Privacy Policy

At a Glance: Summary of Key Points

Before diving into the details, here is a quick overview of how we handle your privacy at Aproveo:

• What personal information do we collect? We collect your name, email address, payment details, device information, and technical logs related to how you use our platform.
• Do we process any sensitive personal information? No, we do not intentionally collect or process highly sensitive personal information (like health data or religious beliefs).
• Do we collect information from third parties? Yes, we receive limited information from our trusted infrastructure and payment partners, such as AWS and Stripe, to keep your account running smoothly.
• How do we use your information? We use your data to provide our engineering drawing review platform, process your payments, secure your account, and communicate with you about your projects.
• Who do we share your personal information with? We share data only with essential service providers (like hosting and payment processors) or when legally required. We never sell your personal data.
• What are your privacy rights? Depending on where you live, you have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal information at any time.
• How can you contact us? You can reach out to us directly with any privacy questions at support@aproveo.com

1. Introduction

Welcome to Aproveo. We built our platform to keep your engineering projects moving and your teams aligned by making it easy to distribute drawings, document review notes, capture signatures in the title block, and maintain a complete audit trail. Because our tools are designed to handle your critical professional workflows, we believe your privacy and data security deserve the exact same level of precision and care.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our cloud-based software platform and website (https://aproveo.com). We have written this document in plain language because we want you to actually understand what happens to your data. Whether you are accessing our platform from California, the European Union, the UK, Canada, or anywhere else in the world, this policy outlines our global privacy practices and your rights under laws like the GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, PIPEDA, and other applicable US state privacy laws.

If you have any questions after reading this policy, please do not hesitate to contact us.

2. What We Collect & Why

To provide a seamless drawing review and approval experience, we need to collect certain information. We organize this data based on how we receive it and why we need it.

Information You Give Us Directly

When you register for an Aproveo account, we ask for basic personal information including your name and email address. If you are a paying customer, we also collect billing details. We need this information to create your account, verify your identity, and process your transactions.

• Legal Basis: We process this data based on your consent when you sign up, and because it is necessary to fulfill our contract with you to provide the Aproveo service.

Information Collected Automatically

As you navigate and interact with our platform, we automatically collect usage analytics, technical logs, and device information. This includes data about how you interact with engineering drawings, when you apply signatures, and your general system performance. We collect this to maintain our comprehensive audit trails, troubleshoot bugs, and ensure the platform is running efficiently.

• Legal Basis: We process this data based on our legitimate interest in operating, securing, and improving our software platform.

Information from Third Parties

We occasionally receive information about you from our third-party integration partners. For example, our payment processor (Paddle) provides us with billing confirmation data, and our hosting provider (AWS) may generate technical logs associated with your sessions.

• Legal Basis: We process this data based on our legitimate interest in maintaining secure infrastructure and reliable financial operations.

3. How We Use Your Information

We do not collect data just to have it. Every piece of information we gather serves a specific purpose in delivering and improving Aproveo.

• Core Service Delivery: We use your information to operate the platform. This includes distributing drawings to your team, attributing review notes to the correct user, capturing legally binding signatures in title blocks, and maintaining the strict audit trails required for engineering projects.
• Service Improvement and Personalization: We analyze usage data to understand which features are working well and which need improvement. This helps us design better workflows for your team.
• Communication: We use your email address to send you critical service updates, project notifications (like when a drawing is ready for your review), and billing receipts.
• Security and Fraud Prevention: We monitor technical logs and device information to detect unusual activity, prevent unauthorized access to your projects, and protect our infrastructure.
• Legal Compliance: We may process your data to comply with tax laws, financial regulations, or lawful requests from public authorities.
• Marketing: With your explicit consent, we may send you promotional emails about new Aproveo features. You can opt out of these communications at any time with a single click.

4. When We Share Your Information

Trust is critical in professional services. We are highly selective about who we share your information with, and we only do so under strict conditions. We never sell your personal data.

• Essential Service Providers: We share necessary data with trusted third-party vendors who help us run our business. Specifically, we use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for secure cloud hosting and data storage, and Stripe for processing secure payments. These providers are bound by strict data processing agreements.
• Legal Requirements: If we are required to do so by law, court order, or valid legal process, we will disclose your information to law enforcement or regulatory authorities. We will attempt to notify you before doing so, unless legally prohibited.
• Business Transitions: If Aproveo is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any change in ownership or policy.
• With Your Consent: If we ever need to share your data for a reason not listed in this policy, we will ask for your explicit consent first.

5. Your Privacy Rights

Because we operate globally, we have chosen to extend comprehensive privacy rights to all our users, regardless of where you live. Whether you are protected by the GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, PIPEDA, or other regional laws, you have the following rights:

• Access Your Data: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. We will provide this within 30 days.
• Correct Inaccuracies: If your name, email, or other details change, you can update them directly in your account settings or ask us to do it for you.
• Delete Your Data: You can request that we delete your account and associated personal data. Please note that deleting your account is permanent and will remove your access to all project files and audit trails.
• Port Your Data: You can ask us to provide your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format so you can transfer it to another service.
• Opt-Out of Marketing: You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails at any time using the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of our emails.
• Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process data, you can withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the legality of any processing we did before you withdrew consent.
• Lodge a Complaint: If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you have the right to file a complaint with your local data protection authority (such as the Information Commissioner's Office in the UK or your local EU supervisory authority).

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at support@aproveo.com.

6. Data Security

Engineering drawings represent your intellectual property, and we treat your data with an enhanced level of security. We align our security practices with SOC 2 standards to ensure your information is protected.

We protect your data using industry-standard SSL/TLS encryption for all data in transit, and we utilize data encryption at rest for files stored on our servers. We enforce strict access controls, meaning our staff can only access your data when absolutely necessary to provide support. We also offer and strongly encourage the use of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for all user accounts.

However, we must be honest: no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You play a vital role in this by choosing a strong password and keeping your login credentials confidential.

In the unlikely event of a data breach that compromises your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant regulatory authorities within the timeframes required by law (typically within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach).

7. Data Retention

We keep your personal information only for as long as we need it to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy.

• Active Account Data: We retain your profile information, project data, and audit trails for as long as your account is active. When you request account deletion, we will remove your personal data from our active systems.
• Financial Records: We are legally required to keep billing and transaction records for up to 7 years for tax and accounting purposes.
• Technical Logs: Routine system logs and device information are typically retained for 12 months before being automatically overwritten or anonymized.
• Marketing Preferences: We keep a record of your marketing preferences (especially if you opt out) indefinitely so we can respect your wishes in the future.

8. Cookies & Tracking

Aproveo uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to make our platform work and to understand how you use it.

We use essential cookies to keep you logged in securely and remember your session preferences. We also use analytics cookies to gather aggregated data about platform performance and feature usage.

You have control over your cookie preferences. Most web browsers allow you to block or delete cookies through their settings. Please note that if you disable essential cookies, you will not be able to log in or use the core features of the Aproveo platform.

9. Children's Privacy

Aproveo is a professional B2B software platform designed for engineers, architects, and project managers. Our services are not directed at, nor do we knowingly collect personal information from, children under the age of 18. If we discover that a child has provided us with personal information, we will immediately delete that data from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us.

10. International Transfers

Aproveo operates globally, utilizing a multi-region data residency approach. Because we use cloud infrastructure providers like AWS, your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries other than your own, including the United States.

When we transfer data across borders, we ensure it is protected by appropriate legal safeguards. For users in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the UK, we rely on legally recognized transfer mechanisms, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or adequacy decisions, to ensure your data receives the same level of protection it would at home.

11. Changes to This Policy

As our platform evolves and privacy laws change, we may need to update this Privacy Policy. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by sending an email to the address associated with your account or by displaying a prominent notice within the Aproveo platform.

Any changes will apply only to data collected after the effective date of the updated policy, unless we obtain your consent otherwise. You can always find the most current version of this policy on our website.

12. Contact Us

We welcome your questions, concerns, and feedback regarding this Privacy Policy. If you need to exercise your privacy rights or just want to understand more about how we handle your data, please reach out:

• Email: support@aproveo.com
• Website: https://aproveo.com

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.