Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 14, 2026

certaByte LLC ("certaByte", "we", "us", or "our") operates certabyte.com, certaPixel, and related services (collectively, the "Services"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. By using the Services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide to us

Account information. Your email address is required to create an account and sign in. We use passwordless magic-link authentication, so we never collect or store a password.
Profile information. Information you choose to add to your creator profile, such as your name, bio, website, public contact details, social media links, and profile image.
Uploaded content. The images ("finals"), supporting documents, project files, badges, and related descriptions you upload for certification and portfolio purposes.
Provenance information. Optional details you provide about your work, such as publication links, first-published dates, and copyright registration numbers.
Identity verification information. If you choose to become identity verified, information submitted as part of that process.
Communications. Messages you send us through contact forms, founder feedback, support email, and DMCA or proof-notice submissions.

Information collected automatically

View statistics. When someone visits a public certificate or badge page, we record technical information about the visit, including device type, browser, operating system, and approximate country. Detected bot traffic is identified and counted separately.
Log data. Standard server logs, including IP addresses, request timestamps, and error information, used for security and troubleshooting.
File metadata. Technical metadata embedded in uploaded images (such as camera EXIF data) is captured at upload and used as part of the certification review.

Payment information

Credit purchases are processed by our third-party payment processor, Stripe. When you make a purchase, you are redirected to a secure checkout page hosted by Stripe, and any payment card details you enter are provided directly to Stripe. We do not collect or store your full payment card details; we receive only confirmation of the transaction and limited billing information needed to credit your account and maintain purchase records. Stripe's handling of your information is governed by the Stripe Privacy Policy.

2. Cookies and Local Storage

We use HTTP-only session cookies to keep you signed in. These cookies are encrypted and shared across certabyte.com subdomains (for example, cp.certabyte.com) so that signing in once signs you in to all certaByte products. We also store your light/dark theme preference in your browser's local storage. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

To provide, operate, and maintain the Services, including your account and projects.
To review submitted works, evaluate supporting evidence, and issue certificates and certaScore™ ratings.
To automatically screen uploaded images for inappropriate content.
To process credit purchases and maintain your credit history.
To prepare and deliver DMCA takedown notices and proof notices at your request.
To display public certificate, badge, and creator profile pages you choose to publish.
To provide view statistics about your public pages.
To respond to support requests and communicate service updates.
To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, automation, and security incidents, and to enforce our Terms of Use.
To comply with legal obligations.

4. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as described below:

Public content you choose to publish

Issued certificates, badges, public creator profiles, and public albums are visible to anyone with the link — that visibility is the purpose of the Services. Your supporting documents are not public. The only exception is a DMCA case in which you explicitly release selected documents to a private, passcode-protected evidence page; you may revoke that access at any time.

DMCA and proof notices

When you ask us to send a DMCA takedown notice or proof notice, the information required for that notice (including your legal contact details, the description of the infringement, and links to your certificate) is shared with the recipient platform or party, as required by the DMCA process.

Service providers

We use trusted third-party providers to operate the Services, including Stripe for payment processing. They process data on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes. Stripe's use of your payment information is described in the Stripe Privacy Policy.

Legal requirements

We may disclose information if required to do so by law, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect our rights or property, investigate fraud or abuse, or protect the safety of our users or the public.

Business transfers

If certaByte is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Services. Note the following specific retention practices:

Certificates and review records are retained even if you later delete the underlying final. A certificate is a historical, third-party attestation and must remain verifiable to serve its purpose.
Deleted finals and projects have their image files permanently removed from storage.
Transaction records are retained as required for accounting, tax, and legal purposes.

6. Security

We take security seriously. Measures include encrypted, HTTP-only session cookies; passwordless authentication (no password database to breach); server-side processing of sensitive operations; database row-level access controls; and file integrity verification on uploads. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Access and correction. You can view and update your profile information at any time from your account.
Deletion. You may delete your uploaded content, and you may request deletion of your account by contacting us. Certain records (issued certificates, review records, and transaction history) are retained as described in Section 5.
Public visibility. You control what appears publicly by choosing which albums are public and what appears on your creator profile.
Email. Transactional emails (magic links, review results, receipts) are required to operate the Services.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@certabyte.com.

8. California Residents

If you are a California resident, you have the right under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to request access to the personal information we hold about you, request deletion of that information (subject to the retention exceptions above), and to not be discriminated against for exercising those rights. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA. To make a request, contact support@certabyte.com.

9. Children's Privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. International Users

certaByte is based in the United States, and your information is processed and stored in the United States. By using the Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date at the top of this page and, for material changes, provide additional notice such as an email or an in-product announcement. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices? Contact us at support@certabyte.com or through our contact page.