacy? Email privacy@pilecalc.com.