Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: April 1, 2026
1. Who We Are
John's Essentials ("we", "us", "our") operates the web platform at johnsessentials.com — a file processing and AI-agent toolkit. If you have questions about this policy, contact us at privacy@johnsessentials.com.
2. Data We Collect
Account data
When you register, we collect your email address, hashed password, and optional display name.
Files you upload
Files you upload for processing are stored temporarily (Free: 24 hours, Pro: 30 days, Premium: user-controlled). Files are processed on our servers and stored in object storage (MinIO) scoped to your account. We do not use your files to train machine learning models.
Usage data
We log tool invocations, agent runs, file sizes, and processing durations for billing and abuse prevention. We do not sell this data.
AI Agent interactions
When you use the AI Agent, your messages and the agent's responses are forwarded to our LLM providers (see Section 5). Conversation content may be stored as part of agent memory if you have an active Pro or Premium subscription.
Cookies and analytics
We use session cookies for authentication. We use Grafana Faro for first-party performance monitoring — this captures page load timing, browser performance metrics (Core Web Vitals), JavaScript errors, and navigation events. We do not record screen video or DOM replay, and we do not use third-party advertising cookies. All performance telemetry is stored on our own self-hosted infrastructure and never shared with third parties.
3. How We Use Your Data
- To provide the services you request (file processing, AI agent, tool access)
- To enforce usage limits and prevent abuse
- To process payments via Stripe
- To send transactional emails (password reset, subscription receipts)
- To improve platform performance and diagnose errors
We do not send marketing emails without explicit opt-in.
4. Data Retention
Uploaded files are deleted automatically based on your plan tier. Account data is retained while your account is active. You may request full account deletion at any time by emailing privacy@johnsessentials.com — we will purge all personal data within 30 days.
For detailed file retention rules, see our File Retention Policy.
5. Third-Party Services
| Service | Purpose | Data sent |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Payment processing | Email, billing address, payment method |
| xAI (Grok) | AI Agent primary LLM | Agent messages, file summaries |
| Anthropic (Claude) | AI Agent fallback LLM | Agent messages (on failover only) |
| Groq (Llama) | AI Agent fallback LLM | Agent messages (on failover only) |
| Hetzner | Infrastructure hosting | All data is hosted on Hetzner servers in Germany (EU) |
For more information on AI data handling, see our AI Disclosure.
6. Your Rights (GDPR / CCPA)
You have the right to: access your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request deletion, restrict processing, and data portability. EU/EEA residents have additional rights under GDPR. California residents have rights under CCPA.
To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@johnsessentials.com. We respond within 30 days. For our data processing commitments, see our Data Processing Agreement.
7. Security
All data is transmitted over TLS. Files at rest are encrypted in object storage. Access to production systems is restricted by SSH key and 2FA. We conduct regular security reviews.
8. Changes to This Policy
We will notify registered users by email of material changes at least 14 days before they take effect. The "last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.