Privacy Policy
Who we are
Claru is an Easy Read and Plain English Document Conversion service. We help Organisations make their Documents easier to understand.
We follow UK data protection laws. This includes the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Who is responsible for your information
Claru is run by a UK company called CeeSquared Ventures Ltd, the data controller for this service.
Company details:
Company Number 15827079 | Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: C/O Vantage Accounting, 1 Cedar Office Park, Cobham Road, Wimborne, BH21 7SB
What information we collect
When you convert a Document
- The Document or Website you upload for Conversion
- Your Email address (to send your Download Link)
- Payment information (handled entirely by Stripe — we never see your Card details)
- Your IP address
When you claim a free Conversion
- Your Email address (stored as a one-way hash — we cannot reverse it)
- Your IP address
- Whether you consent to marketing updates
When you contact us or give Feedback
- Your name and Email address (if you provide them)
- Your Feedback message
How we use your information
For Document Conversion
- Extract text from your Document
- Send the text to our AI service for Conversion
- Generate your Easy Read or Plain English PDF and Word file
- Send you a secure Download Link by Email
For Payments
- Calculate the cost of your Conversion
- Process your Payment through Stripe
For Service Feedback
- Send you one Feedback request 24 hours after your Conversion
- Use your Feedback to improve the service
For marketing updates (only if you consent)
- Send you updates about new features and improvements
- Share helpful accessibility resources
Where your Document is processed
This is one of the most important things to know about our service.
AI Conversion — UK Servers
We use Azure OpenAI (Microsoft) to convert your Document. This service runs in Microsoft's UK South data centre in London.
Your Document text does not leave the United Kingdom during AI Conversion. Microsoft contractually guarantees UK data residency and does not use your Documents to train AI models.
Converted File Storage — Encrypted, US-based
Your converted PDF and Word files are stored temporarily using Replit Object Storage, which runs on Google Cloud servers in the United States.
Before your file is stored, we encrypt it using AES-256-GCM, a military-grade encryption standard. Only Claru holds the encryption key. Google cannot read your file.
After 7 days, we permanently delete both the encrypted file and the encryption key. Even if Google retains encrypted backup copies (as is standard for cloud providers), those copies are permanently unreadable without the key. This technique is called crypto-shredding and is endorsed by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Job Records — US-based
Records of your Conversion (Document name, word count, hashed Email, status) are stored in a managed PostgreSQL database on Replit's US-based infrastructure. No Document content is stored here — only anonymised metadata.
Who we share your information with
We use the following third-party services to deliver our service. All are engaged under contracts that meet UK GDPR Article 28 requirements.
| Service | Purpose | Data Location |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure OpenAI | AI text conversion | UK South (London) — UK data residency guaranteed |
| Replit / Google Cloud | Encrypted file storage and database | United States — files encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage |
| Stripe | Payment processing | United States / EU — PCI DSS Level 1 certified |
| Brevo | Transactional email (Download Links) | European Union |
We never sell your information to other companies.
How long we keep your information
Converted Documents
Encrypted and stored for 7 days so you can download when convenient.
After 7 days, the file and its encryption key are permanently deleted (crypto-shredded).
Original Uploaded Documents
Deleted immediately after Conversion, unless you have chosen Post-Editing.
Post-Editing Documents are kept for up to 14 days then permanently deleted.
Anonymised Statistics
Word counts and hashed Emails are retained permanently in anonymised form to power our service statistics (e.g. total Documents converted). This data cannot identify you.
Free Conversion Tracking
Your hashed Email is kept for 180 days to prevent duplicate free Conversions, then automatically deleted.
Marketing Emails
Kept while you remain subscribed. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in our Emails or our unsubscribe page.
Feedback
Kept to help us improve the service. You can ask us to delete your Feedback at any time.
How we protect your information
- AES-256-GCM encryption — your converted Files are encrypted before being stored. This is the same standard used by government and financial institutions.
- Crypto-shredding — when we delete your File, we also destroy the encryption key. Your data is permanently unreadable, even in cloud backups.
- UK AI processing — your Document text is processed by AI only within UK borders (Microsoft Azure, London).
- HTTPS — all connections to Claru are encrypted in transit.
- Secure payments — we use Stripe (PCI DSS Level 1). We never see or store your Card details.
- Unique Download Tokens — your Download Link is protected by a cryptographic token that expires automatically after 7 days.
Our legal basis for processing
We process your information under the following conditions of UK GDPR:
- Contract — processing your Document to deliver the Conversion you have paid for
- Consent — sending you marketing updates (only if you opt in)
- Legitimate interests — preventing abuse of the free Conversion allowance; improving service quality through anonymised statistics
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
Ask what information we hold about you
Ask us to fix wrong information
Ask us to erase your information
Get a copy of your information
Object to how we use your information
Lodge a complaint with the ICO
Cookies
We use cookies to make our Website work properly. These help us:
- Keep your session secure while you use the service
- Process Payments safely through Stripe
We do not use tracking cookies or advertising cookies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the date at the top. Significant changes will be highlighted on our Website.
Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us: