Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 3, 2026  ·  Effective: June 24, 2026

1. Introduction

AFTERGLO (operated by Ward Legacy Group LLC, "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you use any of our products, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information.

For the purposes of this policy, the "Service" means, collectively:

  • the AFTERGLO website at afterglolighting.org;
  • the AFTERGLO Android app, distributed via Google Play; and
  • the AFTERGLO backend services (account, marketplace, and Creator payout infrastructure) that support both.

By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

This policy should be read alongside our Terms of Service.

2. Data We Collect

We collect information you provide directly to us and information collected automatically through your use of the Service.

Information you provide directly:

  • Email address: collected when you create an account or sign up for notifications. Used for account authentication, purchase receipts, and occasional platform updates.
  • Display name: the name you choose to display on the platform, set at registration or in your profile settings.
  • Uploaded content: FSEQ sequence files, optional MP3 audio files, and associated metadata (title, description, price) that you voluntarily submit to the marketplace.

Information collected automatically:

  • Purchase history: records of sequences you have purchased, including amounts paid and dates of transaction, stored in our database to enable access to your purchased content.
  • Download history: records of free sequences you have downloaded, stored to maintain your library and prevent duplicate downloads.
  • Usage analytics: aggregate, anonymized data about how users interact with the platform (pages visited, features used, time on site). We use this to improve the platform. We do not link analytics data to personally identifiable information where avoidable.
  • Device and browser information: standard technical data including IP address, browser type and version, operating system, and referring URLs, collected automatically by our hosting infrastructure (Firebase Hosting) and other Firebase services.
  • Browser-based firmware updates: the firmware update tool at afterglolighting.org/firmware.html uses your browser's Web Serial API to connect directly to an AFTERGLO controller plugged into your computer by USB. That connection is local to your computer and your controller — we do not receive any data about your device, its configuration, or the update itself. Firmware files are downloaded from our public GitHub release feed and checked against a published checksum before use; nothing about that download or the flash is sent back to us.

We do not collect payment card numbers, bank account numbers, or any other financial information directly. See Section 5 for how payments are handled.

Information accessed by the AFTERGLO Android app:

  • Network permissions: the app declares INTERNET, ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE, CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE, and CHANGE_WIFI_MULTICAST_STATE. These are used to communicate with your AFTERGLO controllers on your local WiFi network and with our backend services.
  • Location permission: the app declares ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION on Android and asks for location while in use on iOS. Both platforms classify the name of the WiFi network your phone is joined to as location data, so this permission is what lets the app show you which network you are on and confirm it matches your controllers. Your location is never collected, stored, or transmitted. It is read on your phone and used on your phone. The app does not request camera, microphone, contacts, or storage permissions.
  • Local device discovery: the app uses standard mDNS and UDP broadcast on your local network to find AFTERGLO controllers. This discovery happens entirely on your local WiFi; controller addresses are not transmitted to us.
  • Locally stored device list: the list of controllers you have added (their friendly names, IP addresses, and basic settings) is stored on your device only and is not uploaded to our servers.
  • Account and marketplace activity: when you sign in to the app, the same Firebase backed account, purchase, and download data described above applies.
  • Community preset sharing (optional): if you choose to share a lighting pattern, we upload that pattern: its name, the author name shown on it, and its colours, effect and speed. It goes to a public collection that every other AFTERGLO user can read. A random identifier created by the app is stored alongside it so that a specific uploader can be blocked or banned if they abuse the feature. That identifier is not a device ID, is not linked to your account or your lights, and is replaced if you reinstall the app. Nothing is uploaded unless you tap to share, and no community content is shown to you until you have accepted the sharing terms.
  • Abuse reports: if you report a shared pattern, we store which pattern you reported, the reason you chose, and the random identifiers of both the uploader and the reporter. Reports cannot be read back by any app user.
  • AI pattern generation (optional): if you use the AI feature, the description you type is sent to our service to be turned into a lighting pattern. Nothing else is sent with it: not your location, not your controllers, not your account. We do not use your descriptions to build advertising profiles.

Community content moderation. Patterns shared by users are not reviewed before they appear. Every shared pattern can be reported, and its uploader blocked, from directly within the app in one tap. We review reports and remove content that is offensive, misleading, impersonates another person, or advertises. Uploaders who repeatedly break these terms are banned from sharing, and their existing shares stop being shown to anyone. Shared patterns cannot be edited after upload. To request removal of something you shared, contact us using the details in Section 12. Please include the pattern name and roughly when you shared it, as shares are not tied to an account.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • Account management: to create and maintain your account, authenticate your identity, and enable access to your personalized library.
  • Purchase fulfillment: to record purchases, grant access to purchased Sequences, and provide download links.
  • Creator payouts: to process monthly revenue payments to Creators who sell Sequences on the marketplace, in conjunction with Stripe.
  • Platform improvement: to analyze usage patterns, diagnose technical issues, and improve the performance and features of the Service.
  • Communication: to send transactional emails (purchase confirmations, download links, account notices). We will only send marketing emails if you have explicitly opted in, and you may unsubscribe at any time.
  • Legal compliance: to comply with applicable laws, respond to legal requests, and enforce our Terms of Service.

We will not use your personal information for any purpose not described in this Privacy Policy without your prior consent.

4. Firebase & Google Services

AFTERGLO uses Google Firebase to power core platform functionality. Specifically:

  • Firebase Authentication: handles account creation and sign in using email/password or Google OAuth. Firebase securely manages session tokens; we do not store your raw password.
  • Cloud Firestore: our primary database, storing user profiles, purchase records, download history, and sequence metadata.
  • Firebase Storage: stores uploaded FSEQ and MP3 files submitted by Creators.
  • Firebase Cloud Functions: server side logic including generating secure download URLs and processing marketplace transactions.

Google Firebase is subject to Google's own privacy practices. You can review Google's privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy. By using AFTERGLO, you acknowledge that your data may be processed by Google on our behalf.

Firebase infrastructure is hosted in the United States. If you are located outside the United States, your data may be transferred to and processed in the US, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.

5. Stripe Payments

All payment processing on the AFTERGLO marketplace is handled by Stripe, Inc., a third party payment processor. When you make a purchase, you enter your payment information directly into Stripe's secure checkout interface.

AFTERGLO never stores, processes, or has access to your credit card numbers, debit card numbers, bank account details, or any other payment card data. All financial data is handled exclusively by Stripe under their own security standards (PCI DSS Level 1 certified).

AFTERGLO does receive from Stripe: your name (as entered at checkout), email address, the amount charged, transaction ID, and payout details for Creator accounts. This information is used solely for purchase recordkeeping, customer support, and Creator revenue reporting.

Stripe's privacy practices are governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy. By making a purchase on AFTERGLO, you agree to Stripe's data practices.

6. Advertising & Conversion Tracking

Some pages on this site, specifically our advertising landing pages and the confirmation page shown after you submit a quote request, contain the Meta Pixel, a tracking technology provided by Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook and Instagram). These pages are reached primarily by clicking one of our ads. Our general marketing pages do not carry it.

What the Meta Pixel collects. When you visit a page containing the pixel, it may collect:

  • The page you visited and when, plus the referring URL and campaign parameters attached to the link you clicked.
  • Standard technical information sent by your browser, including your IP address, browser type, and device information.
  • Cookies and similar identifiers that Meta uses to recognize a browser across sites.
  • The fact that you submitted a quote request. It does not send us or Meta the free text of your message.

Automatic advanced matching. When you submit a quote request, the pixel also transmits certain details you entered so Meta can match the conversion to the ad you saw. These are your email address, phone number, first and last name, and city, state, and ZIP code. Each value is hashed using SHA-256 inside your own browser before it is transmitted, so what leaves your device is an irreversible cryptographic hash rather than readable text. Meta compares those hashes against hashes of its own records. We do not send date of birth, gender, financial, health, or government identification data.

Why we do this. To measure whether our advertising works, to attribute quote requests to the ad that produced them, to avoid showing ads to people who have already contacted us, and to reach people similar to our existing customers. We also store the campaign parameters from the link you clicked alongside your quote request, so we know which ad brought you to us.

Your choices. You can limit or prevent this tracking by:

  • Adjusting your Meta ad preferences at facebook.com/adpreferences/ad_settings, including Meta's "Off-Facebook activity" controls.
  • Blocking or clearing cookies in your browser, or using a browser that blocks third party trackers by default.
  • Using a tracker blocking extension, which prevents the pixel from loading at all.
  • Contacting us at afterglolights@gmail.com to request that we delete the advertising data associated with your quote request.

Meta's own handling of this data is governed by its Privacy Policy. Meta acts as an independent controller of the data it receives.

Note for California residents. Sharing identifiers with an advertising platform for the purpose of measuring ads and reaching similar audiences may be considered "sharing" for cross context behavioral advertising under the California Consumer Privacy Act, even though we receive no money for it. If you are a California resident and wish to opt out, email us at afterglolights@gmail.com with the subject line "Do Not Share My Personal Information" and we will honor the request. We also honor the Global Privacy Control signal where your browser sends one.

7. Third Party Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for their own marketing or commercial purposes, and we receive no payment for any data we share. The one disclosure to be aware of is our own advertising measurement, described in Section 6: hashed identifiers are transmitted to Meta so we can tell which of our ads produced a quote request.

We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

  • Service providers: we share data with companies that help us operate the platform (Google Firebase, Stripe), route quote requests to us (Zapier), and measure our advertising (Meta), solely to the extent necessary for them to provide their services to us. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data.
  • Legal requirements: we may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or government authority, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
  • Business transfers: if AFTERGLO or Ward Legacy Group LLC is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Creator submitted content (Sequences, display names, and Creator profiles) is publicly visible to all users of the marketplace by design.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active, or as long as necessary to provide you with our services, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.

  • Account data (email, display name) is retained until you request account deletion.
  • Purchase records are retained for a minimum of 7 years to comply with financial recordkeeping requirements.
  • Uploaded content is retained until you remove it from the marketplace or request deletion. Copies distributed to purchasers prior to removal may be retained by those users under their existing licenses.
  • Analytics data is retained in aggregated, anonymized form indefinitely for platform improvement purposes.

When you delete your account, we will remove your personally identifiable data from active databases within 30 days, subject to any legal retention requirements and the carveouts noted above.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data. We honor the following rights for all users regardless of jurisdiction:

  • Access: you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: you may update your display name directly in your account settings. To update your email address, contact us.
  • Deletion: you may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by emailing us at afterglolights@gmail.com. We will process deletion requests within 30 days, subject to legal retention requirements.
  • Data export: you may request an export of your personal data in a machine readable format (JSON). Exported data will include your profile information, purchase history, and download history.
  • Opt out of marketing emails: you may unsubscribe from non transactional emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any such email, or by contacting us directly.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at afterglolights@gmail.com with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

10. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

  • HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our services.
  • Firebase Security Rules restricting database and storage access to authenticated users with the appropriate permissions.
  • Stripe's PCI DSS Level 1 certified infrastructure for all payment data.
  • Limited access to personal data among AFTERGLO staff on a need to know basis.

However, no security system is impenetrable. We cannot guarantee that your information will never be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed despite our precautions. If you become aware of any security vulnerability or breach involving the platform, please notify us immediately at afterglolights@gmail.com.

11. Children's Privacy

The AFTERGLO platform is not directed to children under 13 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information as promptly as possible.

If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at afterglolights@gmail.com.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we may also notify registered users by email.

Your continued use of the Service after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 5 business days.

Related documents: Terms of Service  ·  Creator Agreement