Privacy Policy

This policy explains what Lotfence collects and why. It is written for users in the United States.

The short version

• Your plats and Jobs stay in your browser. They aren't uploaded to our servers.
• We don't have accounts or logins, and we don't keep a customer database.
• If you buy a Seat, Stripe handles your payment, and your Seat key is saved in your browser after you pay and emailed to the address you used at checkout.
• We use PostHog analytics, including a cookie, session recording, and your IP address and approximate location, to see how Lotfence is used. Your plats, email, Seat key and payment details are never sent to it. We don't use ad trackers. See Analytics.
• We don't sell your data.

What stays on your device

• Plats and Jobs. When you upload a survey, Lotfence opens and processes it in your browser. The file, your scale, outline, rates, and Estimate are saved in your browser's storage (IndexedDB) on that device. Starting a New Job replaces the current Job. Older Jobs can stay on that device until you clear your browser's site data for lotfence.com.
• Contractor Settings. Your default rates, Cost-only setting, Shop name, shop logo, shop contact details, and Seat key are saved the same way, in your browser on that device. They are never uploaded to us.
• Estimates and PDFs are created in your browser. Printing or downloading one doesn't send it to us.

We can't see or recover anything stored in your browser. If you clear it, it's gone.

What we collect when you buy a Seat

• Payment. Stripe, our payment processor, runs checkout. Stripe collects your email address, your payment details, and the billing information it requires (such as name, country, and postal code), plus anything you choose to give Stripe's Link or another payment method you pick at checkout. Stripe's privacy policy governs that information. We receive only your email address and payment status, and we never see or store your full card number.
• What our server gets from Stripe. The page after checkout asks Stripe for your session: the checkout ID, whether it's paid, when it was paid, and the email you gave. The webhook uses the signed event Stripe sends us instead of asking Stripe again. We use this only to create and deliver your Seat key. We don't save it in our own database.
• Your Seat key holds only your Seat's end date and the Stripe checkout ID. It doesn't contain your name or email address.
• Delivery. After payment, Lotfence saves your Seat key in your browser on that device and emails it to the address you used at checkout. You can see and copy it in Contractor Settings.
• Records in Stripe. A record of your purchase stays in our Stripe account, which we use for receipts, refunds, support, and taxes.

Technical details

Like most websites, our hosting provider receives some technical details when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, and the pages you request. When you open a PDF plat, your browser also downloads the PDF reader code from a public code server (unpkg.com), which receives the same kind of technical details. Your file itself is not sent.

Cookies and local storage

Lotfence sets one analytics cookie, ph_<project key>_posthog, from PostHog. It holds a random visitor ID and lasts 365 days. PostHog also keeps a matching entry in your browser's local storage. We don't set advertising cookies. Lotfence uses your browser's storage (IndexedDB and session storage) to keep your Job and Contractor Settings on your device. It also saves a small local storage flag, lf_notice_ok, so the analytics notice doesn't show again after you click OK. Stripe's checkout may use its own cookies to process your payment and prevent fraud. On your first visit we show a short notice about cookies and session recording. It's a notice, not a consent prompt: analytics runs whether or not you click OK. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, Lotfence doesn't load PostHog, so it sets no PostHog cookie or local storage entry. You can also block or clear cookies and site data for lotfence.com in your browser.

Analytics

What we use. We use PostHog to see how Lotfence is used. On your first visit, a notice tells you we use cookies and session recording. Clicking OK just hides it; analytics runs either way.

What it collects. PostHog sets a first-party cookie (ph_<project key>_posthog, kept for 365 days) and a matching entry in your browser's local storage. Both hold a random visitor ID. PostHog records page views, clicks and other interactions, plus "Try the sample plat" opens and checkout starts. Our server records each Seat purchase from Stripe with only the amount and a one-way coded ID made from the checkout, not your name or email. Session recordings capture page text and on-screen content, clicks and scrolling. Anything you type is masked, and we block your plat, shop name, logo and site notes.

Location. PostHog receives your IP address and uses it to estimate your approximate location: city, region, country, postal code and approximate coordinates. Your IP address and that location are stored with analytics events and kept for the same period.

What we never send. Plat files or their contents, email addresses, Seat keys, or payment details.

PostHog stores this data in the United States and keeps events for 1 year and recordings for 1 month. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, Lotfence doesn't load PostHog.

Who handles the data

• Vercel hosts lotfence.com and runs our server.
• Stripe processes Seat payments.
• PostHog runs our analytics and session recording. It receives your IP address and approximate location along with usage data, and stores that data in the United States (Virginia). See Analytics.
• Resend delivers the Seat key email.
• unpkg.com serves the PDF reader code your browser loads to open PDF plats.

Each handles data under its own privacy policy.

How long we keep it

• Your browser data: until you clear your browser's site data for lotfence.com. Starting a New Job replaces the current Job.
• Purchase records in Stripe: as long as we need them for accounting, tax, refunds, and legal reasons.
• Seat key emails: kept by Resend under its standard retention.
• Hosting logs: kept by Vercel under its standard retention.
• Analytics and session recordings in PostHog: events, including the IP address and approximate location stored with them, for 1 year, and session recordings for 1 month, under PostHog's free plan. If we change plans, we'll update this section.

What we don't do

• We don't sell your data or share it for advertising.
• We don't use analytics or session recordings to identify you, and we don't send plat files, email addresses, Seat keys or payment details to PostHog.
• We use purchase information only to deliver and support your Seat, handle refunds, and meet tax and legal duties.

Children

Lotfence is for businesses. It isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If we change how Lotfence handles data, we'll update this policy and the "Last updated" date first.

Questions

Email us at support@lotfence.com. You can also ask us to delete your purchase information; we'll do that unless we have to keep it for tax or legal reasons.