Last updated: February 2, 2026
Introduction
Welcome to Pawboard. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our collaborative ideation board service.
Information We Collect
When you use Pawboard, we may collect the following types of information:
For Anonymous Users
- Device Fingerprint: We generate a unique identifier for your browser to associate you with your sessions and cards. This is stored locally and helps maintain your identity across sessions without requiring account creation.
- Display Name: The name you choose to display when participating in sessions.
For Authenticated Users
- Email Address: Provided by your OAuth provider (Google or GitHub) when you sign in.
- Name: Your name as provided by your OAuth provider.
- Profile Picture: Your profile picture from your OAuth provider, if available.
- Account ID: A unique identifier created by our authentication provider (Clerk).
For All Users
- Session Content: Ideas, cards, votes, reactions, and comments you create within sessions.
- Usage Data: Information about how you interact with our service, including session participation and feature usage.
Third-Party Authentication
We use Clerk as our authentication provider. When you choose to sign in, you can authenticate using:
- Google: We receive your email, name, and profile picture from Google.
- GitHub: We receive your email, username, and profile picture from GitHub.
Your authentication credentials (passwords, OAuth tokens) are managed by Clerk and your OAuth provider. We do not have access to your passwords. For more information, please review Clerk's Privacy Policy.
How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information to:
- Provide and maintain our collaborative ideation service
- Enable real-time collaboration features including presence indicators
- Associate your contributions with your identity in sessions
- Create and manage your account if you choose to sign in
- Link your anonymous boards to your account when you claim them
- Send you notifications about session activity and service updates
- Improve and optimize our service
- Detect and prevent abuse or unauthorized access
Communications
If you create an account, we may send you:
- Session Notifications: Updates about activity in sessions you own or participate in.
- Service Communications: Important information about your account, security alerts, and service changes.
You can manage your notification preferences in your account settings or by contacting us.
Data Storage and Security
Your data is stored securely using industry-standard practices. We use PostgreSQL databases hosted on secure infrastructure and implement appropriate technical measures to protect your information. Session data is transmitted in real-time using secure WebSocket connections.
Authentication data is stored and managed by Clerk using industry-standard security practices, including encrypted storage and secure token-based sessions.
Data Retention
We retain your data according to the following policies:
- Anonymous Boards: Sessions created by anonymous users expire and are deleted after 2 days of inactivity.
- Authenticated User Boards: Sessions owned by authenticated users do not expire and are retained until deleted by the user.
- Account Data: Your account information is retained until you delete your account.
Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal information. We may share data with:
- Session Participants: Other users in the same session can see your display name, cards, votes, reactions, and cursor position.
- Service Providers: Third-party services that help us operate Pawboard, including:
- Clerk (authentication)
- Google and GitHub (OAuth providers)
- Hosting and database providers
- Analytics services
- Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights.
Cookies and Local Storage
We use local storage and cookies to:
- Save your device fingerprint for anonymous user identification
- Store your display name and theme preferences
- Maintain authentication sessions (if you sign in) through secure session cookies
- Enable Clerk authentication functionality
This data helps provide a seamless experience across visits.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Request deletion of your data
- Delete your account (for authenticated users) through account settings or by contacting us
- Clear your local storage to remove your device fingerprint
- Request a copy of your data (data portability)
- Revoke OAuth connections through your Google or GitHub account settings
- Manage your notification preferences
- Leave sessions at any time (your contributions may remain unless deleted)
Children's Privacy
Pawboard is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete the information.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.