Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

AskClyde is made by Bridge Communications LLC ("we", "us", "our"), 1830 52nd St S, Fargo, ND 58103, United States. We are responsible for the information described in this policy, except where an organization uses AskClyde to support its own users (see Businesses and MSPs).

2. What this policy covers

This policy covers:

• the AskClyde Desktop, QuickSupport, and Service apps on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, plus the iOS viewer;
• our licensing, relay, sync, and fleet servers, which the apps use;
• this website and our purchase pages.

Third-party services you connect to, such as an SI provider or a webhook you set up, have their own privacy policies.

3. Information we collect

3.1 When you visit our website

Our website uses Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to understand how visitors use it. This includes pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser type, and referring site. Google may set cookies for this purpose. You can opt out with your browser's cookie settings or the Google Analytics opt-out add-on. The apps themselves do not use Google Analytics or any other analytics service.

3.2 When you buy or activate a license

• Purchase: Stripe collects your payment details directly. We receive your email address, Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, and payment status. We never receive or store your full card number.
• Activation and validation: the app sends your license key, your device's AskClyde ID, and the computer name. We store these with the activation date and the last time the license was checked, so we can enforce device limits and let you manage activations.
• Emails: we use your email address to send your license key, receipts, and important service messages.

3.3 Device identity and connections

Each installation creates an AskClyde ID (for example 123-456-789), which others use to reach your device. It is derived from a one-way hash of hardware details (computer name, network adapter address, and processor ID) combined with a random value. The hardware details themselves are not sent to us. The app also creates a cryptographic key pair. The private key never leaves your device.

To make connections possible, our relay server receives:

• your AskClyde ID, computer name, public key, and public IP address;
• your local network addresses and listening port, so devices on the same network can connect directly;
• connection requests between IDs, with their times and the amount of data transferred.

If the unattended-access Service is installed, it also reports basic health figures to the relay every few minutes: CPU, memory and disk usage, uptime, and the AskClyde version. These figures let technicians see a device's status in their address book.

3.4 Remote session content

Screen images, keyboard and mouse input, chat, voice, clipboard, and file transfers travel between the two devices encrypted. When the devices are on the same network they connect directly. Otherwise our relay passes the encrypted traffic along. The relay does not record, store, or analyze session content.

3.5 SI features

SI features (screen analysis, diagnostics, log review, script suggestions, and chat) are off until you turn them on and add an API key. You choose the provider: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, Google (Gemini), or a model running on your own computer through Ollama.

• Requests go directly from your computer to the provider you chose, using your own key. They do not pass through our servers, and we do not see them.
• A request can include your question, screenshots of the remote screen, system information, scan results, event logs, and scripts. A local model receives text only.
• Before anything is sent, AskClyde removes email addresses, account names, private IP addresses, network adapter addresses, passwords and secrets, and license keys. Public IP addresses can be kept when they are relevant to the problem.
• Conversations stay on the device during the session. AskClyde keeps only monthly usage totals, so you can see your SI costs.
• The provider's own terms and privacy policy govern how it handles what it receives.

3.6 Cloud sync

Cloud sync keeps your address book and selected preferences consistent across your devices. It is on by default and can be turned off in Settings. Synced data includes contact names, aliases, notes, groups, network adapter addresses (for Wake-on-LAN), and session history with notes. It is tied to your license key, or to your device ID during a trial. Saved passwords, two-factor secrets, API keys, and security settings are never synced. Synced data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and stored on our servers.

3.7 Fleet monitoring and Request Help

• Fleet monitoring is used only when a device is enrolled by you or your IT provider. Enrolled devices report their operating system, CPU, memory, disk, uptime, the signed-in user name, and health-scan findings, so the technician can be alerted to problems.
• Request Help sends the details you enter (name, email, phone, message) to your technician. It also sends your user name, computer name, a screenshot, and scan results. We store the request and email it to the technician.

3.8 Updates

The apps check our download server for new versions about every two hours. The request contains no personal identifiers. Our web server logs the IP address and time, as web servers normally do.

3.9 Support

When you contact us, we keep your messages and anything you choose to send, such as logs or screenshots, so we can help you.

4. Data kept on your device

AskClyde stores the following only on your own computer. It is not sent to us unless you send it to us yourself.

Administrators can choose to forward audit events to their own systems (SIEM, syslog, or webhooks). That data goes only to the destinations they set up.

5. How we use information

• To provide the service: connecting devices, routing sessions, syncing, and fleet alerts.
• To issue, validate, and manage licenses and subscriptions.
• To keep the service secure and prevent abuse, for example by spotting unauthorized connection attempts.
• To provide support and send service and billing messages.
• To understand how our website is used and improve it.
• To meet legal obligations.

We do not sell or rent personal information. We do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not use your session content or SI conversations to train AI models.

6. Who we share it with

We share information only with service providers that help us run AskClyde, and only as much as they need:

• Microsoft Azure: hosts our licensing, relay, sync, and fleet servers.
• Stripe: payment processing and subscription management (Stripe privacy policy).
• Our email provider: delivers license and alert emails.
• Google: website analytics only (Google privacy policy).

SI providers receive data from you directly, under your own account with them, when you use SI features. They are not our service providers for that data.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it, to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users or the public, or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Any successor would be bound by this policy.

7. Session recording and consent

Technicians can record remote sessions. Recordings are saved only on the technician's computer. We do not receive them.

A remote session can only start when the person at the remote device accepts it or enters an access code, or when unattended access protected by a password has been set up on that device.

8. Security

• Each session uses a fresh key exchange (ECDH) and AES-256-GCM encryption.
• Relay registrations are signed with each device's key. This stops another client from taking over your ID.
• Stored secrets are encrypted, and unattended-access passwords are hashed.
• Updates are verified by SHA-256 checksum before they install, and our installers are code-signed.
• Our servers use HTTPS.

No system is perfectly secure. If we learn of a security incident that affects your personal information, we will notify you as the law requires.

9. How long we keep it

• License and billing records: kept while your license is active, and afterwards as long as tax and accounting law requires.
• Synced data, fleet data, and help requests: kept while your account is active, or until you or your administrator delete them.
• Relay connection logs: kept for a short period for operations and security, then deleted.
• Data on your device: see section 4. You control it, and uninstalling AskClyde lets you remove it.

10. Your choices and rights

• Turn features off: SI and cloud sync can be turned off in Settings. Fleet enrollment can be removed by whoever enrolled the device.
• Deactivate devices: free a license from a device in the app, or manage your subscription in the customer portal.
• Access, correct, or delete: email us to request a copy of your data, a correction, or deletion. We will respond within the time the law requires, usually 30 days.
• Cookies: manage website cookies in your browser settings.

Depending on where you live, you may have more rights. These can include the right to object to or restrict processing, to data portability, and to complain to your local data-protection authority. This applies, for example, in the EU, UK, or Canada, or in California and other U.S. states with privacy laws. We do not discriminate against anyone for exercising these rights.

Where the law requires a legal basis for processing, we rely on: performing our contract with you (providing the service and licenses), our legitimate interests (security, support, and improving our website), your consent (optional features and website analytics where consent is required), and legal obligations.

11. Businesses and MSPs

When a company or managed service provider uses AskClyde to support its own staff or customers, that organization decides what data is handled and why. Examples include address-book entries, fleet data, help requests, recordings, and audit logs. For that data, the organization is responsible for its own privacy notices and consents, and we act as its service provider. People supported by such an organization should contact it first with privacy questions. We will help the organization respond.

12. Where data is processed

We are based in the United States, and our servers are hosted by Microsoft Azure in North America. If you use AskClyde from elsewhere, your information will be transferred to and processed in those countries. Where the law requires, we use appropriate safeguards for these transfers, such as standard contractual clauses.

13. Children

AskClyde is a business tool and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as AskClyde changes. We will post the new version here and update the effective date. If the changes are significant, we will also notify you by email or in the app before they take effect.

15. Contact us

Questions, requests, or concerns about privacy: