Privacy Policy

We use your information to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the SearchForged platform
• Create and manage your account
• Enforce daily usage limits and prevent abuse
• Send transactional emails (account confirmation, password reset)
• Respond to support requests and inquiries
• Analyze aggregate usage to improve our tools and content
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not use your information for advertising targeting or sell it to data brokers.

We use the following types of cookies and browser storage:

• Authentication cookie (SearchForged-auth-token) — a secure, HTTP-only JWT cookie that maintains your login session for up to 7 days. Required for logged-in features.
• Local storage (SearchForged-store-*) — stores your tool history, saved sites, favorites, and streak locally in your browser. This data never leaves your device unless you are logged in, in which case it is associated with your account ID client-side only.
• Theme preference — stored in local storage to remember your selected color theme.

You can clear cookies and local storage at any time through your browser settings. Clearing your authentication cookie will log you out.

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal data. We may share information only in these circumstances:

• Service providers — we use Vercel for hosting and delivery. Vercel may process request logs per their Privacy Policy.
• Legal compliance — if required by law, court order, or to protect our legal rights or the safety of our users.
• Business transfer — in the event of a merger or acquisition, your data may be transferred; you will be notified in advance.

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

Tool usage logs are retained for up to 12 months in aggregate, anonymised form for analytics purposes.

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• HTTPS/TLS encryption for all data in transit
• Passwords hashed with bcrypt (cost factor 12)
• HTTP-only, Secure, SameSite cookies for session tokens
• JWT tokens with 7-day expiry signed with a secret key
• Rate limiting on authentication endpoints

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but we are committed to protecting your data using commercially acceptable means.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate data
• Erasure — request deletion of your account and associated data
• Portability — receive your data in a portable format
• Objection — object to certain types of processing

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

SearchForged is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., Google, Moz, Ahrefs references in encyclopedias). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by updating the "Last updated" date and, for registered users, by sending an email notification. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Contact form: https://SearchForged.tools/contact