Privacy Policy

1. Introduction and who we are

This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, shared, stored and protected when you visit or use FreeBench, including our websites, web applications, engineering and document tools, account features, payment features and any related services (together, the “Service”). FreeBench is operated by MKV Consulting (“FreeBench”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

We respect your privacy and we take our responsibility for your information seriously. We have written this policy to be as clear as the subject allows. Please read it carefully. By accessing or using the Service, or by creating an account, you confirm that you have read and understood this policy and that your information will be handled as described here. If you do not agree with any part of it, please do not use the Service.

This policy should be read together with our Terms of Service, which govern your use of the Service. Where this policy uses words that are defined in the Terms of Service, those words carry the same meaning here.

2. Scope of this policy

This policy applies to personal information that we handle in connection with the Service, whether you are a visitor, a registered account holder, a person on a trial, a paying customer, a member of a team plan, or someone who contacts us. It applies on every device from which you reach the Service.

It does not apply to websites, applications or services operated by other people, even where we link to them or where they link to us. Those operators have their own policies and we encourage you to read them. It also does not apply to information that is not personal information, such as information that has been anonymised or combined so that it can no longer reasonably be linked to a person.

3. Key terms

• “Personal information” means any information that identifies you or can reasonably be used to identify you, directly or together with other information.
• “Processing” means anything done with personal information, including collecting, recording, storing, using, sharing, adapting, restricting or deleting it.
• “Account” means the registered profile you create to use the Service.
• “Your content” means the documents, drafts, tables, quotes, reports, designs, text, figures and other material that you enter, import, create or save while using the Service.
• “Service provider” means a business that helps us run the Service or process information on our behalf and under our instructions.

4. Information we collect

We collect only the information that we reasonably need to run the Service, to keep it safe, and to improve it. The information we collect falls into the groups below.

Information you give us. When you create an account we ask for your name, email address and a password of your choosing. You may add optional details to your profile. If you contact us, we keep your message and our reply. If you join a waiting list for a tool that is not yet available, we keep the email address you provide and the tool you chose. If you are added to a team plan by someone else, we receive your email address from that person so that your access can be linked to your account.

Information created by your use of the Service. This includes your content that you choose to save to your account, your settings and preferences, your plan and access status, the dates on which a free period or paid period starts and ends, and counts of the exports you have made so that plan limits can be applied.

Information collected automatically. When you use the Service our systems receive technical information such as the type of device and browser you use, the pages and features you open, the time and date of your visit, and error information. We also use a random identifier stored on your device to recognise a returning browser. We design our measurement so that it does not read the content of your documents.

Device information for fair access. To keep free access fair, we create a random identifier on your device and store only a scrambled, one-way version of it on our side. This lets us recognise that a free period has already been used on the same device. The scrambled version cannot be turned back into the original identifier.

Payment information. When you pay, your payment is handled by our payment partner, Paystack. We receive confirmation of the payment, its amount, its date, a transaction reference, the payment channel used, and the email address connected to the payment. We do not receive or store your full card number, card security code, or bank login details.

Information from others. Occasionally we receive information about you from other sources, such as a team administrator who adds your email address, or our payment partner when it confirms a payment you made. We treat that information in line with this policy.

5. Information we do not want

Please do not give us information that you are not allowed to share or that is not needed to use the Service. In particular, we do not ask you for government identification numbers, full card details, or sensitive categories of information such as health, religion or political views, and the Service does not need them to work. If you choose to type such information into your content, you are responsible for having the right to do so.

Where documents you create contain information about other people, such as client names or contact details in a quote, you are responsible for making sure you may use that information and for treating it lawfully. We process it only to provide the Service to you.

6. Your content and where it stays

Many tools in the Service work on your own device. The documents and files you generate with those tools are prepared in your browser. If you do not save your work to your account, it stays on your device and is not sent to us.

If you choose to save work to your account, to use sync across devices, or to use features that keep your files available to you, then the content you save is stored on our systems and is linked to your account. Your saved content is private to your account. It is not shown to other users, it is not used to advertise to you, and it is not used to train models that are offered to the public.

Our authorised personnel do not browse your content as part of normal operations. Limited access may occur where it is necessary to provide support you have asked for, to keep the Service secure, to investigate misuse, to fix a fault, or to comply with the law.

7. How we use your information

We use personal information for the purposes below and only to the extent they are compatible with the reasons we collected it.

• To create and manage your account, to sign you in, and to keep your account secure.
• To provide, operate, maintain and deliver the tools, features and content of the Service, including saving and syncing your work.
• To start, apply and end free periods, plans, team access and single-export purchases, and to apply plan limits fairly.
• To process payments, confirm purchases, issue receipts, prevent fraud and keep financial records.
• To send you messages about your account, security, plan status, payments, renewals and changes to our terms or policies.
• To respond to your questions, requests and support needs.
• To understand how the Service is used, to measure performance, to find and fix problems, and to improve existing and future features.
• To detect, prevent and respond to abuse, fraud, unauthorised access, and breaches of our terms.
• To meet legal, tax, accounting and regulatory duties, and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
• For any other purpose that we explain to you when we collect the information, or for which you give your consent.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use it to show you third-party advertising, and we do not share it with advertisers.

8. Our reasons for processing

The law in Nigeria and in some other places requires us to have a lawful basis for processing personal information. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following.

• Contract: processing that is needed to provide the Service you asked for, such as keeping your account and applying your plan.
• Legitimate interests: processing that is needed for our reasonable business interests, such as keeping the Service secure, preventing fraud and misuse, measuring and improving the Service, and keeping fair access to free features, provided those interests are not outweighed by your rights.
• Legal obligation: processing needed to comply with the law, such as tax and accounting records.
• Consent: processing that you have agreed to, such as optional marketing messages. Where we rely on consent you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting what we did before you withdrew it.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We use small pieces of data stored on your device, such as local storage, cookies and similar technologies. They are used to keep you signed in, to remember your theme and preferences, to hold a draft of your work on your device, to remember a recent payment while it is being confirmed, to recognise a returning browser, and to help keep free access fair.

Some of these are strictly necessary for the Service to work and cannot be switched off without breaking features. Others help us understand use of the Service. You can control or delete this data through your browser settings. If you block or delete it, you may be signed out, lose drafts that were kept only on your device, and some features may stop working.

We respect browser signals that ask us not to track you, and where such a signal is present we do not record usage statistics about your visit.

10. Analytics and measurement

We measure how the Service is used so that we can make it better. We record events such as which pages are opened and which actions are taken, for example that a document was exported. These records are linked to a random identifier and, if you are signed in, to your account. We aim to keep them free of the content of your documents.

We use this information in aggregate form to understand trends, plan improvements and find faults. We may keep aggregate and anonymised statistics for as long as they are useful, because they no longer identify you.

11. Payments and our payment partner

Payments for plans and single exports are processed by Paystack, an independent payment service provider. When you choose to pay, you are taken to a secure payment page that Paystack operates, and you enter your payment details there. Paystack handles that information under its own terms and privacy notice, which we encourage you to read.

We receive from Paystack the information we need to confirm and record your payment, such as the amount, the date, a reference, the status, the payment channel used, and your email address. We use it to activate your plan, to keep accounting records, to resolve payment problems and to prevent fraud. We do not store your full card number or card security code.

Bank transfer and wallet options offered through the payment page are provided by their own operators, who handle your information under their own terms.

12. When we share information

We share personal information only in the situations described below, and only to the extent needed.

• Service providers. We use trusted businesses to help us run the Service, such as providers of computing and hosting, data storage, authentication, email delivery, and security. They may process information only to perform services for us, under written terms that require them to protect it and to use it only for our purposes.
• Payment partner. We share with Paystack the information needed to start and complete a payment.
• Team plans. If someone adds your email address to a team plan, they can see that the address is on their plan and whether it has joined. They cannot see your content.
• Legal and safety reasons. We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is required by law, a court order or a lawful request from a public authority, or that it is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of FreeBench, our users or others, or to detect or prevent fraud or abuse.
• Business changes. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, financing or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will require the receiving party to honour this policy or to give you notice of any material change.
• With your direction. We share information with others when you ask us to or when you give your consent.

We may also share aggregated or anonymised information that does not identify you.

13. Service providers and third-party services

The Service depends on third-party service providers for functions such as hosting, storage, sign-in, email, content delivery, fonts and payment processing. When your browser loads parts of the Service from such providers, they may receive technical information such as your network address and device details, in the way any website that uses them would.

We choose providers with care and we limit what they receive. We do not control their independent practices, and their own privacy notices apply to what they do outside of our instructions.

14. International transfers

We and our service providers may process and store information in countries other than your own, including countries that may have data protection laws different from those where you live. When we transfer personal information across borders, we take steps that are appropriate under applicable law to make sure it remains protected, such as using providers that commit to suitable safeguards and limiting the information transferred.

By using the Service you understand that your information may be handled in such places.

15. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.

• Account information is kept while your account is open and for a reasonable period afterward to deal with disputes, security and legal duties.
• Content you saved to your account is kept until you delete it or close your account, after which it is removed from active systems within a reasonable period. Copies in protected backups are overwritten in the normal course of operations.
• Payment and accounting records are kept for the period that tax, accounting and financial laws require.
• Usage records are kept for as long as they are useful for the purposes above, and are then deleted or anonymised.
• Messages sent to us are kept for as long as needed to deal with the matter and for a reasonable period afterward.

When we no longer need information, we delete it or irreversibly anonymise it.

16. Security

We use technical and organisational measures that are appropriate to the nature of the information we handle, including encrypted connections, access controls, separation of accounts, and monitoring for misuse. We limit access to personal information to people who need it for their work and who are bound by duties of confidentiality.

No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You also play a part. Please choose a strong password that you do not use anywhere else, keep it confidential, sign out on shared devices, and tell us promptly if you suspect that your account has been accessed without your permission.

If a breach affecting your personal information occurs, we will respond promptly, take steps to limit harm, and notify you and the relevant authorities where the law requires us to.

17. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, including the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, you have rights concerning your personal information. These may include the right to:

• be told how your information is handled, which this policy is meant to do;
• ask for access to the personal information we hold about you and for a copy of it;
• ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information, in the situations the law provides;
• ask us to restrict how we process your information, or to object to certain processing, including processing based on our legitimate interests;
• ask for the information you gave us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable form, where the law provides this right;
• withdraw consent that you gave, at any time;
• not be subject to a decision based only on automated processing that has legal or similarly significant effects on you. We do not make decisions of this kind.

These rights are not absolute. In some cases we may be unable to act on a request, for example where we must keep information by law, where it would affect the rights of others, or where the request is unfounded or excessive. If so, we will explain why.

18. How to use your rights

You can manage some information yourself in your account, including deleting content you saved. For any other request, write to us at MKVConsultingOfficial@gmail.com from the email address linked to your account, and tell us what you would like us to do. We may ask you for information that lets us confirm who you are before we act, so that we do not give your information to someone else by mistake.

We aim to respond within a reasonable time and in any case within the period that the law sets. We do not charge a fee for ordinary requests, although we may charge a reasonable fee or decline where a request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive.

19. Closing your account

You may ask us to close your account at any time by writing to MKVConsultingOfficial@gmail.com. When an account is closed, we will delete or anonymise the personal information connected to it, except for information that we must or may keep, for example payment records, information needed to prevent abuse or repeated use of free access, and information needed to deal with a dispute or legal claim.

Closing an account does not by itself end a paid period or entitle you to a refund. Please read the refund terms in our Terms of Service.

20. Children

The Service is meant for adults and for students who are old enough to agree to these terms under the law where they live. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under the age at which the law requires parental consent. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us at MKVConsultingOfficial@gmail.com and we will take steps to delete it.

21. Messages we send you

We send messages that are needed for your account and for the Service, such as sign-in confirmations, password resets, receipts, plan reminders, and notices about changes to our terms or policies. You cannot opt out of these while you hold an account, because they are part of the Service.

We may also send occasional messages about your free period ending or a special offer that applies to you. Where the law requires your consent for marketing messages, we will ask for it, and every such message will explain how to stop receiving them.

22. Links to other websites

The Service may contain links to websites and services that we do not operate. We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices or security of those sites. A link does not mean that we endorse the site. Please read the privacy notice of any site you visit.

23. Principles we follow

In handling personal information we try to follow the principles that data protection law sets out. We aim to process information fairly, lawfully and openly; to collect it for specific, stated purposes and not to use it in ways that do not fit those purposes; to collect only what is adequate and relevant, and no more than we need; to keep it accurate and up to date; to keep it no longer than needed; and to protect it with suitable security.

We are responsible for being able to show that we follow these principles. We review how we collect and use information from time to time, and we try to build privacy into new features from the start.

24. Information about other people

The Service lets you prepare documents that may mention other people, such as clients, suppliers, employers, referees or colleagues. You decide what goes into your documents. You must make sure that you are allowed to use that information, that you have given any notice and have any permission that the law requires, and that you handle it lawfully.

If you are a business user, you are responsible for your own duties as the party that decides why and how that information is used. We process it only to provide the Service to you, in line with these terms and your instructions.

25. Anonymised and aggregated information

We may create anonymised or aggregated information from the information we hold, for example by combining usage counts across many people. This information no longer identifies you. We may use and share it for any lawful purpose, such as understanding demand, planning the Service, and reporting. We will not try to link it back to you.

26. Requests from public authorities

We may receive requests from courts, regulators, law enforcement and other public authorities for information about users. We look at each request with care. We respond only where we believe that we are legally required or permitted to, we try to limit what we give to what is needed, and, where the law and the circumstances allow, we will tell the person concerned.

27. Your responsibilities

You can help to protect your own information. Use a strong, unique password, keep your sign-in details to yourself, keep your device and browser up to date, sign out of shared devices, be careful about messages that pretend to come from us and ask for your password or payment details, and never put information into the Service that you do not have the right to use. We will never ask you for your password by email or message.

28. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in the Service, in our practices, or in the law. When we make a change, we will post the updated policy with a new date at the top. If a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to tell you, for example by a notice in the Service or an email to the address on your account.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of an updated policy means that you accept it. If you do not accept a change, you should stop using the Service and may ask us to close your account.

29. Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your personal information, please contact us first at MKVConsultingOfficial@gmail.com so that we can try to put things right. You also have the right to complain to the data protection authority that supervises us or that has authority where you live. In Nigeria, that is the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

30. Contact us

If you have questions about this policy or about how your information is handled, or if you would like to use any of your rights, please write to us.

• Email: MKVConsultingOfficial@gmail.com
• Operator: MKV Consulting, operating FreeBench
• Please use the subject line “Privacy” so that your message reaches the right person quickly.