Mates ("we", "us") runs usemates.com and app.usemates.com. This policy explains what we collect when you use usemates.com and app.usemates.com (together, "Mates"), why we collect it, who we share it with and what you can do about it. If you have a question, email hello@usemates.com.
The short version
- We collect what we need to run your mates: your account, what you tell your mates, what they do, and the files on their computers.
- We do not sell your data and we do not use your content to train AI models.
- Your content goes to the AI model providers and other services that run Mates, only to do the work you ask for.
- Screens and recordings of your mates' computers are deleted automatically after 90 days.
- You can export or delete your data at any time.
What we collect
Your account
Your name, email address, profile picture and sign-in details. Sign-in is handled by Clerk, so we never see or store your password. We also keep your settings, your timezone and your sessions (device, browser, approximate location from your IP address) so you can see where you are signed in.
What you give your mates
- Messages you send in chats, threads and group chats, including voice input. Voice recordings are sent for transcription and the audio is not kept; the text becomes part of the chat.
- Each mate's name, job, instructions, skills, memory and chat theme.
- Files you upload, knowledge sources you add (such as a GitHub repository or a .zip file) and anything you type into forms or secure inputs.
- Routines, webhooks and the settings for each of them.
What your mates do
- Their computers. Each mate has its own Linux computer in our cloud. Files, programs and browser data on it (including the websites you or the mate sign in to) stay on that computer until you delete the mate.
- Activity. A log of every step a mate takes (which tool it used, when, how long it took and what it cost) so you can review its work.
- Screens and replays. Screenshots of the mate's computer after its actions, and video recordings of its work, so you can watch a replay. You can turn recordings off in Settings.
- Email. If you give a mate an email address, we store the messages it sends and receives, along with delivery and authenticity checks (such as SPF, DKIM and DMARC results).
- Published apps. Apps a mate publishes are public at their web address until you unpublish them.
Connected apps and secrets
When you connect an app (for example Gmail, Notion, Slack or GitHub) we store the access token that app gives us, encrypted, and use it only when one of your mates works with that app. API keys and passwords you give us through a secure input are stored encrypted. We only access the parts of a connected app that your mates need for the work you ask for.
Usage and billing
How much model time and computer time you use, so we can show your usage, apply limits and, when paid plans start, bill you. If you pay, card details are handled by our payment processor; we never see your full card number.
The public site
usemates.com and our sign-in pages use Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to count visits and see which pages and links people use (pages viewed, the site that sent you, device, browser and approximate location). Google Analytics sets first-party cookies for this. If you are in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland, those analytics cookies are off: Google only receives cookie-free measurements. We don't use advertising cookies, and the app itself (once you are signed in) does not load Google Analytics. You can also block it with Google's opt-out add-on or your browser's settings. Like any website, our servers also log requests (IP address, browser, the page and the time) to keep the service secure and working.
The waitlist
If you join the waitlist we keep the email address you give us, and the name, company and note if you add them, so we can write to you when there's a place. We also send them to Mixpanel, which we use to see who is waiting and where they came from. You can ask us to remove you at any time.
How we use it
- To run Mates: answer your messages, run your mates' computers, routines, email and connected apps.
- To keep it safe: detect abuse, spam and attacks, enforce our Terms, and investigate problems.
- To support you and to tell you about your account: approvals, routine results, held email, security notices and changes to these policies. You choose which notifications you get in Settings.
- To improve Mates: understand which features work, fix bugs and measure performance, using usage records and error reports. We do not read your chats or files for this unless you ask us to look at a problem, or we must to keep Mates safe or follow the law.
We do not sell your personal information, share it for advertising, or use your content to train AI models.
Who we share it with
We share data only with the services that run Mates, and only what each one needs:
| Service | What it does for Mates |
|---|---|
| Clerk | Sign-in and accounts |
| Anthropic | AI models that power your mates |
| OpenRouter, and through it OpenAI and other model providers | Other AI models, voice transcription and the model that picks page elements |
| Hetzner | Our servers (Germany and the United States) |
| Cloudflare | Domain names, file storage (screens, recordings, exports) and email routing |
| Resend | Your mates' email addresses and the notification emails we send you |
| Website analytics on usemates.com and the sign-in pages (Google Analytics, Tag Manager) | |
| Mixpanel | The waitlist: the email and details you give when you join it |
| Stripe | Payments, when paid plans start |
We use model providers under business terms that do not allow them to train their models on what we send them.
We also share data:
- With the apps you connect, when a mate acts in them for you (for example, sending an email from your Gmail or writing a page in your Notion). What those apps do with it is covered by their own privacy policies.
- With people you choose, for example when you publish an app, send email from a mate or share a link.
- When the law requires it, or to protect people, Mates or our users from harm or fraud. We tell you first when we are allowed to.
- If Mates is sold or merged, in which case this policy keeps applying to your data and we will tell you before anything changes.
Where your data is
We rent our servers from Hetzner: the app, the database and your mates' computers run in Germany, and the service that runs your mates' conversations runs in the United States. Several of the services above are also in the United States, so your data may be processed outside your country. When we send personal information overseas we use providers that protect it to a standard comparable to Australian and European law, including standard contractual clauses where they apply.
How long we keep it
- Screenshots and recordings of mates' computers: deleted after 90 days, or straight away when you delete the mate.
- Your account, mates, chats, files and settings: for as long as your account is open. When you delete something, it is gone from the app at once and from our backups when they rotate, within 30 days.
- When you delete your account: we delete your data within 30 days, except what we must keep by law (such as payment records, kept for up to 7 years) or to resolve a dispute.
- Server logs: up to 30 days.
- Website analytics: Google Analytics keeps detailed visit data for up to 14 months.
- Waitlist: until you get access or ask us to remove you.
Keeping it safe
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and access tokens, API keys and passwords you store with us are encrypted at rest. Each mate's computer runs in its own container. Only the people at Mates who need to run and support Mates can access production systems. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your personal information we will tell you and the regulator as the law requires.
Your choices and rights
You can:
- See and change your account details in Account, and your mates, skills, routines and files in the app.
- Export your data, or ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Delete a mate, a chat, a file or your whole account. Deleting a mate deletes its computer, its files and its recordings.
- Turn off recordings and notifications in Settings, and disconnect any connected app.
- Ask us to correct, restrict or stop using your personal information, or object to how we use it.
Email hello@usemates.com for anything you can't do in the app. We answer within 30 days and may need to confirm it's you first.
Depending on where you live, you may have more rights. If you are in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland, our legal bases are: running the contract with you (to provide Mates), our legitimate interests (security, support, improving Mates) and your consent where we ask for it. Californian residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in California law. If you are unhappy with our answer, you can complain to your local data protection authority, or in Australia to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.
Children
Mates is not for anyone under 18 and we don't knowingly collect data from children. If you think a child has given us personal information, email us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy we update the date at the top. If a change is significant we will tell you by email or in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Mates. Email hello@usemates.com.