Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how MacMiniNode (“MacMiniNode”, “we”, “us”) collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information when you visit our website, create an account, or rent a dedicated Mac mini through our service. It applies to information we process as a controller. It does not cover the content you store on your Machine, which is addressed separately in Section 6.

MacMiniNode is the data controller for the personal information described here. Our contact details are in Section 14.

2. Information we collect

Account information: your name, email address, password (stored only as a hash by our authentication provider), and, if you sign in with Google, the identifier and profile details Google shares with us. We also record your acceptance of our legal terms, including the version accepted, the time, and the IP address and browser user agent at the time of acceptance.

Billing identifiers: when you set up a subscription our payment processor, Helcim, collects your card details and billing contact directly through its secure form. MacMiniNode never receives or stores your full card number or security code. We store only a tokenized reference to your payment method, the card brand, the last four digits, the expiry month and year, your billing contact details, and records of transactions, invoices, and refunds.

Service and usage information: your orders, the Machine assigned to you, its status history, connection-access events we log to operate and secure the Service, support tickets and messages, dashboard preferences, and notification settings.

Technical information: IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and diagnostic logs generated when you use the website or dashboard.

Waitlist information: if you join the waitlist we collect your email address, optionally your name, and the hardware model you are interested in.

3. How we use information

• To provide the Service: create and secure your account, assign and prepare your Machine, deliver connection details, and operate the dashboard.
• To bill you: set up and renew your subscription, process payments and refunds, and detect and prevent fraud.
• To support you: respond to tickets and incidents, and notify you about provisioning, billing, maintenance, and security events.
• To improve and protect the Service: monitor performance, troubleshoot problems, enforce our Terms and Acceptable Use Policy, and protect our hardware and network.
• To comply with law: keep records required by tax, accounting, and other applicable laws, and respond to lawful requests.
• With your consent, to send product updates. You can opt out at any time in your account settings.

4. Payment processing

Payments are processed by Helcim, a PCI DSS compliant payment processor. When you enter card details, you are interacting with Helcim’s secure payment form; your card data is transmitted directly to Helcim and is never stored on MacMiniNode systems. Helcim processes your information under its own privacy policy. We receive confirmation of transactions and tokenized payment-method references so that we can manage your subscription.

5. Service providers and other recipients

We share personal information only with service providers that process it on our behalf under contractual confidentiality and security obligations, and only as needed to operate the Service:

• Google Cloud / Firebase: authentication, database, hosting, serverless functions, and security tooling for our website and dashboard. Data may be stored in Google data centers in the region we have configured. [Confirm configured data region]
• Helcim: payment processing, subscription billing, and payment-method storage as described in Section 4.
• Email delivery providers used to send account, billing, provisioning, and support emails. [List providers before launch]

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect the rights, property, or safety of MacMiniNode, our customers, or others, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case we will notify you where required. We do not sell personal information.

6. Data on your Machine

Files, code, credentials, and other content you store on your dedicated Machine are yours. We do not access, scan, or copy that content in the ordinary course of operating the Service. We may access a Machine only to perform maintenance, investigate a security incident or suspected breach of our Terms, or comply with a lawful request, and we limit that access to what is necessary.

We do not back up your Machine. When your rental ends and the Machine is released, its internal storage is securely erased and macOS is reinstalled before the hardware is assigned to anyone else. Erasure is irreversible. You are responsible for exporting any data you wish to keep before your paid period ends, and for the privacy and security of any personal information you process on your Machine.

7. Cookies and local storage

Our website uses a small number of strictly necessary mechanisms: authentication tokens kept by Firebase Authentication in your browser so you stay signed in, and a local storage entry that remembers your light or dark theme preference. These are required for the site to work and are not used for advertising. If analytics are enabled for our site, Google Analytics for Firebase may set cookies or identifiers to measure aggregate usage; we do not use advertising cookies. [Confirm whether analytics is enabled and whether a consent banner is required in target jurisdictions]

8. Data retention

• Account information is kept while your account is active and for a reasonable period afterwards so that you can reactivate it or we can resolve disputes.
• Billing records, invoices, and transaction history are kept for as long as required by tax and accounting law. [Confirm statutory retention period]
• Support tickets and messages are kept while your account is active and for a limited period afterwards for quality and dispute resolution.
• Security and audit logs are kept for a limited period appropriate to their purpose and then deleted or anonymized.
• Waitlist entries are kept until you are invited, ask to be removed, or we close the waitlist.
• Content on a released Machine is erased as described in Section 6 and is not retained.

9. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information we hold, including encryption in transit, access controls, audit logging of administrative actions, and secure erasure of released hardware. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

10. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. You can update your name and notification preferences in your dashboard. To exercise other rights, contact us through the support ticket system in your dashboard (see the Support page). We will verify your identity before acting on a request and respond within the time required by applicable law.

You can unsubscribe from optional product-update emails at any time. We will still send transactional messages about your account, billing, provisioning, and security.

11. International transfers

Our service providers may process information in countries other than your own, including the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or our providers’ certified transfer mechanisms. [Confirm transfer mechanisms with counsel]

12. Children

The Service is not directed to children and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes we will notify you by email or in your dashboard before they take effect, and the version identifier at the top of this page will change.

14. Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy can be sent through the support ticket system in your dashboard (see the Support page). [Add postal address and, if required, data-protection officer or representative details before launch]