Privacy Policy for Elemental

Last Updated: January 15, 2025

Thank you for using Elemental ("we," "us," or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, protect, and share your information when you use our health guardian mobile and web application available at https://elemental.top (the "Service").

Elemental helps you identify harmful contaminants in everyday products by scanning barcodes, providing health scores, and offering personalized recommendations. We take the privacy of your health data seriously and are committed to protecting your information.

By using Elemental, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use our Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

When you create an Elemental account, we collect:
- Name: To personalize your experience
- Email Address: For account authentication, communication, and important service updates
- Password: Stored securely using industry-standard encryption (we never see your actual password)
- Profile Picture: Optional, if you choose to authenticate via Google OAuth

1.2 Health and Product Data

To provide our core service, we collect:
- Scan History: Products you've scanned, including barcodes, product names, and timestamps
- Personal Pantry: Products you've saved as favorites to track over time
- AI Coach Conversations: Questions and interactions with our AI Health Coach
- Lab Reports: Photos or documents of lab reports or ingredient labels you choose to upload
- Health App Data: If you enable integration, data synced from Apple Health or Google Fit
- Community Testing: Products you request for testing and your voting activity
- Search Queries: Products and contaminants you search for within the app

1.3 Payment Information

For paid subscriptions (Core and Pro plans):
- Payment details are processed by Stripe, our payment processor
- We store your Stripe Customer ID to manage your subscription
- We do not store credit card numbers, CVV codes, or full payment details on our servers

1.4 Technical and Usage Data

We automatically collect:
- Device Information: Device type, operating system, app version
- IP Address: For security and fraud prevention
- Usage Analytics: Features used, time spent, crash reports
- Cookies: For website functionality and authentication (web version only)

1.5 Location Data

We do NOT collect or track your precise location. If you search for municipal water quality data by city, this information is not stored with your account.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your data to:

2.1 Provide Core Services
- Display health scores and contaminant information for scanned products
- Maintain your Personal Pantry of saved products
- Send recall alerts when saved products are flagged
- Power the AI Health Coach with personalized recommendations
- Process and analyze uploaded lab reports
- Enable community testing requests and voting

2.2 Improve Our Service
- Aggregate anonymized data to identify product safety trends
- Improve our contaminant detection algorithms
- Enhance the AI Health Coach responses
- Fix bugs and optimize performance

2.3 Communicate With You
- Send transactional emails (account verification, password resets)
- Deliver product recall notifications
- Share weekly health reports (Core and Pro plans)
- Notify you of significant changes to our service
- Respond to support inquiries

2.4 Process Payments
- Manage your subscription (Core or Pro plan)
- Process refunds when requested
- Prevent fraud and unauthorized transactions

3. How We Share Your Information

3.1 We Never Sell Your Data
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. Period.

3.2 Third-Party Service Providers

We share limited data with trusted partners who help us operate:
- Stripe: Payment processing (name, email, payment information)
- OpenAI: AI Health Coach functionality (anonymized conversation context)
- MongoDB: Database hosting (all data encrypted at rest)
- Resend: Email delivery service (name, email, transactional emails)
- Laboratory Partners: Product information for community testing requests (no personal data)

3.3 Aggregated, Anonymized Data

We may publicly share or use for research:
- Overall product scanning trends ("Most scanned products of 2025")
- Contaminant awareness patterns by region (aggregated, never individual-level)
- Community testing priorities and results

This data cannot be traced back to individual users. You can opt out of contributing to aggregated data in your account settings.

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or to:
- Comply with legal processes
- Protect our rights, property, or safety
- Prevent fraud or security issues
- Respond to government requests

4. Data Security

We implement bank-level security measures:

- AES-256 Encryption: All data encrypted at rest
- TLS 1.3: Secure transmission of data between your device and our servers
- Secure Authentication: Support for two-factor authentication and biometric login
- Regular Audits: Third-party security assessments every quarter
- Access Controls: Strict employee access limits to user data
- Data Isolation: Your data is isolated and protected from other users

Despite our best efforts, no system is 100% secure. If we experience a data breach, we will notify affected users within 72 hours.

5. Your Privacy Rights

5.1 Access Your Data
Request a complete copy of all data we hold about you in CSV or JSON format.

5.2 Correct Your Data
Update or correct inaccurate information through your account settings or by contacting us.

5.3 Delete Your Data
Permanently delete your account and all associated data. This action is irreversible and takes effect immediately. Anonymized, aggregated data may be retained for research purposes.

5.4 Export Your Data
Download your scan history, Personal Pantry, and AI conversations at any time.

5.5 Opt-Out
- Opt out of email communications (except critical security notices)
- Opt out of aggregated data contributions
- Disable cloud sync and use the app offline only

5.6 GDPR Rights (EU Users)
If you are in the European Economic Area, you have additional rights:
- Right to object to data processing
- Right to restrict processing
- Right to data portability
- Right to withdraw consent
- Right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority

5.7 CCPA Rights (California Users)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
- Know what personal information we collect
- Know whether we sell or share personal information (we don't)
- Request deletion of your personal information
- Opt-out of the sale of personal information (we don't sell data)
- Non-discrimination for exercising your rights

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@elemental.top.

6. Data Retention

- Account Information: Retained until you delete your account
- Scan History: Retained until you delete your account or individual scans
- AI Conversations: Stored for 90 days, then anonymized
- Lab Reports: Stored until you delete them (not shared publicly)
- Payment Data: Retained by Stripe for fraud prevention and legal compliance
- Anonymized Data: May be retained indefinitely for research

7. Children's Privacy

Elemental is intended for users aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at privacy@elemental.top, and we will delete the data.

8. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable laws.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of significant changes via:
- Email notification to your registered email address
- In-app notification when you next open Elemental
- A notice on our website at https://elemental.top

Continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions, concerns, or requests:

Email: privacy@elemental.top
General Support: bartzalewskidev@gmail.com
Website: https://elemental.top
Address: [Company Address]

For data access, deletion, or correction requests, please include:
- Your full name and email address
- A description of your request
- Any relevant account details to help us verify your identity

We will respond to all requests within 30 days.

11. Transparency Commitment

We believe in radical transparency about how we handle your health data. You can:
- View a complete log of data access in your account settings
- Download all your data at any time
- See exactly what information we share with third parties
- Request clarification on any aspect of our data practices

Your trust is our top priority. We will always prioritize your privacy over profits.

By using Elemental, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.