Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23 May 2026

1. Who we are

The operator (controller within the meaning of Art. 4(7) GDPR) of the Capzo service at capzo.net and the Capzo Windows desktop client is Digital-E. Postal address, telephone number, and the responsible person's name are published in the imprint: https://www.digital-e.org/impressum/. The imprint also contains the e-mail address you can use for every request related to this policy.

2. Scope of this policy

This policy covers personal data processed when you (a) visit the Capzo.net website, (b) register or sign in to a Capzo account, (c) upload, share, or view files through Capzo, or (d) use the Capzo desktop application for Windows.

3. Categories of personal data we process

3.1 Account data

When you create an account we store your username, e-mail address, a password hash (Argon2id; the plaintext password is never written to disk or transmitted again), and an internal API key that lets the desktop client upload on your behalf. We also keep your account tier (free or premium) and the premium expiry date if applicable.

3.2 Session data

Each browser session creates a row in our sessions table containing a random session token, your IP address, your browser user-agent string, and the session's creation and expiry timestamps. Sessions expire 30 days after creation.

3.3 Anti-abuse / login security data

To stop credential-stuffing attacks we record failed login attempts in a login_attempts table. We store a SHA-256 hash of the e-mail address (never the plain e-mail in this table), the requesting IP address, a failure counter, and timestamps. Six failures within fifteen minutes trigger a fifteen-minute lockout per (e-mail hash, IP) pair. These rows are pruned automatically one day after the lockout window expires.

3.4 Uploaded content and its metadata

When you upload a screenshot, video, archive, or text file, we store the file itself plus the following metadata: original filename, MIME type, byte size, image dimensions, video duration, generated thumbnail, a public 8-character share key, and a view counter that increments every time someone opens the share URL.

3.5 OCR text extracted from your screenshots

Please read this carefully. When the Capzo Windows desktop client uploads a screenshot, it first performs OCR (text recognition) locally on your device and then transmits the extracted text to our server as part of the same upload request. We store this text in your upload's database row so that you can search across your captures by content. The OCR text is only visible to you (it is not shown on the public share page) but it is stored on our servers in plaintext alongside the file. You can disable OCR in the desktop client's settings before capturing if you would prefer that we do not receive this text.

3.6 Cookies and local storage on your browser

First-party cookies. The Capzo website itself does not set any cookies on your browser. We do not run analytics, advertising, retargeting, or session- replay tools.

Browser local storage. To keep you signed in and to remember your interface preferences we use the localStorage mechanism in your browser. Under §25(2)(2) of the German Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG), storage that is "strictly necessary in order for the provider of a telemedia service to provide a telemedia service expressly requested by the user" does not require additional consent. The following entries fall under that exemption:

• capzo_session — your current session token. Without it you would be signed out on every page load.
• capzo_api_key — your API key, so the gallery can talk to the upload API on your behalf.
• capzo_user — a small copy of your username, e-mail, and tier, so the UI does not have to refetch it on every page load.
• capzo_theme — your preferred site theme (dark or light).
• capzo_cookie_notice — remembers that you have already dismissed the first-visit privacy notice, so we do not show it again.

You can clear these entries at any time from your browser's developer tools or by signing out, and you can verify them via your browser's storage inspector.

Third-party cookies — hCaptcha (only on sign-in and registration). The hCaptcha widget that protects the login and registration forms sets cookies on its own domains (*.hcaptcha.com and *.hcaptcha.io) to detect automated abuse. These cookies are set by hCaptcha, not by us; we never see their contents. We have deliberately configured the site so that the hCaptcha script is only loaded the moment you actively open the login or register modal — not on an ordinary visit to the marketing page, the gallery, this Privacy Policy, the Terms of Service, or a public share page. If you never sign up or sign in, you will never receive an hCaptcha cookie. Once loaded, the hCaptcha widget displays its own consent notice with a link to hCaptcha's privacy policy.

Because the website does not set any cookies of its own, does not run analytics, and loads the only third-party script that sets cookies only on a clear user action, we do not show a sitewide cookie-consent banner. We do show a short, one-time, dismissible privacy notice on your first visit (the dismissal flag itself is stored in localStorage as capzo_cookie_notice, see above).

3.7 Server logs

Our PHP error log (logs/php_errors.log) records server errors so we can debug them. It may contain timestamps, error messages, stack traces, and the route that triggered the error. It does not intentionally log request bodies or passwords. Logs are rotated according to our hosting policy.

4. Why we process this data and on what legal basis

• Account, sessions, uploads and the OCR text — performance of the contract between you and us (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR); without this data we cannot give you an account, store your files, or generate share URLs.
• Login-attempt records and error logs — our legitimate interest in keeping the service secure and available (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• hCaptcha challenges on register and login — our legitimate interest in preventing automated abuse (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

5. Recipients of your data (sub-processors)

We share personal data with the following third parties strictly to operate the service:

• Servarica Hosting Inc. (Canada) — provides the physical server infrastructure on which Capzo runs. All application data, including your uploads, is stored on Servarica machines. Canada has an adequacy decision from the European Commission, so no additional safeguards are required for the transfer.
• Intuition Machines, Inc. (USA), operator of hCaptcha — verifies that registration and login requests come from a human. The hCaptcha JavaScript is loaded into your browser only the moment you open the login or register form; visitors who never open those forms never communicate with hCaptcha. When the widget runs, hCaptcha receives your IP address, a browser fingerprint, the CAPTCHA response token, and sets cookies on its own domains for bot detection (see §3.6 above).
• Cloudflare, Inc. (USA), operator of the cdnjs CDN — serves the Font Awesome icon stylesheet. Loading this stylesheet exposes your IP address and referring page to Cloudflare. We plan to self-host this stylesheet in a future update to remove this transfer.

The webfont families used on this site (Inter and Plus Jakarta Sans) are served from our own server, not from Google Fonts. We do not use any analytics, advertising, or tracking provider.

6. International data transfers

Transfers to the United States (Cloudflare, hCaptcha) take place under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or, where applicable, the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses. Transfers to Canada (Servarica) are covered by the European Commission's adequacy decision for Canada (PIPEDA).

7. How long we keep your data

• Account, account uploads (images and videos), albums, and OCR text — kept for as long as your account exists. You can delete individual uploads at any time from the gallery, or delete your entire account from the account page (see §9).
• Generic file uploads (ZIP, RAR, 7z, TXT) — automatically deleted thirty days after upload by a daily cleanup job. This retention period is configurable per plan and is displayed in the gallery's plan-limit panel.
• Sessions — automatically expire and become unusable thirty days after creation.
• Login-attempt records — pruned one day after the corresponding lockout window passes.
• Server logs — rotated according to standard hosting policy (typically a few weeks).

8. Public sharing of your files

When you create an upload, Capzo generates a public share URL of the form https://capzo.net/share.php?key=<KEY>. Anyone who knows or guesses the key can view the file without authentication. We track the number of views per upload and display it to you in the gallery. You are solely responsible for whom you give a share URL to. Deleting the upload immediately revokes the share URL (it will then return 404).

9. Your rights under the GDPR

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right of access (Art. 15) — ask us for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification (Art. 16) — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure (Art. 17, "right to be forgotten"). You can exercise this right yourself on the account page: the "Delete account" action permanently removes your account, all your uploads, all your albums, all your share links, and the corresponding files from disk. For any other erasure request please contact us using the imprint e-mail.
• Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18).
• Right to data portability (Art. 20) — your uploaded files are always downloadable from the gallery. To obtain a structured export of your account metadata, please contact us using the imprint e-mail.
• Right to object (Art. 21) to processing based on our legitimate interests.
• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77). In Germany you can complain to the data protection authority responsible for your federal state.

To exercise any of these rights please contact us using the e-mail address listed in the imprint at digital-e.org/impressum. We will respond within one month.

10. Security

We protect your data using TLS in transit, Argon2id password hashing at rest, brute-force lockout on the login endpoint, and session invalidation on password change (changing your password signs out every other device automatically). The Windows desktop client encrypts its local settings file with the Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI). No system is perfectly secure; please use a unique password and report any suspected compromise to us immediately.

11. Children

The Capzo service is not intended for users under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly create accounts for or collect data from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, please contact us so we can delete it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in the service or in applicable law. The current version is always published at capzo.net/privacy.php with the date of the most recent revision shown at the top. Material changes will be highlighted on the page.

13. Contact

For any question about this policy or your personal data, please use the contact details published in the imprint at https://www.digital-e.org/impressum/.