1. What we collect
Ahlchemy Coin Vault ("the App", "we") is designed to collect as little as possible. We collect:
- Coin photos. The wide "table triage" photo is processed entirely on your device and is not uploaded. A close-up photo you choose to identify is sent to our identification service (see §3) and, if you save the coin, stored with your collection.
- Coin records you create. Identification results, your notes, estimated melt and collector values, and metadata (denomination, year, mintmark, grade estimate).
- An anonymous device identifier. A random id generated in your browser's local storage to keep your collection separate from other devices. It is not your name, email, or a tracking profile. We never ask you to create an account.
- A Pro unlock indicator. If you unlock Pro, we store a hashed form of your unlock code (and, for a subscription, the Stripe customer/subscription identifiers needed to manage renewal and cancellation) to recognize the unlock. We never receive or store your card number — Stripe handles payment directly (see §4).
- Basic technical data handled by our hosting provider to deliver the service (e.g. IP address in transient edge logs, used for security and rate-limiting).
We do not collect health data, precise location, contacts, or advertising identifiers.
2. How we use it
- To identify a coin you photograph and to compute its melt and estimated values.
- To store and display your personal collection to you.
- To operate, secure, and rate-limit the service (preventing abuse of the identification feature).
Standing promises. We do not sell your personal data. We do not use cross-context behavioral advertising trackers. We do not use your coin photos or records to train AI or machine-learning models, and we do not permit our identification sub-processor to do so.
3. Coin photos & the identification service
When you ask the App to identify a close-up coin photo, that image is transmitted securely (TLS) to Anthropic, PBC, which provides the vision model that reads the coin. Anthropic processes the image only to return an identification and does not use it to train its models. We do not send your anonymous identifier or any other personal data with the image.
Saved coin photos are stored by us in cloud object storage (Cloudflare R2) under your anonymous identifier so your collection is available across your sessions. You can delete them at any time (see §5).
4. Sharing & sub-processors
We share data only with the service providers needed to run the App, under contract and over TLS 1.3:
- Cloudflare, Inc. — hosting and edge delivery (Workers), database (D1), photo storage (R2), security/WAF, and transient request logs (typically retained 7–30 days).
- Anthropic, PBC — coin identification from your close-up photo (see §3), no model training.
- Stripe, Inc. — payment processing when you buy Pro. Stripe collects your payment details directly in its secure checkout; we do not receive or store your card number. We retain only a record that an unlock is active (and, for a subscription, identifiers Stripe gives us to manage renewal and cancellation).
We do not otherwise sell, rent, or disclose your data, except where required by law or to protect rights and safety.
5. Retention & deletion
We keep your collection and saved photos until you delete them or until your data is evicted from your device (see §7). You are in control:
- In the App: "Export collection (JSON)" downloads a copy; "Delete everything" removes your collection records from our database and the associated photos from storage.
- On the web: you can also request deletion at /delete-my-data.html.
Transient security logs expire on their provider's schedule. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone — export first if you want a backup.
6. Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live (including under the California CCPA/CPRA and comparable U.S. state laws, and the EU/UK GDPR), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your data, and to not be discriminated against for exercising them. Because the App has no login, the practical way to exercise access/portability/deletion is the in-App Export and Delete tools and the deletion page above; for anything else, contact admin@ahlchemy.org. We will respond as required by applicable law. We do not sell or "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.
7. On-device storage, cookies & offline cache
The App uses your browser's local storage (for your anonymous id, session token, rates cache, and preferences) and a Service Worker cache (so the app shell and calculators work offline). It does not use advertising cookies.
Cache-eviction notice. Browsers — especially iOS/WebKit — may evict local storage and cached data when disk is low or after a period of non-use (often around seven days). If that happens, an anonymous collection stored only on that device can become unreachable. Keep a JSON Export as your backup. We are not responsible for data lost to operating-system or browser eviction.
8. Your anonymous account & its limits
Your collection is tied to a random identifier in this browser, with no password and no recovery. If you clear your browser data, switch devices, or lose the identifier, you lose access to that collection and we cannot recover it or prove ownership for you. Use "Export collection" to back up and move your data.
9. Children
The App is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided data, contact us and we will delete it.
10. Changes & contact
We may update this Policy; we will revise the effective date above and, for material changes, provide reasonable notice in the App. Questions or requests: admin@ahlchemy.org.