File Orbit
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Privacy Policy

Effective 2026-09-25

Who we are

File Orbit Cloud is operated by Stephen Traiforos, a United States sole proprietor doing business as File Orbit. You own your data. Stephen Traiforos is a steward of personal data described here, never its owner.

As File Orbit grows, we plan to operate through an S corporation. When that happens, we will update this policy with the new entity name.

Contact for privacy questions: privacy@fileorbit.cloud.

What this covers

This policy covers File Orbit Cloud: operated File Orbit login, optional safety-net storage, the app at app.fileorbit.cloud, the marketing site at fileorbit.cloud, support at support.fileorbit.cloud, the File Orbit Installer when it talks to File Orbit Cloud, and related billing and diagnostics.

If you run File Orbit only on hardware you control with your existing login, and you never use File Orbit Cloud products, most Cloud processing below does not apply. Your identity provider (for example Bluesky or Tangled) still has its own privacy rules.

Two sign-in paths

File Orbit login: we operate sign-in and ownership metadata at pds.fileorbit.cloud. We process the account data needed to run that service.

Your existing login: you sign in with Bluesky, Tangled, or another AT Protocol host. We receive the identity data needed to authorize File Orbit features (such as DID and handle), but we do not operate that provider and cannot control its policies, suspensions, or exports.

Information we process

  • Account and identity: DID, handle, email when provided for File Orbit login or billing, and session cookies on app.* and related origins.
  • Billing: plan and pack purchases, Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, and invoice metadata. Stripe processes card details; we do not store full card numbers.
  • Safety-net storage: object bytes and catalog metadata you upload to File Orbit Cloud, plus sync and entitlement records needed to enforce quotas.
  • Support: Discourse account linkage for paid File Orbit login customers, and lifecycle email about purchases, cancel, and lapse.
  • Browser diagnostics (optional): when turned on, we may collect basic app health signals such as error messages, how long pages take to load, and session details that help us fix bugs. Your files are never included. On our marketing site we ask before this starts. In the File Orbit Installer you can turn browser diagnostics on or off. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control turn it off automatically. You can also change the setting in Account or in the marketing site footer.
  • Product analytics (optional): when turned on, we may collect anonymous page views and button clicks on our marketing site and related signup or checkout pages so we can see what works. On the marketing site we ask before this starts, and you can change the setting in the footer. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control turn it off. We do not use advertising networks or sell visitor profiles. Product analytics is separate from optional browser diagnostics.
  • Installer issue reports (when you choose Send report): if connecting to Cloud safety net fails, you can tap Send report. That sends a short note with a support Reference and a few technical codes so we can look into the problem. It does not include your files, full installer logs, or a zip of diagnostic files. Tapping Send report means you agree to send that one note, even if browser diagnostics are otherwise off.

Encryption and access

Safety-net file contents on File Orbit Cloud are encrypted at rest on DigitalOcean Spaces.

File Orbit does not end-to-end encrypt library names or paths. Privacy for home copies comes from keeping files on homes you trust and sharing only what you choose. Account, billing, and support records are visible to us as needed to run the service. We do not mine your libraries for advertising, sell access to your files, or train models on customer file contents.

How we use information

We do not mine your libraries for advertising, sell access to your files, or train models on customer file contents.

  • Provide and secure File Orbit Cloud, including sign-in, sync, quotas, and support.
  • Process payments and prevent fraud.
  • Send transactional mail about billing and account events.
  • Improve reliability when you allow browser diagnostics, and respond to installer issue reports you send with Send report.
  • Understand which marketing pages and calls to action work when you allow product analytics.
  • Comply with law and respond to valid legal process, including making harmful content inaccessible when required under our Acceptable Use Policy.

Subprocessors

We use service providers to run File Orbit Cloud. They process data only to provide their services to us.

  • Stripe: payments and Customer Portal.
  • DigitalOcean: hosting, database, and file storage.
  • Resend: transactional mail delivery.
  • Discourse on support.fileorbit.cloud: community support for paid File Orbit login customers.
  • Observability: logging for maintenance and metrics for performance. We do not gather personal information through diagnostics.

Cookies and similar technology

We use session cookies required to keep you signed in and to complete OAuth on app and related origins. Locale preference may be stored in local storage on the marketing site.

When product analytics is on, we may remember which marketing page you first visited (and roughly when) for a limited time so later signup or checkout steps can be credited to that path. That note is not an advertising cookie and is not shared with third-party ad networks.

Optional browser diagnostics on fileorbit.cloud run only after you Accept the diagnostics banner (or turn them on later in the footer). Decline, Do Not Track, and Global Privacy Control keep them off. We may remember that choice on your device. Optional product analytics on the marketing site runs only after you Accept the product analytics banner (or turn it on later in the footer). Decline, Do Not Track, and Global Privacy Control keep it off.

Exception: if you tap Send report in the installer, we still send that one short note even when browser diagnostics are off, because the tap is your consent for that report. We do not use third-party advertising cookies on File Orbit Cloud.

Retention and deletion

We keep account, billing, and safety-net data while your Cloud relationship is active and as needed for tax, dispute, and security records.

Account Danger can clear File Orbit metadata (`cloud.substratum.*`) from your owner PDS repo and prune this Place's catalog projection. That action does not wipe disks at home, copies on other homes you invited, or your AT Protocol identity. Deletion requests that go beyond those limits may be limited by how peer Places and third-party identity hosts work.

Children

File Orbit Cloud accounts are for adults 18 years or older. Household sharing lets you invite people you trust who also meet that age rule. It is not a product for creating accounts for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 as account holders.

Adults may store family files in their own accounts, including documents and photos that relate to their children (for example school or medical records). You remain responsible for what you store and for sharing it only with people you trust.

Where data is processed

Safety-net storage operates in North America. Supporting systems (identity, billing, and maintenance logging) also run in the United States unless we publish otherwise. We do not currently appoint an EU or UK representative; if that changes, we will update this page.

Sale of personal information

We do not sell personal information for any reason. We do not share personal information for advertising or marketing. We only share what is needed with the service providers listed above to run File Orbit Cloud, or when the law requires it.

Your choices

  • Turn off ongoing browser diagnostics in Account, in the marketing site footer, in the File Orbit Installer, or with Do Not Track / Global Privacy Control. Turning them off does not block a Send report you choose later; that button is separate consent for one short note. Turn off product analytics on the marketing site in the footer or with Do Not Track / Global Privacy Control.
  • Manage billing methods and cancel subscriptions in the Stripe Customer Portal from Account.
  • Contact privacy@fileorbit.cloud to ask about access or deletion of Cloud-held personal data.

Changes

We may update this policy as the product changes. The effective date above will change when we publish a revision. Material changes for paying customers will be called out in product or billing communications when practical.