privacy

We collect as little as the product allows.

This policy explains what data Pseudo Build handles, why, where it lives, and how to remove it. The short version: your code stays in your browser unless you sign in. Signing in turns on cloud sync, which saves your workspace to our database automatically.

effective September 15, 2026

1. Who is responsible

Pseudo Build is run by Alex Xin Liu, an individual developer based in New Zealand, who is the data controller (in China, the personal information handler) for the data described here. There is no company, no advertising, and no data broker behind the service.

For any privacy request, write to privacy@pseudo.build. Please do not put personal details in public GitHub issues.

2. What we collect, at a glance

DataWhenWhere it is storedKept until
Your pseudocode and workspace layoutAlways, while you editYour browser only. Also Convex, once you sign in.You delete it in the editor or your account is deleted.
Email address, name, profile image, sign-in methodOnly if you create an accountClerk. Email and name are also copied to Convex next to your workspace.Your account is deleted.
Aggregate page views and load timingsOn the public website, production onlyVercel Analytics and Speed Insights. No cookies, no cross-site tracking.Aggregated. Vercel discards the daily visitor hash after 24 hours.
Request logs (IP address, user agent, path, timestamp)Every requestVercelVercel's short log retention for operations and abuse prevention.

3. Using the editor without an account

The compiler and runtime run entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Your code is never sent to a server to compile or execute, and we cannot see it.

On the public site, a signed-out session keeps your workspace in memory only and it is gone when you close the tab. On localhost or the desktop build, the workspace is saved to your browser's IndexedDB so it survives reloads. Theme, panel sizes, and auto-save preferences are kept in local storage. You can clear all of this through your browser settings.

4. Accounts and cloud sync

When you sign in, authentication is handled by Clerk. Clerk stores your email address, name, profile image, sign-in method, and session information. Clerk sets cookies that are strictly necessary to keep you signed in and sets no advertising or analytics cookies.

While you are signed in, your workspace is saved automatically as you work. Each save is sent over HTTPS to our Convex database and stored against your Clerk user ID, together with your email address and name so the record can be identified. Workspaces are limited in size and validated before storage.

Only you can read your workspace. Access is enforced by verifying your Clerk session token on every request, both in the API layer and inside the database functions. We do not read, analyse, or train anything on your workspaces.

5. Why we process data and on what legal basis

We process personal data only for these purposes:

  • Providing the editor, your account, and cloud sync. Legal basis in the EU and UK: performance of a contract (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)). In China: necessary to provide the service you asked for (PIPL Article 13(2)) and your consent when you sign up.
  • Keeping the service secure and preventing abuse, using request logs. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in running a safe service (Article 6(1)(f)).
  • Understanding aggregate usage with cookieless analytics on the public website. Legal basis: legitimate interest. No individual profiles are built.
  • Complying with law, for example responding to a valid legal request (Article 6(1)(c)).

We do not make automated decisions about you, we do not profile you, and we do not use your data for advertising.

6. Cookies, local storage, and analytics

The public website sets no cookies of its own. Signing in sets Clerk's session cookies (for example __session and __client_uat), which are strictly necessary for the account feature and therefore do not require consent under the EU ePrivacy rules or the UK PECR.

Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights run only on the production website. They use no cookies and do not fingerprint devices: a visitor is identified for at most 24 hours by a salted hash of the request, after which the hash is discarded (see Vercel's analytics privacy notice). They are not loaded in local or desktop builds. We do not run advertising or third-party marketing scripts, and we honour the fact that there is nothing to opt out of.

Local storage and IndexedDB are used only as described in section 3 and never leave your device.

7. Where data is stored and international transfers

Our providers store data on servers in the United States. If you use the service from outside the United States, your account data and synced workspaces are transferred there.

RecipientPurposeCountryPrivacy policy
Vercel Inc.Hosting, API routes, request logs, and privacy-friendly analyticsUnited StatesLink
Clerk, Inc.Authentication and account managementUnited StatesLink
Convex, Inc.Database for synced workspacesUnited StatesLink

EU, EEA, and UK. Transfers rely on the provider's data processing agreement, which uses the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified.

Mainland China. Under the Personal Information Protection Law, we tell you here that the recipients above, located in the United States, will receive your email address, name, profile image, and synced workspace for the sole purpose of providing your account and cloud sync, by encrypted transfer over HTTPS. Before you create an account, the sign-in page tells you that account data is stored by our providers in the United States, and creating an account means you agree to this transfer. You can withdraw that agreement at any time by deleting your account, and you can exercise your rights against these recipients through us at privacy@pseudo.build. If you do not want your data to leave China, use the editor without an account: nothing is transferred.

8. Retention and deletion

Synced workspaces and your user record are kept until your account is deleted. When a Clerk account is deleted, Clerk sends a signed notification to our database, which then deletes the matching workspace and user record. The editor has no separate control to delete or export your synced data. Provider backups may persist for a limited period afterwards.

Request logs are kept by Vercel for a short operational period and analytics data is aggregated, so neither can be traced back to you afterwards.

To have your account and data deleted, or to get a copy of your data, email privacy@pseudo.build. We answer within 30 days, which is inside the deadlines set by the GDPR, the UK GDPR, the PIPL, and US state privacy laws.

9. Who we share data with

We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it for targeted advertising or cross-context behavioural advertising in the meaning of US state privacy laws. Data is processed only by the providers in section 7, each acting on our instructions under its own data processing agreement.

We may disclose data if required by law, for example to comply with a valid court order, or to protect the security of the service and its users.

10. Your rights

Wherever you live, you can access, correct, export, and delete your data, and you can withdraw consent by deleting your account. In addition:

  • EU, EEA, and UK (GDPR and UK GDPR): you can restrict or object to processing, receive your data in a portable format, and lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority or the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
  • United States (state privacy laws such as the CCPA/CPRA): you can know what we collect, delete it, correct it, and you will not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We do not sell or share personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of.
  • Mainland China (PIPL): you can know and decide how your information is handled, restrict or refuse processing, access and copy it, correct it, delete it, ask us to explain our rules, and withdraw consent. Your close relatives may exercise these rights after your death as the law allows.
  • New Zealand (Privacy Act 2020): you can request access to and correction of your information, and complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

To exercise any right, email privacy@pseudo.build. We may ask you to confirm your identity through the email address on your account.

11. Children and students

The editor works without an account and is suitable for students of any age. Nothing is collected from a signed-out visitor beyond the request logs and aggregate analytics described above.

Accounts are for people old enough to consent to data processing where they live: 13 in the United States (COPPA) and the United Kingdom, 14 in mainland China, and 13 to 16 in the European Union depending on the country. If you are younger, use the editor without an account or ask a parent or guardian to create and manage the account. We do not knowingly keep accounts belonging to younger children; if you believe one exists, email us and we will delete it.

Schools and teachers do not need to sign a data agreement to use the editor in class because no student data reaches us unless a student chooses to sign in.

12. Security

All traffic is encrypted with HTTPS, access to workspaces is verified on every request, and secrets are kept out of the code. If a breach ever affects your data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires. Details are on the security page.

13. Changes

We will update this policy if the data we handle changes. The effective date above reflects the current version, and every past version is available in the repository history. For material changes affecting account holders, we will notify you by email.