The short version: your vault lives on your device, and we collect as little as we possibly can.
Last updated: 31 August 2026
This is a plain-language template to get you started. Before you go live and take real payments, have a qualified lawyer review it against the laws that apply to you (for example South Africa's POPIA, the EU/UK GDPR, or others). It is not legal advice.
NettForge is built to know as little about you as possible. Depending on how you use it, that means:
The app itself sends nothing automatically. The NettForge password manager runs on your device. It never sends your vault or master password anywhere, and there is no usage tracking or telemetry. The only things that ever leave your device are the ones you switch on or choose, listed below.
If you turn on cloud sync (optional), your vault syncs as ciphertext we cannot read. Your app also tells the sync server which version it is running, so we can support you — nothing about how you use it.
If you create an account on this website, we collect your name, email address, chosen plan, and subscription status so we can manage your subscription.
NettForge Send. If you create a Send link, we store the encrypted content (which we cannot read — the key lives only in your link) and its expiry and view limit, until it self-destructs.
Emergency Access. If you set it up, we store your chosen trusted contact's email address and an encrypted copy of your vault key that only that person's device can unlock — never a readable key.
Diagnostics — only if you send them. If you tap "Send to support" in the app, we receive a snapshot of your app version, browser and device type to help resolve an issue — never any vault content, and never automatically.
Website icons & Live status — only if you switch them on. Two optional settings (both off by default) contact hosts directly: "Show real website icons" loads each saved site's icon straight from that site, and "Live status checks" sends a lightweight request to a saved site or device to see whether it responds and how quickly. In both cases NettForge contacts only the hosts you have saved and never routes anything through a third-party service, so your list of saved sites is never shared with us or anyone else. Leave them off and NettForge never contacts any of your saved hosts.
Payment information is handled by our third-party payment gateway, not by us. We receive only a masked reference (such as the last four digits) and whether a payment succeeded — never your full card or bank-account numbers.
Basic technical logs (such as IP address and browser type) may be recorded by our hosting provider for security and to keep the site running.
2. Your vault stays yours
This is the heart of NettForge. Your passwords are encrypted on your own device using a key derived from your master password. The encrypted vault is stored on your device and — when you enable syncing — kept in step with your other devices through our server as ciphertext only (plus any backups you choose to make).
We never receive your master password or the readable contents of your vault, and we could not read them even if compelled to. Any copy on our server is encrypted with a key that only you hold — there is no readable copy of your passwords for us to hand over, sell, or lose.
3. How we use what little we have
Account and billing information is used only to:
Create and maintain your account.
Process your subscription and take payments through our gateway.
Send you essential service messages (receipts, payment failures, security notices).
Respond to your support requests.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not run advertising.
4. Who we share it with
We share the minimum necessary with trusted service providers who help us operate — principally our payment gateway (for example PayFast, Ozow, Paystack or Stripe) and our hosting provider. These providers process data on our behalf under their own terms. We may also disclose information where we are legally required to do so.
5. Your rights
You can ask us to access, correct, or delete the account information we hold about you, and you can cancel your subscription at any time. Because your vault lives on your device, deleting it is entirely within your control. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.
6. How long we keep it
We keep account and billing records for as long as your account is active, and afterwards only as long as needed to meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations. When it is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it.
NettForge Send links are deleted automatically the moment they expire or reach their view limit. Emergency Access details (the contact's email and the encrypted key) are kept only until you remove that contact. Any diagnostics you send are kept only as long as needed to help with your support request. Deleting your account removes your encrypted vault, your Sends, and your Emergency Access details from our servers.
7. POPIA (South Africa)
NettForge is operated from South Africa and aims to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
Responsible party & Information Officer:[your registered business name] is the responsible party; our Information Officer can be reached at privacy@nettforge.com.
Lawful basis: we process your account and billing information to provide the service you asked for (performance of our contract with you) and to meet legal, tax and accounting obligations.
Your rights under POPIA: you may access, correct or delete your personal information, object to processing, and lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa).
Location & cross-border: your account data is held by our hosting provider; where any processing occurs outside South Africa, we take reasonable steps to ensure a comparable level of protection.
Breach notification: if a security compromise affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
Deletion: you can delete your account at any time (in the app: Settings → Delete account), which removes your account record and your encrypted vault from our servers.
8. Security & breach checks
Your vault is encrypted on your device with Argon2id and AES-256-GCM — we never receive your master password or the readable contents of your vault. Our optional breach-alerts feature checks your saved passwords against the public "Have I Been Pwned" dataset using k-anonymity: each password is hashed on your device and only the first five characters of that hash are sent, so your password itself never leaves your device.
9. Contact us
Questions about privacy, or want to exercise a right? Email privacy@nettforge.com or use our contact page. We'll respond as quickly as we can.
