// privacy

Privacy Policy

Local-first is not just how our kits work. It is how we run this store.

Last updated: September 2, 2026

The short version: the simulator needs no account and collects nothing. If you buy a kit, we collect only what shipping and payment require. We never sell your data. Advertising on this site is limited to Google AdSense — see the Advertising section below for exactly what that sets and how to control it.

1. Who We Are

sensbench (“we”, “us”) operates sensbench.com and the free ESP32 simulator at app.sensbench.com. We sell pre-flashed ESP32 project kits and provide free browser-based tools. For any privacy question, contact us at [email protected].

2. What We Collect

When you buy a kit

  • Order details — name, email address, shipping address, and (optionally) phone number, needed to pack and deliver your order.
  • Payment — processed entirely by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number; Stripe gives us only a payment confirmation. See Stripe’s Privacy Policy.
  • Account — if you create an account at checkout, we store your login credentials (password hashed) and order history so you can track orders and re-download guides.

When you use the free simulator

  • No account, no tracking. Your circuit designs and firmware sketches stay in your browser session. When you compile firmware, the source is sent to our compilation server, compiled, and returned; we do not store your code after the response is delivered.

When you use the AI Project Builder

  • Your project description (prompt) is sent to a third-party large language model API (currently DeepSeek) to generate a circuit and firmware. Do not include personal data or secrets in prompts. The generated result is stored with your session so you can revisit it.

When you contact us

  • Emails you send to [email protected] are kept so we can answer and follow up on support issues.

3. What We Do Not Collect

  • No cross-site social pixels, no data brokers, no selling or renting of personal data. Google AdSense cookies are the only third-party advertising on this site — see the Advertising section.
  • We run no analytics cookies of our own. Advertising cookies set by Google (see the Advertising section) are limited to ad delivery and measurement, are set only after consent where the law requires it, and can be declined or revoked at any time.
  • Our kits themselves phone home to no one: ESPHome firmware talks to your Home Assistant over your own Wi-Fi. There is no sensbench cloud and no telemetry from your devices.

4. Cookies & Local Storage

We use a small set of functional cookies — cart session, language preference, login — plus Stripe’s fraud-prevention cookies at checkout, and — where you have consented — Google’s advertising cookies (see the Advertising section below). Your light/dark theme choice is stored in your browser’s local storage and never leaves your device. Full list: Cookie Policy.

5. Who We Share Data With

Only the services needed to run the store, and only the minimum they need:

  • Stripe — payment processing and fraud prevention.
  • Shipping carriers — your name, address and phone for delivery and customs documents.
  • Google (AdSense) — advertising delivery and measurement. Google processes data under its own Privacy Policy; see the Advertising section below.
  • DeepSeek — AI Builder prompts only, when you use that tool.
  • Hosting provider — server logs (IP address, user agent) kept short-term for security and abuse prevention.

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal data to anyone.

6. How Long We Keep It

  • Order records: kept for the period required by tax and accounting law, then deleted.
  • Support emails: up to 24 months.
  • Simulator compile jobs: discarded after delivery.
  • Accounts: kept until you ask us to delete them.

7. Your Rights

Wherever you live, we honor the same baseline: you may request a copy of your data, correct it, export it, or ask us to delete it. Email [email protected] and we will act within 30 days. If you are in the EU/EEA or UK, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

8. Security

The site is served over HTTPS, passwords are hashed, payment is handled by PCI-DSS-compliant Stripe, and admin access is rate-limited. No method of transmission is 100% secure, but we keep the attack surface small by collecting very little in the first place.

9. Children

Our store is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data. Our kits involve small parts and should be built with adult supervision.

10. Changes

If we change this policy, we update the date at the top. Significant changes will be announced on this page before they take effect.

11. Contact

Privacy questions, data requests, deletions: [email protected]. A real engineer answers — usually within a day.

Advertising

sensbench.com may display advertising served by Google AdSense. Here is exactly what that means:

  • How it works. Google and its certified vendors may set advertising cookies (such as __gads or IDE) or use SDKs to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites.
  • What is stored. These cookies hold a unique device identifier used to measure ad performance and — only with your consent — to personalize the ads you see. Google reports results to advertisers in aggregate; it does not give us your identity.
  • Consent first. Visitors from the EEA, UK and Switzerland see a consent banner before any advertising cookie is set, and can change or withdraw that choice at any time.
  • Your choices. Opt out of personalized advertising at adssettings.google.com, and read Google’s advertising practices at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.
  • Where ads appear. Advertising is limited to content pages — articles, guides and examples. The simulator, checkout and account pages stay ad-free.

AI Builder Usage Data

When you use the AI Project Builder, we record your account ID, the project description you submit, the generated result, the timestamp, your IP address and country (for abuse protection and geographic statistics), and the token consumption of the AI request. This data is used solely to operate and secure the service and is retained for up to 12 months. You may request deletion of your AI usage history at any time by contacting support.