Privacy Policy for Inklyng

Inklyng ("Inklyng," "we," "us," or "our") provides a web application at inklyng.app and display software that turn e-ink panels, tablets, TVs and other screens into always-on displays (the "Service"). This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.

By using Inklyng you agree to the collection and use of information as described here.

1. Information we collect

1.1 Account information

When you sign up we first ask only for your email address and send you a confirmation link. Until you open the link and choose a password, no account exists, and the address is kept only as a pending sign-up that is deleted when the link expires (24 hours) or is used. Once you finish we keep your email address and a securely hashed password. You may also give us your name, your time zone and your preferred units (for example °F or °C).

1.2 Content you add

• Messages you type, save or schedule for a display, and the wording you ask our assistant to suggest.
• Display support questions you type into the "Ask our AI" box on our home page (a device type, model and short note). If you ask us to follow up, we also keep the name and email address you give.
• Photos you upload. We keep a resized copy so we can crop and draw it for each of your displays. You can keep up to 25 photos in your library.
• Places you choose (for Weather and Earth view), including the city name, coordinates and time zone. If you tap "Use my location", your browser asks your permission first, and we save only the coordinates it gives us as your chosen place.
• Location from our Apple TV app. If you allow Location Services for the Inklyng app on your Apple TV (or another Apple device running our app), the app sends us its approximate location, rounded to roughly one kilometre (about 0.6 mile), together with the nearest city name and time zone. We store it as the place for that display's Weather screen, so the weather starts out for where the display is. We use it only to provide the Service to you, in the way described in section 2. We do not keep a history of where a device has been, we do not sell or share it for advertising or for any purpose other than running the Service (section 3 lists the providers that receive the place, which they use only to return its weather), and we do not use it to track you. The app sends it when you first connect the device and then at most once a day, and each new place replaces the old one. A place you choose yourself in Weather settings is never replaced. You can change or remove the place in Weather settings at any time, and you can switch Location Services off for Inklyng in your device's Settings, in which case the app sends nothing and we fall back to a rough guess from the device's network address, which you can also override.
• AI pictures you create: the description you write and the picture that is made, kept so you can edit, reuse and schedule it (only a limited number of your most recent pictures are kept). A photo you add as a reference for a picture is used only to make that picture.
• Stock symbols you follow, and the settings of each screen you create.

1.3 Information about your displays

For each display we store its name, model, orientation and playlist. Displays report back when they check in: the time, and, where the device can measure them, battery level, Wi-Fi signal strength or connection type, temperature and humidity, screen size, and whether it is in light or dark mode. A screen that opens Inklyng in a web browser keeps a private access code in the browser's storage so it can stay connected.

If you turn on music for a display, we store a reference to the playlist you choose (you pick it on the Apple TV or iPad itself, from your own Apple Music library), its name, the hours it plays, and whether it shuffles and repeats. We never store or copy any music, and we never see your Apple Music password; playing it uses your own subscription on that device.

1.4 Usage and technical data

We keep limited technical information to run, secure and fix the Service and to limit abuse:

• Sign-ins: each time you log in we record the date, your IP address and your browser or device type, so you can see where you are logged in and so we can spot account misuse.
• Pages you open: while you are signed in we record which page or feature you opened (for example Weather or Photos) and roughly how long it was in front of you. We use this only to understand which features are used and to improve them. It is not shared with anyone, and it is not used for advertising or to track you across other apps or websites.
• When your displays are connected: each time a display checks in we add to a daily total for that display: the time since its last check-in, the number of check-ins, how long it was away if it had gone offline, its Wi-Fi signal strength, which screen it was showing, and how often it was asked to slow down. We also keep a daily count of how many displays of each kind are connected, with nothing about who owns them. We use this to see whether displays stay connected and to fix problems. It is not shared with anyone.
• Abuse protection: short-lived counters tied to your IP address or email address that limit repeated log-in, sign-up and contact attempts.
• AI usage: a count of AI requests and their cost, linked to your account while it exists, so we can keep the feature affordable.

1.5 Cookies

We use one essential cookie to keep you logged in. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

1.6 Messages you send us

If you use the Contact page we keep your name, email address and message so we can reply.

2. How we use your information

• To create your account and keep you logged in
• To draw the right picture for each display and send it at the right time
• To show weather, time, prices and imagery for the places and symbols you choose
• To email you things you ask for, such as a confirmation, a password reset or a display link
• To maintain, secure and improve the Service, and to answer your questions

We do not show advertising, and we do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

3. Services that help us run Inklyng

We use trusted providers, each only for the job described, and each limited by its own terms and privacy commitments:

• Hosting and database (Render and Neon): run the website and store your account and content.
• Email (Resend): sends the emails described above.
• AI wording and answers (Anthropic): when you use "Help me say it", the text you typed and your instruction are sent to produce reworded suggestions. When you use "Ask our AI" on the home page, the device type, model and note you typed are sent to produce a setup answer. When you make an AI picture, the description you wrote is sent to produce a short title for it. We do not send your photos, email address or other account details to Anthropic. Anthropic processes this text under its own terms and privacy commitments.
• AI pictures and text design (Google, Gemini): when you make a picture on the AI screen, the description you type is sent to Google to create it. If you edit a picture, the picture being edited is sent too. If you add a reference photo (one you upload, or one you choose from your own photo library), that photo is sent as well, resized. When you use "Let AI design it" on the Text screen, the text you typed and any instructions are sent to Google to choose fonts, colors and emphasis; no picture is made from it. We do not send your email address or other account details to Google. Google processes this content under its own terms and privacy commitments. Do not add photos or text to these features that you do not want processed this way.
• Weather and radar (Open-Meteo and the U.S. National Weather Service): receive the coordinates of the places you choose.
• Apple Weather (Apple): on Apple devices running our app, the forecast for your display's place is requested from Apple Weather, so the app sends Apple that place's coordinates, which Apple handles under its own terms and privacy commitments. We also use Apple Music on the device to play a playlist you choose, using your own Apple ID and subscription; we never receive your Apple credentials or any music.
• Satellite imagery (NASA): public pictures, fetched without any personal information.
• Market data (Finnhub and similar data providers): receive the stock symbols you follow.
• Our display software and hardware: your displays and browser screens contact Inklyng only, using a private access code that you can replace at any time.

4. Storage and security

• Passwords are stored hashed, never in plain text.
• Access codes for browser displays are stored as one-way hashes. A link or code can be replaced at any time, which disconnects the old one.
• All traffic between your browser or display and Inklyng uses HTTPS.
• You can see where you are logged in, and log any of them out, in Settings.

No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

5. Sharing and disclosure

We share information only with the providers in section 3, with your consent, when the law requires it (for example a valid legal request), or as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, in which case we will tell you.

6. Your choices and rights

• See and edit your information in the app: your account, messages, photos, places and displays.
• Delete things you added, such as a photo or a saved message, at any time.
• Log out any phone, computer or connected screen from Settings.
• Delete your account and its data yourself in Settings (Password & log out → Delete your account), or by contacting us at the address below if you can't log in.

7. Retention

We keep your account information while your account is active. Other records are deleted automatically after a fixed time:

• Sign-in records (date, IP address, device type): 90 days.
• Pages-opened records: 90 days.
• Visits to our public pages by people who are not signed in (a one-way daily code in place of an address, the page, where they came from and the kind of device; no cookie): 90 days.
• When you delete your account: how old it was, how many displays it had, and the reason and comment you choose to give, with no name or email: 12 months.
• When you delete your account: a one-way digest of your email address (not the address itself) and the date your free month began, so a free month cannot be used again by deleting the account and signing up again. No other information is kept. This is kept for as long as the service runs.
• Daily per-display totals (connected time, offline spells, signal strength, screens shown): 90 days.
• Daily counts of connected displays by kind (no personal information): 12 months.
• Contact-form and support messages: 12 months.
• AI request and cost records: 12 months.
• The place a display reports for itself (Apple TV app): kept as that display's Weather place until it is replaced, changed or removed, or you delete the display or your account. No history of earlier places is kept.
• Unfinished sign-ups (email address and link): 24 hours after the link expires.
• Expired log-in sessions, used or expired email links and abuse-protection counters: within about a week.

Photos, AI pictures, messages and settings stay until you delete them or your account (AI pictures are also limited to your most recent ones). When you delete your account in Settings, your account and the data it owns (displays, photos, messages, settings, sign-in and page-view records), any unfinished sign-up or contact message from your email address, and the pictures drawn for your displays are removed from our database right away. Records of AI request costs are kept for up to 12 months with no link to you. The counters that limit abuse are named with a one-way code instead of your address, and expire on their own. Copies held in backups by our database host are outside our control and are overwritten on its normal backup cycle.

8. Children's privacy

Inklyng is not directed to anyone under 18 and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has given us information, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version here and change the "Last updated" date. Continuing to use the Service after a change means you accept it.

10. Contact us

Email: privacy@inklyng.app
Website: https://inklyng.app