How we handle your data

Plain English. No surprises. Your conversations are yours.

Founders EQ is a conversation tool grounded in primary American founding-era documents. This page explains what data the service collects, why, and what you control. If you have questions, contact support@founderseq.com.

Who we are

Founders EQ is operated by Evan Queitsch as a sole proprietor based in Pennsylvania, United States. For privacy questions, account deletion requests, or data inquiries, reach us at support@founderseq.com. We respond within seven business days.

What we collect

When you sign in

• Your email address — provided either by Google (if you sign in with Google) or by you directly (if you use a magic link). We use it to identify your account and send sign-in links.
• Your display name and profile image — only if you sign in with Google, and only what Google chooses to share.
• Authentication tokens — short-lived session tokens stored in your browser's local storage so you stay signed in across visits.

When you use the service

• Your questions and the responses generated — stored against your account so you can revisit conversations across devices.
• Usage events — counts of requests, timestamps, and tier (free or pro). We use this to enforce rate limits and prevent abuse.
• Technical request data — IP address (used at the moment of the request, not stored long-term), browser type, and standard request headers, captured by our hosting provider in routine logs.

When you upgrade to Pro

• Subscription status — whether your account is on the free or paid tier, and renewal dates.
• Payment information — handled entirely by Stripe. We never see, store, or have access to your card number, CVV, or bank details. Stripe sends us only a customer ID and confirmation that payment succeeded.

What we do not collect

• We do not collect or store your payment card details.
• We do not access your contacts, calendar, files, or any device data beyond your Founders EQ session.
• We do not use cookies for cross-site tracking or advertising.
• We do not run third-party advertising networks or analytics that profile you across the internet.

Why we collect what we do

• To provide the service — your questions need an account so we can return responses, save your history, and apply your tier limits.
• To prevent abuse — usage events let us stop one account from consuming resources that should serve everyone.
• To bill paid subscribers — Stripe handles billing on our behalf.
• To improve the service — we may review aggregated, de-identified usage patterns to understand which features are valuable. We do not read individual conversations for product analysis.

Who processes your data on our behalf

Founders EQ is built on a small set of trusted infrastructure providers. Each only sees the data needed for their role:

Each of these providers maintains its own privacy practices. We've selected providers that are subject to industry-standard security and data-handling commitments.

How long we keep your data

• Account information and conversation history — retained while your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion.
• Usage events — retained for up to 90 days for rate-limiting and abuse-prevention purposes, then deleted.
• Stripe customer records — retained by Stripe per their policies, typically as long as required by tax and accounting law.
• Server logs — typical retention is 30 to 90 days at the hosting provider.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Correct — update inaccurate information (your email and display name update automatically when you change them in your sign-in provider).
• Delete — request deletion of your account and associated data.
• Export — request your conversation history in a portable format.
• Object — withdraw consent for any processing where consent is the lawful basis (you can stop using the service at any time).

To exercise any of these rights, email support@founderseq.com from the address on your account. We complete these requests within 30 days, usually sooner.

If you live in the European Union, United Kingdom, or California

You have additional rights under GDPR (EU/UK) or CCPA/CPRA (California). These include the rights listed above plus the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. We treat all users to the same standard regardless of jurisdiction. If you're a California resident, we do not "sell" your personal information as defined by California law.

Children

Users between 13 and the age of majority in their jurisdiction should use Founders EQ with parental or guardian awareness.

International transfers

Founders EQ is operated from the United States, and most of our infrastructure providers store data in US-based data centers. If you access the service from outside the US, your data is transferred to and processed in the United States. We rely on the legal frameworks our providers maintain (Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable) to keep these transfers compliant.

Security

We use industry-standard technical safeguards: HTTPS for all traffic, encrypted storage at our database provider, server-side handling of all third-party API keys (so they never reach your browser), authentication tokens scoped to your session, and rate limiting against automated abuse. No system is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a breach affecting your data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

Cookies and local storage

Founders EQ uses only essential local storage — small pieces of data your browser keeps so the service works. Specifically:

• An authentication token that keeps you signed in.
• Session-only flags (e.g. whether you've dismissed a banner).

We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies. You can clear local storage via your browser settings at any time; this will sign you out.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service evolves. When we make material changes, we'll update the "last updated" date above and, for changes that affect how we use your data, notify signed-in users by email or in-app message. Continued use of the service after the effective date means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns: support@founderseq.com.