Privacy Policy

Introduction

Bellweather Studios ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website at bellweatherstudios.com and use our products and services.

By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this policy, please do not access or use our services.

Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your email address and name through our authentication provider, Clerk. This information is required to provide you with access to your purchases and licenses.

Payment Information

Payments are processed by FastSpring, our merchant of record. We do not store your credit card number or full payment details. We receive transaction details including purchase amount, currency, and order reference for our records.

License & Activation Data

When you activate a license, we collect a machine identifier (a one-way hash derived from your hardware), machine name, operating system, and the timestamp of activation. This data is used solely to enforce license terms (limiting activations to 3 machines per license). Machine identifiers are stored as one-way hashes — we cannot determine your specific hardware from this data. We also store license keys and activation records to manage your software licenses.

Analytics Data

We use PostHog for privacy-friendly analytics. IP addresses are anonymized. We collect aggregated usage patterns to improve our website and products. No personal browsing profiles are created.

Weather Station

Weather Station (our desktop application) connects to our servers to fetch the plugin catalog, validate licenses, check for updates, and sync your account data. We log IP addresses for rate limiting and abuse prevention; these logs are retained for 30 days. Weather Station stores your authentication tokens and license data locally in an encrypted store on your machine.

Technical Data

We automatically collect browser type, operating system, and referral source when you visit our website. This data is used solely for website optimization and security purposes.

How We Use Your Information

• Provide, operate, and maintain our services
• Process transactions and send related information
• Manage software licenses and activations
• Send product updates, security alerts, and support messages
• Respond to support requests and inquiries
• Improve our products and website experience
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud or technical issues

Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share information only with service providers necessary to operate our business:

• Clerk — Authentication (SOC 2 compliant)
• FastSpring — Payment processing (PCI DSS compliant)
• Neon — Database hosting (SOC 2 compliant)
• AWS — Infrastructure (ISO 27001 certified)
• PostHog — Analytics (privacy-friendly, IP anonymization)
• Resend — Transactional email delivery

Your Rights

Under GDPR and applicable data protection laws, you have the following rights:

• Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — Request correction of inaccurate data
• Erasure — Request deletion of your personal data
• Portability — Request transfer of your data in a machine-readable format
• Object — Object to processing of your data for marketing purposes

To exercise any of these rights, email keith@bellweatherstudios.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Data Retention

• Account data — Retained while your account is active
• Transaction records — Retained for 7 years for legal and tax compliance
• Support correspondence — Retained for 2 years
• Analytics data — Anonymized and retained for 90 days
• Server logs — IP addresses retained for 30 days
• License activations — Retained while the license is active

Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including TLS 1.3 encryption in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, regular security audits, and strict access controls. While no system is 100% secure, we take reasonable precautions to protect your data.

Cookies

We use only essential cookies required for the operation of our services:

• Authentication — Session cookies to keep you signed in
• Cart — Session cookie to maintain your shopping cart
• Security — CSRF protection tokens

All cookies are HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite=Lax. We do not use tracking cookies or advertising cookies.

Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected data from a child under 13, we will delete that information promptly.

International Data Transfers

Bellweather Studios is based in the United States. If you are accessing our services from the European Union or other regions with data protection laws, please be aware that your data may be transferred to and processed in the US. We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for EU data transfers to ensure adequate protection of your personal data.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or to exercise your data rights, contact us at: