Privacy policy

Who we are

The LifeBinder is operated as a small Canadian product under the brand The LifeBinder at https://thelifebinder.app.

What The LifeBinder is (and is not)

The LifeBinder helps you organize practical life, emergency, and continuity information in a guided binder. It is not a law firm, notary, or healthcare provider. It does not create a will, power of attorney, healthcare directive, or other legal instrument.

Local-first binders

You can start without an account. Binder answers are stored on your device (encrypted in the browser) until you choose to create an account and sync to the cloud.

If you clear site data, switch browsers, or lose the device, local drafts may be lost. Create a free account when you want cloud backup.

Anonymous usage metadata

While you use the app without an account, we may process limited anonymous usage metadata to understand the funnel — never your binder answers. Examples: an anonymous session identifier, language preference, sections started or completed, whether a basic PDF was downloaded, referrer or UTM parameters, device/browser class, approximate region (country/province level), and first/last activity timestamps.

We do not collect questionnaire answers, names inside binder fields, financial details, passwords, medical notes, or other binder content through this anonymous path.

Accounts and profile data

If you sign in (email magic link or Google), we store account identifiers needed to authenticate you (such as email and Firebase Auth UID) and optional profile fields you provide (for example first and last name).

You can delete your account from Profile. Deletion removes cloud binder data associated with the account and clears local drafts on that device where the app can do so. Some payment or security logs retained by processors may remain under their retention rules.

Encryption and cloud sync

Binder content intended for cloud storage is encrypted on your device (AES-GCM via Web Crypto) before upload. Servers store ciphertext and related metadata required to operate sync, sharing, and fulfillment — not plaintext binder answers in the ordinary design.

No encryption scheme eliminates all risk. Device compromise, phishing, malware, or bugs can still expose data. Protect your signed-in sessions and devices.

Sharing with family

If you purchase Share access, you may invite recipients (up to the seat limit shown in-product). Invites are sent by email. Recipients who accept can view the shared binder as designed (view-only). We process invitee email addresses and share state to operate invites, acceptance, and access control.

You are responsible for inviting only people you trust and for the accuracy of invitee addresses.

Hardcopy / print orders

If you order a printed binder, we process payment via Stripe and send print jobs to our print partner (Lulu Direct). Shipping address and order status are processed as needed to fulfill and email status updates. Print files derived from your binder are generated for fulfillment; treat printouts as sensitive physical documents.

Payments

Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store full card numbers on our servers. Stripe receives payment details under its own privacy policy. We store entitlement and order metadata (for example tier, timestamps, Stripe session identifiers) to unlock features and support fulfillment.

Email

We send transactional email such as sign-in links, share invites, hardcopy status, and optional yearly share reminders when you enable them. Marketing newsletters are not part of the core product at launch; if we add them later, we will provide an opt-out.

Analytics

At launch we do not load a third-party analytics suite. If we add privacy-respecting product analytics later (aggregate pageviews/funnels without advertising profiles), we will update this policy and prefer cookie-light tools.

Anonymous usage metadata described above may still be processed on our own systems for product improvement — never binder answers.

Cookies and local storage

We use local storage and similar browser storage for binder drafts, preferences, and session continuity. Authentication uses Firebase Auth session mechanisms. Analytics, when enabled as described above, aims to minimize cookies.

Service providers

We use processors to run the product, including Google Firebase / Google Cloud (hosting, auth, database, functions, storage), Stripe (payments), email delivery providers, Lulu (print fulfillment), and optionally Plausible (analytics). They process data on our instructions to provide their services.

International transfers

Infrastructure providers may process data in the United States or other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate contractual and organizational safeguards offered by those providers.

Retention

Local drafts remain until you clear them, migrate to cloud, or delete them. Cloud binder data is retained while your account is active. After account deletion we aim to delete or de-identify associated cloud binder data within a reasonable period, subject to backups and legal holds. Payment and security records may be retained longer as required for fraud prevention, tax, or dispute resolution.

Your choices

You may use the anonymous path without an account, export PDFs as offered in-product, manage share invites, opt out of yearly share reminder emails in Settings, and delete your account.

To make a privacy request, contact us through the channels listed on the website. We may need to verify the request relates to your account.

Children

The service is intended for adults. Do not use it if you are under the age of majority in your province or territory.

Affiliate and partner links

If we add partner or affiliate links (for example estate-planning tools), we will disclose material relationships in-product or near the link. Complementary partners do not receive your binder contents from us unless you choose to share with them yourself.

Changes

We may update this policy as the product evolves. We will revise the “Last updated” date and, for material changes, provide additional notice when appropriate.