# Altbot Privacy Policy

## Introduction

Altbot is a bot designed to generate alternative text descriptions (alt-text) for images on the Fediverse to improve accessibility. This privacy policy outlines how Altbot collects, uses, and protects your data in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

## What data we collect

Altbot collects and processes the following data:

- **User identifiers**: Your Fediverse account ID (required to identify when you've provided consent)
- **Consent records**: When and how you provided consent for data processing
- **Request metadata**: Timestamps, processing times, language preferences, and media types
- **Rate limiting data**: Such as account creation date and altbot use frequency. To prevent abuse of the service

## What data we DO NOT collect

Altbot explicitly does not store:

- Image content or image data - these are processed temporarily and immediately deleted
- Content of your posts (text) beyond what's required to process your request
- Personal information beyond your public Fediverse account identifier

## How we use your data

The collected data is used solely for the following purposes:

1. To provide alt-text generation services
2. To improve the quality of generated alt-text
3. To monitor and prevent abuse of the service
4. To maintain a record of user consent for GDPR compliance

## Data retention

- **All metadata** is stored anonymously without personal identifiers
- **Rate limiting counters** are automatically cleared at regular intervals:
  - Short-term counters reset every 1 minute
  - Hourly usage limits reset every 1 hour
- **Ban list and whitelist** are maintained permanently for service functionality, but contain no personal user data or identifiable information
- **Consent records** are maintained permanently - if you unblock the bot after previously blocking it, your original consent acknowledgment will remain valid and be used for subsequent interactions

## Your rights

Under GDPR, you have the following rights:

- **Right to access**: You can request a copy of your personal data
- **Right to rectification**: You can request correction of inaccurate data
- **Right to erasure**: You can request deletion of your data
- **Right to restrict processing**: You can request limitation of how your data is used
- **Right to object**: You can object to processing of your data
- **Right to data portability**: You can request transfer of your data

To exercise these rights, please contact the altbot administrator.

## How to provide or revoke consent

- **Providing consent**: Reply with "Yes" or "I agree" when prompted
- **Revoking consent**: Block the Altbot account

## Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify users through the bot's account.

## Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, please contact the altbot administrator.

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Last updated: March 14, 2025