Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Counterfile ("Counterfile," "we," "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you use the Counterfile application (the "App"). By using Counterfile, you agree to the practices described here.

Counterfile is a documentation tool. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Account Information. When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and a password (stored in hashed form, never in plain text). Your email address is both your login and the address to which your records are delivered.

Job Details. Employer name, job title, and start date, collected during account setup and as you add or edit jobs.

CFile Entry Content. When you log an entry, we collect and store the text you type: dates, locations, descriptions of what happened, names and roles of people involved, and the category or type of issue you select. This text is retained in our database so that your Dashboard log, search, and Minifile organization can function.

Uploaded Files — Not Retained. If you attach a file (a screenshot, document, or photo) to a CFile entry, that file is uploaded to temporary storage, used to generate and deliver your cover sheet to your inbox, and then deleted. We do not keep a permanent copy of uploaded files on our servers. Specifically: If delivery of your entry to your inbox fails, your uploaded files are held securely (encrypted at rest) for up to 7 days while delivery is retried, then permanently deleted. Files that deliver successfully are deleted from our systems immediately upon delivery.

Important distinction: our "we don't store your evidence" commitment applies to uploaded files. The text you type into a CFile entry (your narrative, dates, and other details) is retained, because that is what allows the App's core organizational features (your Dashboard, search, and Minifiles) to work. If you delete your account, this text is deleted as well (see Section 6).

Recordings — Never Stored. Counterfile takes no custody of audio or video recordings. We do not accept them as uploads and do not store them. If you have a recording, the App lets you note that it exists and prompts you to email it to your own inbox so it sits alongside that entry's cover sheet. The recording never passes through or rests on our servers.

Attachment fingerprints. For each file delivered with an entry, we compute a cryptographic fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash) and include it on your cover sheet so the file in your inbox can be matched to your timestamped entry. The fingerprint is derived from the file; it is not additional personal information we collect about you.

Payment Information. We do not directly collect or store your credit card information. Payments are processed by Stripe, a third-party payment processor. Stripe's own privacy policy governs how it handles your payment details.

Abandoned Signup Information. If you begin creating an account (providing an email and job details) but do not complete payment, we retain your email address and any job information you entered in a separate marketing-only record, used solely to send you a follow-up reminder email (see Section 4). This record is kept apart from active subscriber data, and is deleted if you delete your account.

Share Link Access Logs. If you use the secure share link feature (available with Counterfile Pro) to give a third party read-only access to part of your CFile, we log when that link is accessed, including timestamp information, so that you can review who accessed your shared information and when.

Email sent to our contact address. Any email you send to hello@counterfile.app, including any attachment, is used only to handle your request and is then deleted, not retained.

We use the information described above to:

• Create and maintain your account
• Generate your CFile cover sheets and deliver them to your email address (and any secondary email address you add on Counterfile Pro)
• Maintain your searchable Dashboard log history
• Process your subscription payment through Stripe
• Send you transactional emails (password-reset codes, share-link access codes, delivery, retention and erasure notices, and account notices)
• Send a one-time follow-up email if you begin but do not complete signup, with an unsubscribe option included
• Provide the Minifile export and secure share link features (Counterfile Pro)
• Maintain the security and integrity of the App

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

If you start creating an account but do not complete your subscription payment, we may send you one automatic follow-up email within 24 to 48 hours, using the email address you provided. This email will include a working unsubscribe link, and we will honor unsubscribe requests promptly. We do not require your opt-in consent to send this single follow-up message, consistent with applicable law (CAN-SPAM), but you may opt out of any further messages at any time.

We use third-party services to operate Counterfile, including for payment processing, transactional email delivery, temporary storage of uploaded files, database hosting, and application hosting. Each has its own privacy practices.

These providers are contractually and technically limited to using your information only to provide services to Counterfile, not for their own independent purposes.

• Uploaded evidence files are not retained after confirmed delivery, and in no case longer than the 7-day failed-delivery retry window (see Section 2).
• Recordings are never stored at all (see Section 2).
• CFile entry text, account information, and job details are retained for as long as your account is active, subject to the archived-log retention schedule below.
• Archived-log retention. When you archive a job's log, its entries are retained for a set window measured from the archive date, then permanently erased: on Counterfile Starter, 6 months (extendable once, by you, for an additional 6 months); on Counterfile Pro, 12 months (extendable once, by you, for an additional 6 months). We warn you before erasure and let you export first. Erasure of an archived log proceeds on its scheduled date once you have acknowledged the erasure notice in the app. If you have not acknowledged it, the log is held for up to 30 additional days, then erased. When entries are erased, a minimal record of the job itself (employer, title, dates) may be retained as part of your own employment history.
• Self-serve account deletion. You can delete your account yourself at any time, both from within the App and from a public web page, without contacting us. Deleting your account cancels any active subscription and then permanently deletes your CFile entry text, account information, job details, Minifiles, share links and their access logs, and your abandoned-signup record, from our active systems immediately, except where retention is required by law or for limited backup/security purposes for a short additional period.
• Abandoned signup records (Section 2) are retained only long enough to send the follow-up email described in Section 4, and are deleted thereafter absent further action from you.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information. You can access and export your CFile entries at any time through your Dashboard, and you can delete your account yourself at any time from within the App or from our public account-deletion page. To ask questions about your data, contact us at hello@counterfile.app.

We use industry-standard security practices, including hashing of stored passwords, encryption of data at rest, and secure transmission (HTTPS/TLS) for all communications with the App. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but our zero-retention design for uploaded files, and our refusal to take custody of recordings at all, are specifically intended to minimize what sensitive material exists on our servers at any given time.

Counterfile is intended for use by individuals who are employed or seeking employment and are at least 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice through the App or by email. Continued use of Counterfile after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be directed to hello@counterfile.app.