Privacy

Who is responsible

Email: contact@backendhance.com
Phone: +49 151 449 351 67

Website, update checks, and downloads

The website and download files are served from a self-managed cloud server at Hetzner in Nuremberg, Germany. Hetzner Online GmbH, Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany, provides the infrastructure as our processor.

When your browser or the app requests a page, the update manifest, or a download, the server necessarily receives the IP address, date and time, requested address, response status, and technical request data such as browser or app user agent. Situate checks the update manifest automatically when the app starts and when you choose “Check for Updates.” A website download is requested only when you follow a download link.

We process these requests to deliver the requested content and to operate a secure, reliable service. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in providing and protecting the website, update service, and downloads (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

General persistent web access logging is disabled at both proxy layers. Request data is otherwise handled transiently to answer the request and is not retained by us in access logs. Operational error and container logs may be created when faults or security events occur. They are size-limited to three files of up to 10 MB per container and are overwritten as they rotate; entries are kept only while needed to diagnose or protect the service.

To count website downloads without cookies or browser storage, the download link first requests a random, short-lived download ID from our server. The server uses that ID to combine retries and partial range transfers and to distinguish a started transfer from a completed transfer. The counter does not receive forwarded IP addresses, cookies, referrers, or user-agent headers. Its local state contains the ID, release filename and size, transferred byte ranges, timestamps, and any validated campaign parameters carried by the download link; it is deleted after no more than eight days. The ID is not sent to PostHog.

For a started or completed website download, our server sends PostHog a personless event containing only the transfer result, the Situate release name, version, build, and architecture, and any validated campaign and landing-page variant values. PostHog receives the connection IP address of our server, not the downloader’s IP address. We use these counts based on our legitimate interest in measuring demand for Situate and the reliability of its downloads (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You may object using the contact details below; because the events contain no visitor identifier, we cannot associate an existing count with a particular person.

The download availability check requests only /downloads/latest.json from the same website. Hetzner states that data stored on a cloud server in Nuremberg remains within the EU. Hetzner also keeps account changes and system-side security events under its own deletion plan; we do not set or know a fixed duration for those infrastructure records. See Hetzner’s data protection information.

Website analytics with your permission

If you allow analytics, the website sends selected events to PostHog so we can understand which messages and sections are useful and which campaigns lead to download interest. These events cover page views, page exits and time on a page, maximum scroll depth, views of key sections, opened FAQ items, the product-demo link, video visibility, automatic and manual playback starts, viewing milestones, visible playback time and position, repeat playback, unmuting, fullscreen use, video startup times and playback errors, download-link clicks, and download-availability errors. Video events include the video identifier, version, page placement and duration. We use these events to compare video engagement and subsequent download-link clicks within a visit; seeking ahead does not count as watched content.

Event properties can include the page and landing-page variant, selected campaign parameters, value proposition, referring domain, whether the device reports itself as a Mac, browser language, CTA position, and release version. Page addresses contain only the website domain and a fixed page path, without query strings or fragments. We do not send form contents, full visited URLs, mouse movements, or session recordings. Autocapture and PostHog person profiles are not used.

Your browser stores your analytics choice and, if you allow analytics, a random pseudonymous ID in local storage. The ID links website events across visits. A separate random session ID and activity timestamps group events within a visit; this session is replaced after 30 minutes of inactivity or 24 hours. We process these events based on your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can change your choice at any time through “Analytics Settings” in the website footer. Withdrawing consent stops future browser analytics and removes the pseudonymous ID and session data from your browser.

We retain website analytics events for one year and then delete them. PostHog necessarily receives your connection IP address when your browser sends an event, but we instruct PostHog not to derive location properties from it and do not add the address to event properties.

Platform availability emails

If you join our platform waitlist, we use your email address and any information you provide in the form to send updates about Situate’s availability on other platforms. The legal basis is your consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR). This does not subscribe you to a general marketing newsletter. You can withdraw consent at any time through the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us.

We use EmailOctopus to manage the list and deliver these emails. The embedded form loads only when you choose “Show sign-up form.” Loading it connects your browser to EmailOctopus and Google reCAPTCHA, which the form uses for spam protection. These providers receive technical request information, including your IP address and browser information; submitting the form also sends your entered details to EmailOctopus.

We keep your subscription information while you are subscribed and the platform update list is in use. After you unsubscribe, we may retain the minimum information needed to respect your opt-out and document consent where legally necessary. You can request access, export or deletion using the contact details in this notice.

These services may process information outside the EEA. See EmailOctopus’s privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy. Google’s Terms of Service apply to reCAPTCHA.

Data kept on your Mac

Situate keeps its Brain, notes and imported data, conversations and session history, plugins, settings, logs, model choices, and authentication information in app-private storage on your Mac. Provider credentials may also be stored in the macOS Keychain. Dictation is transcribed locally using the speech model bundled with the app; audio is not sent to us for transcription.

Files or accounts you choose to connect remain under your control. Situate accesses them with the permissions you grant. Plugins you install can access data and network services with your user permissions, so review a plugin and its requested connections before activating it.

We do not receive this local data. It remains until you edit or delete it, remove the app data, or use Situate’s reset controls. The “Reset App and Keep Brain” option retains your Brain. A factory reset removes Situate’s Application Support data and settings but does not remove external source data or the separate pseudonymous telemetry ID stored on your Mac.

AI providers you choose

Situate does not include an AI account operated by us. You choose and authenticate an external provider, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or another provider supported by the app. Requests go directly from your Mac to that provider rather than through our website server.

To produce a response or run a model-backed feature, Situate sends the selected provider the information needed for that request. Depending on what you ask Situate to do, this can include prompts, conversation context, relevant excerpts from connected files or accounts, tool results, generated plugin code, and technical request and authentication data. Graph analysis can send note content to the graph model you select. The provider may process data in other countries.

The transfer occurs only when you connect a provider and use its service. It is necessary to perform the AI request you initiate (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR where the request is part of our service to you). The provider’s own terms, privacy notice, retention settings, account type, and international-transfer arrangements apply. Check them before sending personal or confidential information. You can disconnect a provider in Settings.

App telemetry

Telemetry is enabled by default and starts automatically when you first open Situate. We process this limited usage data based on our legitimate interests in understanding basic product usage, improving Situate, and diagnosing reliability problems (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). We limit the data as described below and do not collect message contents, chat titles, or local file paths.

You can object to this processing at any time by turning off “Collect usage and crash data” in Settings. Disabling telemetry stops new usage events and prevents subsequent crash reports from being transmitted. It does not affect processing that took place before you disabled it. You may also contact us using the details below to exercise your right to object.

When enabled, Situate sends these minimized events:

• app sessions and their active duration;
• started chats;
• input method and user-message sequence number;
• the completion status and duration of assistant responses, linked to messages by random response IDs;
• the first observed app start and successful onboarding completion; and
• first-time plugin publication and successfully executed plugin actions, without plugin names, IDs, or action arguments.

First-observed milestones are recorded once per local settings state while telemetry is enabled. They are not installation counts or a retrospective record of the first-ever start, and may repeat after resetting app settings. Plugin telemetry does not cover draft creation, passive views, or all automatic tools and skills. Events include the build environment, and we instruct PostHog not to derive location properties from the connection IP address.

A random, installation-specific pseudonymous ID links events. Chat IDs are hashed with an installation-specific random salt. The SDK also supplies technical context such as app and macOS version, device model and type, language, time zone, screen size, and network type. Message contents, chat titles, and local file paths are not sent. A pseudonymous PostHog person profile groups app events under this installation-specific ID. We do not send your name or email, and automatic person properties are disabled. Feature-flag requests, automatic lifecycle and screen events, and session replay are disabled.

We retain telemetry events for one year and then delete them. You may also ask us to delete events linked to your pseudonymous ID by contacting us.

While telemetry is enabled, native app crashes are saved locally and transmitted on a subsequent launch. Reports contain crash time, error type, stack addresses, binary identifiers, app version and build, operating-system context, and startup phase. Exception messages, activity breadcrumbs, memory contents, and local file paths are excluded from transmission. We upload matching build symbols separately so addresses can be resolved to our code. Turning telemetry off invalidates pending crash reports for future transmission, including reports written by an already-installed native crash handler while telemetry is off. If the app is not opened again, a report may never reach us.

New and reopened error groups also notify our team in a private company Slack workspace. Notifications contain the error group title, status, and a link to PostHog, not the full crash report or pseudonymous user ID. Slack processes these operational notifications for us.

PostHog, Inc., 2261 Market Street #4008, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA, processes website analytics and app telemetry for us in PostHog Cloud’s EU region. Event data is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany. Like any internet service, PostHog and its edge provider receive the connection IP address to route and secure a telemetry request; we do not add it to the event properties. PostHog may use affiliates and subprocessors; its current list identifies Germany as the storage location for PostHog EU Cloud and global edge locations for traffic routing. PostHog describes the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses as safeguards for transfers where required. See PostHog’s data-storage documentation, subprocessor list, and privacy policy.

Support and feedback messages

If you email or call us, we process your contact details and the content of your message to respond. The legal basis is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR when your message concerns steps toward or performance of a service, and otherwise our legitimate interest in handling support, feedback, and business correspondence under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. We keep correspondence only as long as needed for the request and any applicable legal obligations.

The contact mailbox is operated with Google Workspace. Google processes message and routing data to provide and secure the mailbox and may process data outside the EEA. Google’s Workspace Data Processing Amendment incorporates EU Standard Contractual Clauses for restricted transfers.

Your rights

Subject to the conditions of applicable law, you can request access to, correction or deletion of your personal data, restriction of processing, data portability, or object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it at any time for the future. Contact contact@backendhance.com.

You may lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. Our competent authority is:

Submit or learn about a complaint on the LDI NRW website.

Changes to this notice

We will update this page when the product or its data processing changes. The date at the top identifies the current version.