Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Webhole Vault collects, uses, stores, protects, retains, and discloses information in connection with the Webhole Vault service.

Webhole Vault is designed as a private media storage service. Customer photos and other supported media are associated with the customer's authenticated account and are not intentionally published through public galleries, public profiles, public discovery features, or public sharing links.

By using Webhole Vault, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

Webhole Vault collects information that is reasonably necessary to create and operate an account, provide private storage, secure the Service, communicate with customers, and comply with applicable legal obligations.

Account information may include your name, email address, username, password credential in hashed form, account status, current or future plan information, item or storage usage, email- verification status, and records of acceptance or acknowledgment of applicable Terms or policies.

Webhole Vault does not store your account password in readable form. Passwords are processed using a password-hashing system so that the original password is not stored as plain text.

When you upload media, Webhole Vault may process information about the uploaded file including the file itself, filename, file type, file size, image dimensions, cryptographic hash, storage location or object identifier, upload time, organizational folder information, deletion status, and related technical metadata needed to provide the Service.

Webhole Vault creates separate private thumbnails or similar technical derivatives when reasonably necessary to provide gallery browsing or other Service functionality.

3. Customer Content

Photographs, images, and other supported media uploaded to Webhole Vault are referred to as Customer Content.

Customer Content is processed only as reasonably necessary to store, protect, organize, retrieve, display, download, restore, delete, back up, or otherwise provide and maintain the Service, or as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

Webhole Vault does not routinely inspect or review Customer Content merely to determine whether Webhole Vault approves of its subject matter.

4. How We Use Information

Webhole Vault may use information collected through the Service to create and administer accounts; authenticate customers; verify email addresses; provide private media storage; calculate storage usage; provide thumbnails, downloads, Trash, restore, folders, and related features; prevent fraud and abuse; maintain security; diagnose technical problems; provide customer support; send necessary service communications; administer Free and other account plans and, if introduced, subscriptions and billing; enforce the Terms of Service; comply with applicable law; and protect the rights, safety, security, and integrity of the Service, customers, and others.

5. Authentication, Sessions and Cookies

Webhole Vault uses authentication and session technology to keep customers signed in and to associate requests with the correct account.

The Service may place a session cookie or similar necessary identifier in your browser. This technology is used for authentication, security, account access, and essential Service operation.

Webhole Vault does not currently operate an advertising network or use Customer Content for behavioral advertising.

6. Technical and Security Information

Like most Internet services, Webhole Vault and its infrastructure may process technical information generated when you connect to the Service.

This information may include Internet Protocol addresses, request times, requested routes, browser or client information, authentication events, error information, security events, network information, server logs, and similar operational data.

Webhole Vault may use this information to operate the Service, troubleshoot problems, detect and investigate suspicious activity, protect accounts, prevent abuse, maintain infrastructure, and comply with legal obligations.

7. Service Providers

Webhole Vault relies on third-party infrastructure and service providers where reasonably necessary to operate the Service.

These providers may include hosting and network providers, cloud object-storage providers, email providers, domain or infrastructure providers, security providers, and, when paid subscriptions are offered, payment-processing providers.

Webhole Vault currently uses private cloud object storage to retain customer originals and private thumbnails. Customer account and application metadata are maintained separately within Webhole Vault's application infrastructure.

Service providers receive or process information only to the extent reasonably necessary for the services they provide or where otherwise permitted by law.

Webhole Vault seeks to use providers appropriate for the nature of the information and service involved. No third-party service, network, or storage system can be guaranteed to operate without interruption or risk.

8. Authorized Access to Customer Content

Webhole Vault does not routinely view Customer Content.

Authorized personnel may access Customer Content when reasonably necessary to provide customer- requested technical support; investigate unauthorized access, fraud, abuse, or security incidents; maintain or restore the Service where access to particular content is reasonably necessary; enforce the Terms of Service; comply with valid legal obligations; or protect the security and integrity of Webhole Vault, its customers, or others where permitted by law.

When access is required solely to provide customer-requested support, Webhole Vault will seek the customer's permission before viewing Customer Content when reasonably practical.

Authorized access will be limited, where reasonably practical, to information necessary for the applicable purpose.

9. Email and Service Communications

Webhole Vault uses the email address associated with an account to provide communications necessary to operate and administer the Service.

These communications may include email verification, password or account-security messages, account or plan notices, future subscription or billing notices, material changes to Terms or policies, access or retention notices, deletion warnings, security notices, support responses, and legally required communications.

Transactional and security communications are separate from optional marketing communications. Where Webhole Vault offers marketing messages, customers will be provided choices required by applicable law.

10. Payment Information

Webhole Vault does not currently require payment information to create or use the current Free account and does not currently charge Free customers a subscription fee.

A Free account does not automatically convert into a paid subscription. If paid subscriptions are introduced, a customer must affirmatively select and purchase a paid plan before Webhole Vault begins charging that customer.

If a customer purchases a future paid subscription, Webhole Vault may use a third-party payment processor to process the transaction.

The payment processor may collect payment-card, billing, transaction, fraud-prevention, and related information according to its own privacy practices and applicable law.

Webhole Vault intends to avoid storing complete payment-card numbers within the Webhole Vault application when payment processing can instead be performed by the payment provider.

11. Retention of Active Account Information

Webhole Vault retains account information and Customer Content while reasonably necessary to provide and administer an active account.

Storage duration may depend on account status, current or future plan status, Trash status, customer deletion requests, backup or storage-provider lifecycle systems, security requirements, legal preservation obligations, fraud prevention, accounting requirements, and other legitimate operational or legal needs.

12. Account Status, End of Service and Retention

The current Free account does not have a scheduled expiration date under the current Free account model. Webhole Vault retains account information and Customer Content as reasonably necessary to provide and administer an active account, subject to this Privacy Policy, the Terms of Service, and applicable law.

If Webhole Vault discontinues a plan, ends a customer's eligibility for a particular plan, terminates or suspends an account as permitted by the Terms of Service, or a future paid subscription ends without renewal, the account may enter the read-only retention period described in the Terms of Service when applicable.

During a read-only retention period, customers may ordinarily access and download existing Customer Content but may not upload new Customer Content.

After the applicable retention period, the account and Customer Content may become eligible for deletion, subject to applicable legal, preservation, security, backup, lifecycle, and operational requirements.

13. Trash, Deletion and Storage Lifecycle

Moving Customer Content to Trash does not necessarily result in immediate physical destruction of the underlying stored object.

Trashed items may remain recoverable during the applicable restoration period and continue to count toward applicable account or plan limits while they remain retained.

When content is permanently deleted from the customer's account, Webhole Vault removes or schedules removal of the applicable active application records and storage references according to the Service's normal deletion process.

Copies or previous versions may remain temporarily within backup systems, storage-provider versioning, lifecycle systems, security records, or legally required preservation systems until those copies expire or are deleted according to the applicable retention process.

Webhole Vault therefore does not represent that every physical copy of deleted information disappears instantaneously at the moment a customer requests deletion.

14. Account Deletion

Webhole Vault intends to provide an account- deletion process separate from subscription cancellation.

A customer requesting account deletion may be required to re-authenticate and explicitly confirm the request.

Account deletion may include a limited recovery or deletion-pending period before the deletion becomes irreversible from the customer's account.

Webhole Vault may retain limited information after account deletion where reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, accounting, enforcement of legal rights, compliance with law, legal preservation obligations, or records demonstrating customer requests and consent.

15. Security

Webhole Vault uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information against unauthorized access, use, alteration, loss, or disclosure.

Measures may include authenticated account access, password hashing, encrypted network transport, access controls, private object storage, application-level ownership checks, security logging, infrastructure controls, backups, software maintenance, and other safeguards appropriate to the Service.

No Internet-connected service or data-storage system can guarantee absolute security. Webhole Vault therefore does not represent that unauthorized access, system failure, or data loss can never occur.

16. Security Incidents

If Webhole Vault becomes aware of a suspected security incident affecting customer information, Webhole Vault may investigate, contain, remediate, preserve evidence concerning, and otherwise respond to the incident.

If applicable law requires notification to affected individuals, regulators, law enforcement, or other parties, Webhole Vault will provide the notifications required by law.

17. Legal Requests and Required Disclosures

Webhole Vault may preserve or disclose information when required by applicable law, valid legal process, court order, warrant, subpoena, preservation requirement, or another legally binding obligation.

Where appropriate, Webhole Vault may review legal demands for validity and scope and may object to requests that appear invalid or overbroad.

Webhole Vault will seek to limit disclosures to information reasonably required by the applicable legal obligation.

Webhole Vault may notify an affected customer about a legal request when notification is legally permitted and reasonably practical.

18. Fraud, Abuse and Protection of the Service

Webhole Vault may use and preserve account, technical, security, or other relevant information to investigate suspected fraud, attacks, unauthorized access, malicious activity, circumvention of storage or security controls, violations of the Terms of Service, or other threats to the Service.

Information may be disclosed when reasonably necessary and legally permitted to protect the rights, safety, security, or integrity of Webhole Vault, its customers, service providers, or others.

19. Children and Age Requirements

Webhole Vault accounts are intended for persons who are at least 18 years old.

Webhole Vault does not knowingly offer accounts directly to children.

An adult account holder may store lawful family photographs or other lawful Customer Content that includes children. The presence of children in Customer Content does not mean that the child is a Webhole Vault account holder.

If Webhole Vault learns that an account was created by a person who does not meet the applicable minimum age requirement, Webhole Vault may take appropriate action concerning the account and associated information.

20. Customer Choices and Access

Customers may access certain account information by signing in to Webhole Vault.

Customers may download Customer Content that remains available to their account, subject to applicable account status and Service functionality.

Customers may use available account controls to organize, move, restore, place in Trash, or delete Customer Content.

Customers may contact Webhole Vault regarding questions about account information or privacy practices using the contact information below.

21. Sale of Personal Information

Webhole Vault does not sell Customer Content.

Webhole Vault does not operate Customer Content as an advertising inventory or use Customer Content to build advertising profiles.

22. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Webhole Vault does not use Customer Content to train artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models.

Webhole Vault will not silently expand its rights to Customer Content in order to introduce such training through a retroactive privacy-policy change.

If Webhole Vault ever proposes a materially different use of Customer Content, customers will receive the notice and consent, if any, required by applicable law and the nature of the proposed change.

23. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Webhole Vault may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, law, security practices, service providers, or information practices.

The current version and effective date will be identified on this page.

If a change materially affects how Webhole Vault collects, uses, retains, or discloses customer information, Webhole Vault will provide reasonable notice as required by applicable law.

Webhole Vault will not use a policy update as a hidden mechanism to obtain materially broader rights to Customer Content contrary to the privacy commitments stated here.

24. Contact Us

Questions concerning this Privacy Policy or Webhole Vault's privacy practices may be sent to:

Webhole Vault
A product of Clifford's Webhole
Email: contact@webholevault.com

Additional contact information may be published as Webhole Vault's business operations develop.