Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Jot ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website and platform at jot.place (the "Service"). Jot is a social platform where the atomic unit of content is a rendered Markdown document. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

By accessing or using Jot, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address
• Username and display name
• Password (stored only as a cryptographic hash, never in plaintext)
• Profile information you choose to provide: bio, avatar image, header image, social links (GitHub, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, personal website, contact email), and accent color preference
• PayPal payout email address (if you enable monetization features)

2.2 Information from Third-Party Authentication

If you sign in using GitHub OAuth, we receive your GitHub user ID, email address, avatar URL, and username. We do not access your repositories, private data, or any information beyond your basic public profile.

If you sign in using Google OAuth, we receive your Google user ID, email address, display name, and profile picture. We require a verified email address and do not access any other Google account data.

2.3 Content You Create

We store the content you create on Jot, including:

• Jots (Markdown documents): title, body content, description, cover images, and tags
• Comments on other users' jots
• Collections and series you organize
• Group memberships and group-scoped content
• Media uploads (images), including file type and size metadata
• Reactions (emoji) on jots and comments

2.4 Automatically Collected Information

When you use Jot, we automatically collect:

• Analytics events: jot views, event types, and timestamps. We do not store IP addresses or device fingerprints in our database.
• Notification metadata: type and context for in-app notifications
• Usage data: storage consumption and subscription tier status

2.5 Payment Information

If you subscribe to Jot Pro or engage in monetization features (purchasing jots, tipping creators, or subscribing to authors), we collect:

• PayPal subscription IDs, order IDs, and customer email addresses
• Purchase records: amounts, platform fee rates, and transaction statuses
• Tip and author subscription records

Jot does not directly store credit card numbers, bank account details, or full PayPal credentials. All payment processing is handled by PayPal. Please refer to PayPal's Privacy Policy for information on how they handle your payment data.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including account management, content hosting, and notifications
• Process payments and creator payouts via PayPal
• Personalize your experience, including feed recommendations, theme preferences, and NSFW content gating based on your settings
• Moderate content for safety using automated systems (see Section 4)
• Enforce our community guidelines, including the strike and suspension system
• Generate RSS feeds of your public content
• Enable search and discovery of public content across the platform
• Send you email notifications (stars, comments, follows, mentions, payment receipts, weekly digests) and account emails (password resets, support responses) via our email service provider
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents

4. Content Moderation and Third-Party Processing

Jot uses OpenAI's Moderation API to automatically screen user-generated content for safety. When you create or publish content, the text and images of your jot or comment are sent to OpenAI's API for analysis. The moderation results (flagged categories and confidence scores) are stored in our database to inform content visibility decisions.

OpenAI's data usage policies apply to content processed through their API. For more information, please refer to OpenAI's Usage Policies.

Community reports submitted by users are reviewed and may trigger automated enforcement actions. All moderation actions are logged in an audit trail for accountability and transparency.

5. How We Share Your Information

Public Content

Jots, profiles, and associated metadata that you publish with public visibility are accessible to anyone on jot.place, including through RSS feeds, search results, and embedded previews. Unlisted content is accessible only via direct link. Private and group-scoped content is restricted to the specified audience.

Service Providers

We share information with the following third-party service providers who assist in operating the Service:

• PayPal — payment processing for subscriptions, purchases, tips, and creator payouts
• Google — OAuth authentication (if you sign in with Google), and application hosting, infrastructure, and data storage via Google Cloud / Firebase
• GitHub — OAuth authentication (if you sign in with GitHub); avatar images for GitHub-linked accounts are served from GitHub's CDN
• OpenAI — automated content moderation of text and images via their Moderation API
• Resend — transactional email delivery for notifications, password resets, payment receipts, and account communications

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information.

No Sale of Personal Information

Jot does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

6. Data Storage and Security

• Your data is stored in PostgreSQL databases hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure via Firebase App Hosting.
• Passwords are cryptographically hashed and never stored in plaintext.
• Media files are stored in cloud storage with access controls.
• We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your information.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

7. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your information:

• Access and update your profile information at any time via your account Settings.
• Delete your account, which permanently removes your jots, comments, follows, stars, media uploads, and all other associated data from our systems.
• Control content visibility by setting jots to public, unlisted, private, or group-only.
• Manage NSFW preferences by enabling or disabling adult content display in your Settings.
• Manage notification preferences to control which notifications you receive.
• Request a data export by contacting us at support@jot.place.

8. Cookies and Local Storage

Jot uses a minimal set of cookies and local storage:

• Authentication session cookies managed by our authentication system (Auth.js) to keep you signed in.
• Theme preference stored in your browser's localStorage to persist your light/dark mode choice.
• Editor and UI preferences stored in localStorage, such as editor layout settings, feed tab selection, and recent search queries. These are stored locally on your device and are not transmitted to our servers.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or analytics cookies from external providers.

9. Children's Privacy

Jot is not intended for users under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@jot.place.

10. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than the country in which you reside. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from the laws of your country. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

For material changes that significantly affect how we handle your personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you, such as through an in-app notification or email.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

support@jot.place