This describes what Tephra Terminal actually collects and why, in plain
language. It is not a law firm's work product — if you need something certified for a
specific regulatory filing, have a lawyer review it.
What we collect
Tephra Terminal is usable without an account. Depending on how you use it, we collect:
Account info (only if you register): your username and a securely hashed
password. We never store your password in plain text and can't recover it — only reset it.
A device/client ID: a random identifier generated by your browser and stored in
its local storage, used to recognize repeat visits and keep usage counts from
double-counting the same device.
Basic usage pings: periodic "heartbeat" signals (timestamp, client ID, whether
you're on web/app/mobile) so we know the service is being used and can plan capacity. We
filter out automated/bot traffic from these counts.
Chat messages: if you use the in-app chat feature while logged in, your messages
are stored and associated with your account so the conversation persists.
Saved preferences: if you're logged in, chart/drawing-tool style settings you
configure are saved to your account so they follow you across devices.
A login session cookie: set only after you log in, so you stay signed in. It's
marked Secure, HttpOnly, and SameSite, and contains no readable personal data — just a
signed reference to your session.
What we don't do
We don't persistently store your IP address. It's used briefly, in memory, to prevent
abuse (e.g. automated scraping or excessive requests), then discarded.
We don't run any third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking scripts. Tephra Terminal
is fully self-hosted — nothing on the page phones home to Google Analytics, Meta, ad
networks, or similar services.
We don't sell, rent, or share your data with third parties.
We don't use cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking — the only cookie we set is
the strictly-necessary login session described above.
How we use it
Solely to operate and improve Tephra Terminal: keeping you logged in, remembering your
settings, understanding overall usage so we can plan server capacity, and preventing abuse of
the service (rate limiting, banning automated or malicious traffic).
Data retention
Account data and preferences persist until you ask us to delete them. Usage/heartbeat data
is periodically pruned rather than kept indefinitely.
Your choices
You can use almost all of Tephra Terminal without ever creating an account, which avoids
most data collection entirely. If you have an account and want it or its data deleted,
contact us (below) and we'll remove it.
Children's privacy
Tephra Terminal is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect
information from them.
Changes to this policy
If what we collect or how we use it changes materially, we'll update this page and the
"last updated" date above.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: join the
Tephra
Terminal Discord and reach out there.