MFGTools.com

Privacy Policy

Effective date: March 27, 2025

MFGTools.com ("we", "us", or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit mfgtools.com or use our software products, how we use that information, and the choices you have. Please read this policy carefully. By using our website or software you agree to the practices described here.

1. Who We Are

MFGTools.com is an independent software project that develops and distributes desktop utilities for manufacturing professionals who work with Siemens NX CAM. The website is operated by an individual developer and is not affiliated with Siemens Digital Industries Software. You can reach us via the contact form at mfgtools.com/contact.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

a) Information you provide directly

  • Contact form: When you submit the contact form on our website, your name, email address, and message are transmitted to and stored by Formspree (formspree.io), a third-party form processing service, and forwarded to us by email.
  • Trial activation: When you request a free trial of our software we may collect your email address to generate and deliver a time-limited license key. We use this address only to fulfil your request and send occasional product updates you can opt out of at any time.
  • Purchase: When you purchase a software license, payment is processed entirely by PayPal. We do not receive or store your payment card details. PayPal may share with us your name and email address as the payer.

b) Information collected automatically

  • Analytics: Our website uses Vercel Analytics, a privacy-focused analytics service that does not use cookies and does not collect personally identifiable information. It records aggregated, anonymised data such as page views, referring URLs, device type, and country-level location.
  • Server logs: Our hosting provider (Vercel) automatically records standard web server logs including IP addresses, browser type, and pages requested. These logs are retained according to Vercel's own data retention policy and are used for security and performance monitoring.
  • Download links: Software downloads are served via GitHub Releases. Download activity may be recorded by GitHub in accordance with GitHub's own Privacy Policy.

3. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We aim to use as few cookies as possible. Here is a summary of what is used:

Name / SourcePurposeDuration
PayPal SDKPayment processing and fraud preventionSession / persistent (set by PayPal)
Vercel AnalyticsCookie-free analytics — no cookie setN/A
Theme preferenceRemembers your light/dark mode choice1 year (localStorage)

You can delete cookies at any time through your browser settings. Blocking PayPal cookies will prevent you from completing a purchase on our site but will not otherwise affect your ability to use the website.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Respond to your messages and support requests.
  • Deliver trial license keys and purchased software licenses.
  • Process payments through PayPal.
  • Improve the website and software based on anonymised usage statistics.
  • Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents.
  • Comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.

5. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

  • Contractual necessity — to provide you with software licenses and fulfil purchase transactions.
  • Legitimate interests — to respond to enquiries, improve our service, and maintain the security of our systems.
  • Consent — where we send you optional product update emails; you may withdraw consent at any time.
  • Legal obligation — where processing is required to comply with applicable law.

6. Third-Party Services and Data Sharing

We share your data only with the service providers necessary to operate this website. Each provider is bound by their own privacy policy:

We do not share your data with any other third parties except where required by law (e.g., in response to a valid legal request from a court or government authority).

7. Data Retention

  • Contact form submissions are retained for as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry and for a reasonable period thereafter for record-keeping purposes.
  • License purchase records (name, email, order reference) are retained for up to 7 years to comply with tax and accounting obligations.
  • Trial email addresses are retained until you request deletion or one year after your trial expires, whichever is sooner.
  • Analytics data is anonymised and aggregated; it does not contain personally identifiable information and is retained indefinitely.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Deletion — request that we delete your personal data (the "right to be forgotten"), subject to legal retention requirements.
  • Restriction — ask us to restrict processing while a dispute is resolved.
  • Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
  • Withdraw consent — opt out of marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us directly.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us via the contact form at mfgtools.com/contact. We will respond within 30 days. If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website and software are intended for professional use and are not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. Our website is served exclusively over HTTPS. Payment data is handled entirely by PayPal's PCI-DSS-certified infrastructure and never passes through our own servers. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100 % secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. International Data Transfers

MFGTools.com is operated from within the United States. If you are accessing the website from outside the US, your data may be transferred to and processed in the US or other countries where our service providers operate. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or standard contractual clauses) for any transfers of personal data from the EEA or the UK.

12. Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links to third-party websites (such as GitHub, PayPal, and documentation resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to review their respective privacy policies before providing any personal information.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The "Effective date" at the top of this page will always reflect when the policy was last revised. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please reach out via the contact form at mfgtools.com/contact. We are happy to help.