Privacy notice

Who is responsible

Gorkem Efe Ersoj, operating MechLab from Enschede, Netherlands, is responsible for the personal data described in this notice. Send privacy, access, correction or deletion requests to mechlab.app@gmail.com.

Account and application information

Clerk handles sign-in and account verification. MechLab receives an account identifier, primary email address and available display name. If you choose Google sign-in, the identity provider supplies the information authorised in that flow. MechLab does not ask you to send a password or verification code in a feedback form.

Your tester profile can include study or professional stage, discipline, experience, interests, goals and how you found MechLab. We store application status, role, access dates, seat assignment and onboarding progress. We use these records to review applications, provide access and operate the beta. Automatic approval checks verified email, profile completion, account eligibility and available places; it does not score profile answers or use AI. Administrators can review access issues, suspend or revoke access. Contact us if you need help with an access decision.

Feedback and acceptance records

When you submit feedback we store your account identifier, selected area, ratings, written comments, contact preference and submission time. A feedback link may also include the MechLab page from which you opened the form. We use this information to understand and resolve problems and improve learning features. Follow-up about optional feedback is subject to the contact choice on the form.

When you accept beta terms we record your account identifier, the terms version and acceptance time. Access and administrative events are recorded for account administration, security and accountability. Accepting terms is not consent to advertising and is not a request to waive your privacy rights.

Work stored in your browser

Subject notes, saved subjects, last-opened subject, practice answers and progress, engineering projects and display preferences use this browser's local storage. These features do not currently synchronise that work to your account on MechLab's server. They may be visible to another person using the same browser profile, including after you sign out.

You can export supported notes, progress and projects. Clearing MechLab site data in your browser removes local copies and preferences; export anything you want to keep first. Files you download remain on your device until you delete them. Closing a server account does not automatically erase local storage on every device.

Technical data and service providers

Hosting and authentication providers process technical information needed to deliver and protect the service, such as network addresses, browser and device information, request details, session cookies and security logs. MechLab uses Vercel for hosting, Clerk for authentication and Neon for the beta database.

Tester profiles and access audit records remain in the protected dashboard. Automatic approval does not send profile-notification emails. Email you send directly to our Gmail contact address is processed through that email service.

This release has no enabled advertising system, payment collection or live AI tutor. The disabled tutor endpoint does not send your study questions to an AI provider. We will update the notice before introducing materially different processing.

Why processing is permitted

We use information necessary to respond to your application and provide the requested beta service to take steps at your request and perform the service agreement. Security, service administration, abuse prevention and review of voluntary feedback rely on our legitimate interests in running a safe, useful educational service, balanced against your rights. Where a law requires a record or disclosure, we rely on that legal obligation.

Required fields identify information needed to process an application or feedback request. Optional fields and optional feedback are voluntary. You can object to processing based on legitimate interests. We do not treat accepting the terms or reading this notice as blanket consent for unrelated uses.

Access to data and international processing

Authorised MechLab administration and the providers needed to operate these services can access the relevant information. We do not sell applicant or student data. We may disclose information when legally required or necessary to handle a security incident or legal claim.

Providers may process information outside the Netherlands or European Economic Area. Their processing agreements describe applicable safeguards, including contractual safeguards for international transfers. Contact us for information about safeguards relevant to your data. Provider documentation is linked below; those documents do not replace MechLab's responsibility for its own processing.

How long information is kept

We retain account and application information while needed to review an application and administer the beta account. On withdrawal, rejection or account closure, we review whether those identifiable records are still needed and remove information that no longer has a service, security or legal purpose.

Feedback is kept while needed to investigate the reported issue and evaluate improvements; identifiable details should be removed or anonymised when no longer needed for those purposes. Acceptance and security records may be retained where needed to establish an agreement, investigate an incident or handle a legal claim. The purpose and any applicable legal requirement determine that period, rather than a promise of unlimited retention.

Deletion requests are handled manually during this beta; there is no automatic account-purge schedule. Provider backups and operational logs follow their applicable retention and deletion arrangements and may not disappear immediately when a live record is removed. Browser-local work remains until you remove it or your browser clears it.

Your choices and rights

Where applicable, you can request access, correction, erasure, restriction or portability of your personal data, and object to processing based on legitimate interests. Contact mechlab.app@gmail.com from your account email where possible. We may need proportionate information to verify the request; do not send an identity document unless a specific need has been explained.

We normally respond within one month. If the law allows more time because a request is complex or numerous, we will explain the extension. Some records may need to be retained for a legal obligation or claim; we will explain any applicable exception.

You can complain to the Dutch Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens or another competent data-protection authority. Contacting MechLab first is helpful but is not a condition of making a complaint.

Updates

This notice describes the current beta. We will publish an updated version when relevant practices change and communicate material changes through the service where appropriate. A privacy notice explains processing; it is not a separate consent checkbox.