Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

At redCacti, we take your privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website crawling and SEO analysis platform ("Service"). By using our Service, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information You Provide

When you register for an account, we collect:

• Email address: Used for account creation, authentication, and service communications
• Password: Stored securely using advanced encryption
• Team/Organization name: If you create or join a team

2.2 Website and Crawl Data

When you submit websites for analysis, we collect and store:

• Website URLs and domains: The sites you authorize us to crawl
• Page content: HTML content, page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and body text
• Links: Internal and external links found on your pages, including anchor text and context
• Page metadata: Status codes, word counts, content types, timestamps
• Content analysis data: Digital representations of page content used for AI-powered link suggestions
• Crawl history: Historical snapshots of crawl results, metrics, and trends

2.3 Usage and Technical Data

We automatically collect:

• Authentication tokens: Secure access tokens for maintaining your login sessions
• Device information: Information about your devices to enable login across multiple devices
• IP addresses: Used for security, fraud prevention, and preventing service abuse
• Usage analytics: Information about how you use our service to improve performance
• Browser and system information: Basic technical information for compatibility and analytics

2.4 Free Tool Data

When you use our free sitemap audit tool (no account required), we collect:

• Domain and sitemap URLs: The sites you request to audit
• IP address: Used for rate limiting to prevent abuse
• Report data: Broken links, missing metadata, and other audit results
• View count: How many times a report has been accessed

Free tool reports are cached for 7 days and stored indefinitely for SEO indexing purposes. You may claim a free report by linking it to your premium account.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

3.1 Provide and Improve Services

• Crawl and analyze websites you authorize
• Generate broken link reports and orphan page detection
• Create AI-powered internal link suggestions
• Calculate SEO health scores and impact metrics
• Provide historical trend analysis and crawl comparisons
• Deliver CSV exports and custom reports

3.2 Account Management

• Authenticate users and manage account security
• Process subscription payments and manage billing
• Track usage credits and enforce plan limits
• Enable team collaboration features

3.3 Communication

• Send email verification and password reset emails
• Notify you of crawl completions, errors, or important account changes
• Provide customer support and respond to inquiries
• Send service updates and feature announcements (you may opt out of marketing emails)

3.4 Security and Compliance

• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access
• Enforce rate limits and prevent service abuse
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests

4. How We Process and Store Data

4.1 Data Processing

We use advanced technologies to process your data:

• Web Crawling: Our crawler respects robots.txt and crawls your website responsibly
• AI Technology: We use artificial intelligence to analyze your content and generate smart link suggestions
• Content Analysis: Advanced database technology for analyzing content similarity and relationships
• Background Processing: Automated systems for managing crawls and scheduled tasks efficiently

4.2 Data Storage and Security

• Secure Database: Industry-standard database with encryption for data at rest
• Password Security: Advanced encryption (passwords are never stored in plain text)
• Token Security: Secure encryption for password resets and session management
• Access Controls: Role-based permissions (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer) for team accounts
• Data Transmission: Bank-level encryption for all data transfers

4.3 Data Retention

• Active Accounts: Data retained while your account is active
• Historical Crawls: Snapshot data retained for trend analysis until account deletion
• Deleted Accounts: Personal data deleted within 30 days after account deletion, except billing records retained for legal compliance
• Free Tool Reports: Stored indefinitely for SEO purposes; cached for 7 days to prevent re-crawling

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

5.1 We DO NOT Sell Your Data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

5.2 Service Providers

We share data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Service:

• Email Service Provider: For sending account verification, password reset, and service notification emails
• Cloud Hosting Providers: For database, application, and infrastructure hosting
• Payment Processors: For handling subscription payments (if applicable)

These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and may only use it to provide services to us.

5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or if necessary to:

• Comply with legal processes or enforceable government requests
• Enforce our Terms of Service or investigate violations
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of redCacti, our users, or the public

5.4 Business Transfers

If redCacti is acquired, merged, or sells assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will notify you via email or prominent notice on our website before your data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5.5 Team Members

If you are part of a team account, other team members (depending on their role) may have access to crawl data, reports, and website analytics for sites associated with the team.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Maintain user sessions and authentication state
• Remember your preferences and settings
• Analyze usage patterns and improve service performance
• Prevent fraud and enforce rate limits

You can control cookies through your browser settings, but disabling cookies may limit your ability to use certain features.

7. Your Data Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

7.1 Access and Portability

You can access your account information, crawl data, and reports through our dashboard. You may export data in CSV format (available on paid plans).

7.2 Correction

You can update your email address, team name, and site settings directly through your account settings.

7.3 Deletion

You may delete individual sites or your entire account at any time. Upon deletion, we will remove your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required for legal or billing purposes.

7.4 Opt-Out of Marketing

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any email. Note that you will still receive transactional emails (e.g., password resets, billing notifications).

7.5 Data Protection Rights (GDPR/CCPA)

If you are located in the European Union or California, you have additional rights including:

• Right to object to data processing
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected].

8. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. By using our Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to our facilities and service providers.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete such information.

10. Third-Party Links

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

11. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you via email within 72 hours of discovering the breach (as required by applicable law) and provide information about the breach and steps we are taking to address it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of material changes via email or through a prominent notice on our website. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with specific rights:

• Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
• Right to delete personal information (with certain exceptions)
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your CCPA rights

To exercise your CCPA rights, contact us at [email protected].

14. European Union Users (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Union, we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Contractual necessity: To provide the Service you requested
• Legitimate interests: To improve our Service, prevent fraud, and ensure security
• Legal compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations
• Consent: For marketing communications (you may withdraw consent at any time)

You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe we have not complied with GDPR requirements.