Privacy Policy for ScoutFiles

Introduction

ScoutFiles is a web application that helps you search across your cloud storage accounts in one place. We take your privacy seriously and want to be clear about what information we collect and how we use it.

This privacy policy explains how we handle your information when you use ScoutFiles.

What Information We Collect

1. Account Information

When you create an account with ScoutFiles, we collect:

• Email address - Used to identify your account
• Name - Your first and last name for personalization
• Profile picture - Optional, from your authentication provider
• User ID - A unique identifier for your account

2. Cloud Storage Account Information

When you connect a cloud storage account (like Google Drive), we collect:

• Account email - The email associated with your cloud account
• Account name - The name you use for that cloud account
• User ID - The unique ID from the cloud provider
• Authentication tokens - Secure tokens that let us search your files

3. File Information

We only collect metadata (information about your files), not the files themselves:

• File names - To help you search
• File types - Like documents, images, PDFs
• File locations - Which account the file is in
• File modification dates - To sort and organize results
• File links - To help you open files in your original cloud storage

4. Usage Information

We collect information about how you use ScoutFiles:

• Recent searches - Your last 5 search terms to help you quickly re-search
• Recent files - Your last 20 file interactions to help you find files again
• Preferences - Theme settings, view preferences, and other UI choices

How We Use Your Information

For Core Service

• Search your files - We use file metadata to search across your connected accounts
• Display results - We show you file information so you can find what you need
• Connect accounts - We store authentication tokens to access your cloud storage
• Maintain sessions - We keep you logged in securely

For User Experience

• Personalize your interface - We remember your theme and view preferences
• Quick access - We show recent searches and files for convenience
• Improve performance - We optimize how we load and display information

For Security

• Protect your account - We use authentication to secure your data
• Prevent unauthorized access - We verify your identity before showing data
• Maintain service integrity - We monitor for suspicious activity

Third-Party Services We Use

Authentication

Clerk - Handles user login, account creation, and session management

• They store your email, name, and profile picture
• They manage secure login sessions

Database

Convex - Stores your account information, preferences, and activity data

• They host our database securely
• They help manage real-time data updates

Cloud Storage Integration

Google Drive API - Lets us search your Google Drive files

• We only request read-only access
• We cannot modify or delete your files

Hosting

Vercel - Hosts our web application securely

Data Security

Protection Measures

• Encryption - Your authentication tokens are encrypted in our database
• Secure authentication - We use industry-standard OAuth 2.0 for cloud connections
• User isolation - Your data is only accessible to you
• CSRF protection - We prevent cross-site request forgery attacks
• Secure tokens - Authentication tokens are stored securely and refreshed automatically

What We Don't Do

• We don't download your files - We only access file metadata
• We don't sell your data - We never share or sell your information
• We don't read your file contents - We only see file names and types
• We don't keep your data forever - We delete it when you delete your account

Your Rights and Choices

Control Your Data

• Connect/disconnect accounts - You can add or remove cloud storage accounts anytime
• Clear recent activity - You can clear your recent searches and file history
• Update preferences - You can change your theme and view settings
• Delete your account - You can delete your account and all associated data

Access Your Data

• View connected accounts - See which cloud accounts are connected
• Review recent activity - Check your recent searches and file interactions
• Export options - Access your files through your original cloud storage providers

Data Requests

• Request your data - Contact us to get a copy of your data
• Correct your data - Contact us to update or correct your information
• Delete your data - Contact us to delete specific data or your entire account

Data Retention

How Long We Keep Your Data

• Account information - Kept until you delete your account
• Authentication tokens - Kept until you disconnect the cloud account
• Recent searches - Only your last 5 searches, automatically replaced
• Recent files - Only your last 20 file interactions, automatically replaced
• Preferences - Kept until you delete your account or change them

Automatic Cleanup

• Old searches - Automatically removed when you have newer searches
• Old file interactions - Automatically removed when you have newer interactions
• Expired tokens - Automatically refreshed or removed if invalid

Children's Privacy

ScoutFiles is not intended for children under 13 years old. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will:

• Post updates here - Check this page for the latest version
• Update the date - The "Last Updated" date will change
• Notify users - We may email you about significant changes

Contact Information

If you have questions about this privacy policy or want to exercise your data rights, please contact us: