Privacy policy

The short version

• You don't need an account, and you don't have to give us your name.
• We use your files only to convert them for you. We never sell them or use them to train AI, and nobody looks at a file unless you report a problem with it and let us keep it.
• Your uploaded files, the converted copies and the previews are deleted automatically 24 hours after upload. The one exception is a file you report and ask us to keep (see below).
• You don't need an email address to upload or preview. We only ask for one for the free single-file download.
• Our servers never write file contents, file names or email addresses to their logs.
• We don't use advertising trackers or tracking cookies.

Who we are

Aretus is run by 1729 Labs, based in India. When this policy says “we” or “us”, it means 1729 Labs. You can reach us about anything in this policy atprivacy@aretus.app.

What we collect

Your files

The Publisher (.pub) files and ZIP files you upload, their file and folder names, and the files we make from them (PDF, PNG, JPG, ODG, DOCX, previews and a report). Files in a ZIP that aren't Publisher files are skipped and deleted with the rest.

Files from AI assistants

When you use Aretus from an AI assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude, the assistant sends us links to your files (or, in ChatGPT, the files you attached). We download them from those links and treat them exactly like uploads: deleted 24 hours after upload, never logged and never shared. We don't log the links themselves.

Your email address, if you give it

We don't ask for your email when you upload. The free single-file download asks for one so we can keep it to one free file per person, and we check that the address can receive mail (throwaway addresses aren't accepted). A problem report can include your email if you'd like to hear when it's fixed. When you pay, Paddle's checkout asks for your email to send the receipt.

Files you report

If a file didn't convert well, you can report it from the preview page. If you also tick “keep this file”, we keep that file, its converted copies and your note so we can fix the problem, for at most 90 days, then delete them. If you don't tick it, we keep only your answers (which problems you saw), not the file.

Payment information

You pay on our payment provider's secure checkout page. They collect your card or other payment details; we never see them. We receive a confirmation that you paid, the amount, the plan, your email address and your country (for tax).

Technical information

Like every website, our servers receive your IP address and basic browser information when you visit. We, Vercel and Cloudflare use it to deliver the site, block bots (Turnstile) and limit how many uploads, previews and free downloads one address can use, so nobody can overload the service. Our server counts those uses under a scrambled (hashed) form of your IP address, never the address itself, and deletes each count within 24 hours. Your batch's private link code sits after the # in the address, which browsers never send to servers, so it doesn't appear in these logs.

Analytics

On the converter pages we count a few anonymous steps (an upload started, a preview was ready, a checkout started, a purchase completed, a download happened) using PostHog, so we can see where people get stuck. It's set up without cookies or browser storage, it never receives file names or file contents, and we remove the private link code from every address before anything is sent. Other pages, including our guides, load no analytics at all.

How we use it

• To convert your files, show you the preview and give you the download.
• To take payment, send your receipt and handle refunds.
• To keep the free download to one per email address.
• To fix conversion problems in files you report and let us keep.
• To protect the service from abuse and keep it running.
• To answer you when you email us.
• To improve the product, using anonymous, combined numbers only.

We don't sell or rent personal information, we don't show ads, and we don't send newsletters or marketing email.

How long we keep it

• Uploaded files, converted files and previews: deleted automatically 24 hours after upload, whether or not you paid.
• Files you report and ask us to keep: deleted once the problem is fixed, and at most 90 days after the report.
• A small record of each batch (date, number of files, plan, price and whether it was paid, but no file names or contents) is kept for accounting and refunds.
• Your email address: for the free-download limit we store only a scrambled (hashed) form of it, which we can't turn back into your address, and forget it after 12 months. An email you add to a problem report is deleted with the report. An email you send us is kept only as long as we need it to answer you, unless the law requires otherwise. Paddle keeps the email you give at checkout under its own privacy policy.
• Payment records: kept by our payment provider and by us for as long as tax and accounting law requires.

Companies that process data for us

We use a few trusted providers to run the service. They may only use your data to provide their service to us.

These providers may process data outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, transfers are covered by standard contractual safeguards.

How we protect your files

• Everything travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS).
• Each file is converted in a locked-down sandbox with no internet access, macros switched off, and a time limit, so a damaged or malicious file is contained.
• Each batch has a long, random private link. Anyone with the link can see that batch, so share it only with people you trust.

Your choices and rights

You can use the converter without giving an email address. You can ask us at any time to tell you what we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete it, including deleting a batch before the 24 hours are up: emailprivacy@aretus.app with the batch's link. Depending on where you live (for example the EU, the UK or California), you have these rights by law, and you can also complain to your local data protection authority. We don't sell or share personal information for advertising.

Children and schools

The service is meant for adults and isn't directed at children under 13. Schools often upload newsletters and forms that mention students; those files get the same treatment as everything else, and are deleted after 24 hours.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. If a change affects how we use data you've already given us, we'll say so clearly here first.

Contact

Questions or requests: privacy@aretus.app. Aretus is not affiliated with Microsoft.