Privacy policy
What we collect, why, and how to reach us about it. Written to be read, not skimmed past.
Who we are
Reality Machine (“we”, “us”) is a design and development studio based in Boston, Massachusetts. This policy explains what information we collect through reality-machine.com and its related pages (including our client portal), how we use it, and the choices you have. It also covers information you share with us by email or on a call.
What we collect
Information you give us
- Project brief. When you use “Start a project”, we receive the services you selected, the plan, budget range and timeline you chose, your name, email address, business or website (optional) and anything you write about your project.
- Emails and calls. Anything you send to hello@reality-machine.com, and the details you enter when booking a call through Cal.com (usually your name, email, time slot and notes).
- Client work. Files, brand materials, logins or other content you share with us so we can do the work.
- Client portal. When the portal opens, your account email and password. Passwords are stored in hashed form, never in plain text.
- Billing. Your name, business details and invoice history. We plan to take card payments through Stripe. When we do, card details go straight to Stripe and we never see or store full card numbers.
Information collected automatically
- Server logs. Like almost every website, our host records basic technical details when you visit: IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. We use these only for security and to fix problems, and our host deletes them after 7 days.
- Spam protection. To stop abuse of the brief form, we keep a one-way scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address for one hour. It can’t be turned back into your address.
- Analytics. We do not currently use analytics. If we add privacy-friendly, cookie-free analytics in the future, we will update this section first.
Information stored on your device
We don’t use tracking or advertising cookies. The site saves one small setting in your own browser, which is never sent to us:
| Name | Where | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
rm-motion | localStorage | Remembers if you turned animations off | Until you clear it |
When the client portal opens, it will use one essential cookie to keep you signed in. It is required for the portal to work and is not used for tracking.
How we use it
- To reply to you, prepare a quote and talk about your project.
- To do the work you hired us for, deliver files and provide support.
- To send invoices, take payments and keep the records the law requires.
- To run the client portal and keep your account secure.
- To keep the website secure and working, and to improve it.
We don’t send marketing emails unless you ask to receive them, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
You don’t have to give us any information, but we need at least your name and email address to reply to a brief. We don’t make decisions about you by automated means alone, and we don’t profile visitors.
Legal bases (EU and UK visitors)
We process your information because it is needed to respond to your request or perform a contract with you, because of our legitimate interest in running and securing our business, to meet legal obligations such as tax records, or with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
Generative AI
Your project is made by human artists, designers and developers, not generated by AI. We don’t upload your personal information, briefs or project files to generative AI tools, or use them to train AI models. Your materials are used only to create your project.
How long we keep it
- Inquiries that don’t become projects: 12 months, then deleted.
- Client and billing records: 7 years, to meet tax and accounting rules.
- Project files: for the length of the project plus 2 years so we can help with updates, unless you ask us to delete them sooner.
- Server logs: 7 days (deleted by our host).
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to:
- tell you what personal information we hold about you and give you a copy;
- correct anything that’s wrong;
- delete your information, unless we have to keep it by law;
- stop or limit how we use it, or withdraw your consent;
- send your information to you or another provider in a common format.
Email hello@reality-machine.com with “Privacy request” in the subject. We’ll reply within 30 days and may ask you to confirm your identity first. We won’t treat you differently for using these rights.
If you are in the EU or UK and aren’t happy with our response, you can complain to your local data protection authority. California and other US state residents have the rights described above under their state laws.
Where your data is stored
We are based in the United States, and our service providers may store information in the US or other countries. When we transfer information from the EU or UK, we rely on our providers’ approved safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses.
Security
We protect your information with sensible measures: encrypted connections (HTTPS), access limited to the people working on your project, strong passwords and two-factor authentication on our accounts. No system is perfectly secure, so if something goes wrong we will tell you promptly and do what the law requires.
Children
Our site and services are for businesses and adults. We don’t knowingly collect information from children under 16. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we’ll delete it.
Other websites
Our site links to other services, such as Cal.com, Instagram and LinkedIn. Their own privacy policies apply once you leave our site.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top of this page. If the change is significant, we’ll make it clear on the site or email clients directly.
Contact
Questions or requests: hello@reality-machine.com
Reality Machine · Boston, Massachusetts, USA