Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you register for QualityEngineer.ai, we collect information necessary to create and manage your account, including your name, email address, organization name, and password (stored in hashed form). If you subscribe to a paid plan, we collect billing information through our payment processor (Stripe). We do not store full credit card numbers on our servers.

Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information about how you interact with the platform, including pages visited, features used, evaluation requests submitted, timestamps of activity, browser type, and IP address. This data helps us understand how the platform is used and where we can improve.

Uploaded Documents

When you use our PPAP evaluation, document generation, or quality workflow features, you upload documents such as engineering drawings, process flow diagrams, control plans, FMEAs, and other quality records. These documents are stored securely and associated with your organization account.

AI-Generated Content

When our platform generates documents, evaluations, or recommendations using AI, the resulting content is stored as part of your organization's data within the platform.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Providing our services - processing your PPAP evaluations, generating quality documents, managing your workflow, and delivering the core functionality of the platform.
• Account management - authenticating your identity, managing your subscription, and communicating with you about your account.
• Platform improvement - analyzing usage patterns in aggregate to improve features, fix bugs, and optimize performance. We do not use your uploaded documents for this purpose.
• AI processing - sending your documents to our AI provider (Anthropic) for evaluation, analysis, and document generation as part of the services you request.
• Security and compliance - detecting and preventing unauthorized access, fraud, and other security threats.
• Communications - sending you service-related notifications, updates, and responses to your inquiries.

3. AI Data Handling

4. Data Storage and Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

• Encryption at rest - all stored data, including uploaded documents and database records, is encrypted using AES-256 at the storage layer.
• Encryption in transit - all connections to QualityEngineer.ai are secured with TLS 1.2 or higher.
• Organization isolation - our multi-tenant architecture enforces strict organization-level data isolation. Every database query is scoped by organization ID, preventing cross-tenant data access.
• Password security - passwords are hashed using bcrypt and are never stored in plaintext.
• Access controls - JWT-based authentication with short-lived tokens and role-based access control restrict access to authorized users only.
• Infrastructure security - services run in isolated containers with strict resource boundaries and network policies. Regular patching and vulnerability scanning are performed.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information or uploaded documents to third parties. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• AI processing provider - Anthropic receives document content for AI-powered evaluation and generation, as described in Section 3. This processing is governed by our data processing agreement with Anthropic.
• Payment processing - Stripe processes payment information for paid subscriptions. We do not have access to your full payment card details.
• Legal requirements - we may disclose information when required by law, regulation, or legal process, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users or the public.
• Business transfers - in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change.

6. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access - you can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and your organization.
• Correction - you can request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Deletion - you can request deletion of your account and associated data. Upon deletion, your personal information and uploaded documents will be permanently removed, subject to any legal retention requirements.
• Data portability - you can request an export of your data in standard, machine-readable formats.
• Withdraw consent - where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
• Object to processing - you can object to certain types of processing, including processing for direct marketing purposes.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@qualityengineer.ai. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

7. Cookies and Tracking

QualityEngineer.ai uses minimal cookies and tracking technologies:

• Essential cookies - required for authentication and core platform functionality. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics - we may use privacy-respecting analytics to understand aggregate usage patterns. We do not use invasive third-party tracking or advertising networks.
• No advertising trackers - we do not use advertising cookies or tracking pixels. We do not serve ads on our platform.
• Local storage - we use browser local storage to maintain your authentication session (JWT token). This data remains on your device and is cleared when you log out.

8. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services:

• Account data - retained for the duration of your active account. Upon account deletion, personal information is removed within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
• Uploaded documents - retained as long as your account is active. Documents are permanently deleted within 30 days of account deletion or upon your specific request.
• AI-generated content - retained as part of your organization's data for as long as your account is active.
• Usage logs - aggregated usage data may be retained for up to 12 months for analytics and security purposes. Identifiable log data is purged after 90 days.
• Backups - data may persist in encrypted backups for up to 30 days after deletion before being permanently purged.

9. Children's Privacy

QualityEngineer.ai is a business-to-business platform designed for professional use in manufacturing and quality engineering. Our services are not directed at individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 years of age. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a person under 16, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe that a child under 16 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@qualityengineer.ai.

10. International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed and stored in the United States or other countries where our infrastructure providers operate. When data is transferred across borders, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including data processing agreements with our service providers. If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or other jurisdictions with data transfer restrictions, we take steps to ensure your data receives an adequate level of protection in accordance with applicable law.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. For significant changes that affect how we handle your data, we will provide additional notice, such as an email notification or an in-platform alert. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Information