Privacy Policy

Effective date: March 30, 2026

Commonplace ("we," "us," or "our") operates commonplace.study, a Reformed and Puritan theological research library and AI-assisted search tool. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights with respect to that information.

By using Commonplace, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Account information. When you register, we collect your name and email address. Passwords are hashed before storage and are never stored in plain text.

Payment information. Subscription payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number, CVV, or full card details on our servers. Stripe provides us with a customer ID and subscription status. Stripe's privacy policy governs how they handle your payment data: stripe.com/privacy.

Usage data. We log search queries you submit, documents you view, and general usage patterns (pages visited, features used) in order to improve search quality and the product. These logs are tied to your account.

Uploaded documents. If you upload personal documents, those files are stored on our servers and associated with your account. We do not use the content of your private uploads for any purpose other than providing search and reading features to you.

Technical data. We collect standard server logs including IP addresses, browser type, and operating system for security and debugging purposes. We do not use third-party analytics trackers (e.g., Google Analytics).

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and maintain your account
• To process subscription payments and manage billing through Stripe
• To provide, personalize, and improve our search and AI synthesis features
• To send transactional emails (account confirmation, billing receipts, password reset)
• To communicate product updates or changes to these terms (you may opt out of non-transactional emails)
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data to train AI models or share it with AI vendors beyond what is necessary to process your individual search queries.

3. AI Features and Search Queries

When you use our AI-assisted search, your query is sent to Anthropic's Claude API and Voyage AI's embedding API for processing. These services process your query text to generate results. We recommend you review Anthropic's privacy policy at anthropic.com/privacy and Voyage AI's policy for information on how they handle API inputs.

We retain your search history on our servers to provide search history features and to improve result quality. You may request deletion of your search history by contacting us.

4. Data Retention

We retain your account data and search history for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or financial record-keeping obligations (e.g., Stripe billing records).

5. Data Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), hashed passwords, and access controls on our database. No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to protecting your information.

6. Cookies

We use a session token stored in your browser (localStorage) to keep you logged in. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies. Stripe may set cookies on payment pages subject to their own policy.

7. Children's Privacy

Commonplace is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information. To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@commonplace.study. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date above. Continued use of Commonplace after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at info@commonplace.study.