Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Claybench LLC, a Vermont limited liability company (“Claybench,” “we,” “us”), collects, uses, and shares information when you use our websites, apps, and services (the “Service”). For the studio data and buyer/student data a studio manages through Claybench, the studio is the controller and Claybench is its processor; for your own account we are the controller.

What we collect

• Account information — your name, email, password (stored only as a secure hash), and plan.
• Studio data you enter — clay bodies, glazes, kilns, pieces, firings, plans, listings, photos, and records.
• Buyer and student data — when someone books a class or buys from a studio, the name, email, and order/booking details they provide at checkout.
• Payment information — handled by our payment processor, Stripe. We never receive or store full card numbers.
• Usage analytics — privacy-first, cookieless measurement of page views and referrers (via Cloudflare Web Analytics) to understand how the Service is used.
• Operational logs — errors and diagnostics, so we can find and fix problems.

How we use it

We use this information to provide and operate the Service, process payments, send the emails you would expect (account, receipts, class schedules and reminders), keep the Service secure, improve it, and comply with our legal obligations. Where the law requires a legal basis (such as the GDPR), we rely on performing our contract with you, our legitimate interest in running and improving the Service, your consent where applicable, and compliance with legal obligations.

Cookies and tracking

Claybench does not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. We use essential browser storage to keep you signed in, and our analytics (Cloudflare Web Analytics) is cookieless. Because we set no tracking cookies, there is no cookie consent banner to click through.

Students and buyers

When you book a class or buy from a studio, the name and email you give at checkout go to that studio so it can run its class or fulfill your order — the studio is responsible for that relationship, and questions about a studio’s roster start with the studio. We store this data on the studio’s behalf, send the related emails (receipts, schedules, reminders), and don’t use buyer details for anything else.

AI features

When you use Ask or the planner, your question and the studio context needed to answer it are processed by our AI provider (Anthropic) under commercial terms that do not permit training on your data. Plans and answers are stored in your studio like anything else you create.

Service providers

We share data only with the vendors needed to run the Service, each acting on our instructions and only to provide their service to us:

• Stripe — payment processing and payouts.
• Anthropic — the AI that powers Ask and the planner (no training on your data).
• Cloudflare — content delivery, bot protection, cookieless analytics, and image/photo storage.
• Render — application and database hosting.
• Resend — delivery of transactional email.

What we don’t do

• We don’t sell your data to anyone.
• We don’t run ads or share your buyers’ information.
• We don’t use your studio data to train models we sell.

How long we keep it

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account we remove or anonymize your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we must keep certain records (for example payment and tax records) to meet legal obligations. Operational logs are retained on a short rolling basis.

Where your data is processed

Claybench is operated from the United States, and our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where we transfer personal data from regions such as the EEA or UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the providers’ standard contractual clauses) for that transfer.

Your rights and choices

You can access, correct, export, or delete your data at any time — email us and we’ll provide a full export of everything you’ve entered, or delete your account and its data. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA (including access, portability, correction, deletion, and — where applicable — objecting to certain processing); we honor these and do not sell personal information. To exercise any right, email info@claybench.app; we aim to respond within 30 days and will not discriminate against you for exercising a right.

Students, schools, and children

Claybench is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information; if you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it. For institutional (School) plans that involve student records, we act as a school official / service provider under FERPA and are building per-student deletion and audit logging to support those obligations — talk to us before adopting Claybench in a school setting so we can put the right terms in place.

Security

We protect your data with encryption in transit, hashed passwords, tenant isolation enforced at the database, and access controls. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to keep the Service safe and will notify affected users of a material breach as required by law.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. When changes are material we will give reasonable notice; the “last updated” date above always reflects the current version.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or want to exercise a right? Email info@claybench.app.