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Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 28, 2026

Who we are

Splice CAD ("Splice", "we", "us") provides a cable-harness CAD tool available in a browser and as a desktop app. The data controller is Splice CAD, contactable at info@splice-cad.com. Splice is a small company; we do not currently appoint a formal Data Protection Officer. If you are an EU resident and would like to contact us about your data, write to that address — a person, not an autoresponder, replies.

What this policy covers

This is the full privacy policy for the Splice product. A separate Cookie Policy covers what we set on your device, and a separate Open Source page lists the software we build on. Together they describe everything we do that touches your data.

Categories of personal data we process

1. Account data (you provide it)

  • Email address, display name, avatar URL — collected when you sign in with Google or create a password account.
  • Optional API key (an opaque token you generate to use Splice from the command line).

Lawful basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR — performance of the contract you enter when you create an account.

2. Login history

Every successful sign-in records a timestamp against your user record.

Lawful basis: Article 6(1)(f) — legitimate interest in detecting credential abuse.

Retention: 24 months, then automatically deleted.

3. Authenticated session data

A session ID stored in an HTTP-only, encrypted cookie. Server-side this maps to your user ID, expiry, and a flag for whether the session is anonymous (signed-out) or authenticated.

Lawful basis: Article 6(1)(b). The session cookie is "strictly necessary" under PECR and the equivalent EU ePrivacy provisions — no consent banner required for it.

4. Authenticated usage telemetry

While you are signed in and have not opted out, the Splice client posts a small heartbeat every 5 minutes containing:

  • The platform you're using (web or desktop).
  • The version of the app you're running.
  • Which view you're on (schematic, physical, parts catalogue, etc.).
  • Your timezone (an opaque string like Europe/Berlin, derived from your browser).
  • Your country (and, for signed-in users, your administrative region — e.g. state or province) derived at our edge from your IP address by Cloudflare. We do not store the IP itself.
  • The first language tag from your browser's Accept-Language header (e.g. en-gb).

Lawful basis: Article 6(1)(f) — legitimate interest in understanding how Splice is used so we can prioritise engineering work, identify regions where we should add support, and detect version skew that produces bug reports. We performed and documented a Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) before enabling this; email us to request a copy.

Retention: 90 days.

Right to object: absolute. Toggle off "Share usage data" in Account → Privacy and we stop within minutes; the gate is enforced server-side.

5. Anonymous usage telemetry (for everyone, including signed-out visitors)

A separate heartbeat is sent that contains only platform, version, view, timezone, and — on our marketing site only — the pathname of the page you're on (e.g. /pricing). We deliberately strip the query string and fragment, so UTM parameters and anchors are never sent. The in-app heartbeat does not include a path, because in-app URLs contain harness identifiers. The anon stream carries no user ID, no session ID, no cookies. We bucket it to the hour and store country in a separate aggregate table that cannot be joined back to the per-row data. We believe this stream is genuinely anonymous under GDPR Recital 26 and therefore outside the scope of the regulation — but we list it here for transparency, because we think you should know everything we collect even when we're not legally required to disclose it.

6. Harness designs and projects you create

Stored as long as your account is active. Deleted when you delete the harness, the project, or your account.

Who we share your data with (sub-processors)

We use the following third parties to run the service. None of them sell your data. We have data-processing agreements in place with each.

  • Cloudflare (United States, EU edge): edge proxy, country geolocation, asset storage. Receives all your traffic.
  • Railway (United States): backend hosting and the database where your account, harnesses, and telemetry live.
  • Mailgun (United States): transactional email (sign-in confirmations, password resets, invitations).
  • Google Cloud (sign-in only): when you sign in with Google, Google authenticates you and returns your email, name, and avatar to us under their own privacy policy.
  • Plausible Analytics (Germany, optional): cookieless analytics on our marketing site only. Does not run inside the Splice app.

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal data to anyone.

International data transfers

Your data leaves the European Economic Area when it is processed by Cloudflare, Railway, and Mailgun. We rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (2021/914) with each of these processors to ensure an adequate level of protection. Cloudflare additionally self-certifies under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.

Retention summary

  • Account data: until you delete your account or close it via support.
  • Harness designs and projects: until you delete them, or your account.
  • Sessions: 28 days for signed-in sessions, 24 hours for signed-out anonymous sessions.
  • Login history: 24 months.
  • Authenticated heartbeat: 90 days.
  • Anonymous heartbeat: 90 days, individual rows; aggregate country counts are retained for trend analysis indefinitely (they contain no personal data).

Your rights under GDPR / UK GDPR

You have the right to:

  1. Access the personal data we hold about you. Use the "Download my data" button in Account → Privacy. It returns a JSON file with your account, login history, sessions, projects, harnesses, and telemetry rows.
  2. Rectify anything that's wrong (most fields are editable in Account; for anything else, email us).
  3. Erase your data by clicking "Delete account" in Account → Privacy. This cascades through all your data within seconds.
  4. Port your data — the JSON dump above is structured and machine-readable.
  5. Object to processing under legitimate interest — toggle "Share usage data" off, and the authenticated heartbeat stops. For login-history-based abuse detection, email us; we will assess whether your specific situation overrides our interest, as required by Article 21.
  6. Restrict processing — email us and we will freeze your account.
  7. Lodge a complaint with your data-protection authority. UK residents: the ICO (ico.org.uk). EU residents: your national DPA — list at edpb.europa.eu.

To exercise any right, the in-app controls are the fastest path. For anything manual, email info@splice-cad.com. We respond within 30 days as required by Article 12(3).

Geographic data — what we do and don't collect

  • We do collect a 2-letter country code derived from your IP at Cloudflare's edge. For signed-in users we also collect an administrative region code (e.g. CA for California).
  • We do not store your IP address. The country and region code are what reach our database.
  • We do not attempt to geolocate you any more precisely than that — no city, no postal code, no latitude/longitude.
  • We do not try to defeat VPNs or proxies. If you connect via a VPN, we'll see the VPN's exit-node country. If you use Tor, we'll see "T1" (Cloudflare's special marker). We accept this noise rather than fingerprint you to defeat it.

Children

Splice is not designed for and not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has created an account, email us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We will post a new "Last updated" date and, for material changes, email registered users at least 30 days before the change takes effect. The previous version remains available on request.

Contact

info@splice-cad.com — questions, complaints, rights requests. For UK / EU residents who prefer a regulator, see "Lodge a complaint" above.

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