Overview
Forcst ("Forcst," "we," "us" or "our") makes business simulation software that models real cities from public records and forecasts how a business could perform. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information when you visit forcst.xyz, use the app at app.forcst.xyz, or otherwise interact with us (together, the "Service").
By using the Service, you acknowledge the practices described here. This policy should be read together with our Terms of Service.
Information we collect
Information you give us
- Account information. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, profile photo and a unique Google account identifier. We never see or store your Google password.
- Simulations and inputs. The businesses and locations you simulate, addresses you search for, figures you enter (such as your actual sales or rent), scenarios and "what-ifs" you describe, and the simulations we save to your history.
- Communications. What you send us when you email us or contact support.
Information from payments
Payments are handled by Stripe. Your card number and other payment credentials are collected and stored by Stripe, not by Forcst. From Stripe we receive limited details such as a customer ID, your plan, subscription status, billing dates, amounts, invoices and payment outcomes. We keep a record of billing events, such as a subscription starting, renewing or being cancelled, for accounting, fraud prevention and dispute resolution.
Information collected automatically
- Log and device information. IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page, and the date and time of requests, which our servers record when you use the Service.
- Usage information. Aggregated, cookieless analytics about pages viewed and features used.
- Local storage. The app saves some preferences in your browser, such as your last business, city, theme and forecast horizon, so it can pick up where you left off.
The city data Forcst models (buildings, demographics, employment, rents and similar) comes from public and licensed datasets. It describes places, not you.
How we use information
- To provide the Service: run simulations, save your history, sync it across devices and personalize forecasts to the figures you provide.
- To process payments: manage subscriptions, send receipts and handle billing questions.
- To keep the Service secure: authenticate you, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce usage limits and debug problems.
- To improve Forcst: understand, in aggregate, which features are used and where the Service can work better.
- To communicate with you: respond to requests and send service, security and billing notices. If we ever send product updates, you can opt out at any time.
- To meet legal obligations: comply with law, enforce our Terms and protect the rights and safety of Forcst, our users and others.
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
AI features
Some features use artificial intelligence, including scenario analysis, what-ifs, news interpretation and simulated community feedback. To provide them, we send the relevant inputs, such as your business type, location, figures and the scenario you describe, to our AI provider, Anthropic, which processes them on our behalf. Under the terms that apply to our account, Anthropic does not use this data to train its models.
Please don't include sensitive personal information about yourself or others, such as health, financial account or government ID details, in free-text fields.
Cookies and analytics
We use a small number of essential cookies: a secure, HTTP-only session cookie that keeps you signed in, and short-lived cookies set by our sign-in provider while you sign in with Google. These are needed for the Service to work.
We don't use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Our analytics provider, Umami, doesn't set cookies or build profiles of individual visitors; it reports aggregated figures such as page views and referrers.
Data retention
We keep account information and saved simulations for as long as your account is active. You can delete individual saved simulations at any time from your history.
If you ask us to delete your account, we delete or de-identify your personal information within 30 days, except where we need to keep it. Billing and transaction records are kept for as long as tax, accounting and legal obligations require, generally up to seven years. Server logs are kept for a limited period for security and troubleshooting.
Security
We use administrative, technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect your information. They include encryption in transit, encryption at rest by our infrastructure providers, secure HTTP-only session cookies, verified sign-in tokens, signed payment notifications, tamper-evident billing records and limited access to production systems.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us right away.
Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you and get a copy of it;
- correct inaccurate information;
- delete your information;
- object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent where we rely on it;
- opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We don't sell or share it, so there's nothing to opt out of.
To make a request, email support@forcst.xyz from the address on your account. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we'll respond within the time required by applicable law. If we decline a request, you can appeal by replying to our response. We won't discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
You can also manage or cancel your subscription anytime from the account menu in the app, and sign out to end your session.
International users
Forcst is operated from the United States, and we store and process information in the United States. If you use the Service from outside the US, your information is transferred to, stored in and processed in the US, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.
If you're in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we process your information to perform our contract with you, for our legitimate interests in operating and securing the Service, to comply with legal obligations, and with your consent where required. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
Children
Forcst is built for adults running or planning businesses and isn't directed to children. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date above. If we make material changes, we'll notify you by email or in the app before they take effect.
Contact us
Questions or requests about privacy? Email support@forcst.xyz.