This Privacy Policy explains how dochost ("dochost", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use dochost.io and our publishing services. By using dochost, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
We may collect the following types of information:
- Account Information: Your name and email address when you sign up, including details shared by Google or GitHub if you sign in with a social provider, or by Apple if you use Sign in with Apple in the iOS app.
- Authentication Data: If you create an account with email and password, we collect your password to create and authenticate your account. It is converted into a salted, one-way hash by our authentication system; we store the hash and do not retain your plaintext account password. We also process session identifiers and access tokens needed to keep you signed in and authorize connected clients such as the browser extension.
- Content You Publish: The HTML, Markdown, and files you paste or upload to create public pages. Pages you publish are accessible to anyone with the link.
- Page-Protection Passwords: If you choose to password-protect a published page, we collect the page password to create or change that protection. We immediately replace it with a salted PBKDF2-SHA256 hash on our server. When someone later enters the password to unlock the page, our server processes it transiently to compare it with the stored hash. We do not store or log plaintext page passwords. A page-protection password is separate from your dochost account password.
- Usage Data: Information about how you interact with dochost, such as pages visited, links created, views on your published pages, and interactions with the browser extension's controls.
- Device Information: Technical details such as IP address, browser type, and operating system.
- Payment Information: When you subscribe to a paid plan, payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store your full card details.
We use your information to:
- Create and host the pages you publish and serve them at their public links
- Provide, maintain, and improve dochost
- Manage your account and process subscriptions
- Provide customer support and respond to your requests
- Detect, prevent, and address abuse, fraud, and technical issues
- Comply with legal obligations
dochost is a publishing tool. Any page you publish is public by default and can be viewed, shared, and indexed by search engines. Do not publish confidential or sensitive personal information. You can delete a page at any time, though cached copies may persist elsewhere outside our control.
We offer an optional Chrome browser extension ("Publish to dochost") that lets you publish AI-generated HTML and Markdown directly from ChatGPT (chatgpt.com, chat.openai.com), Claude (claude.ai), Google Gemini (gemini.google.com), Google AI Studio (aistudio.google.com), Grok (grok.com), and DeepSeek (chat.deepseek.com). The extension is governed by this same Privacy Policy. Specifically:
- Page access and website content: On the supported sites above, the extension reads the page locally in your browser to detect AI-generated code and Markdown blocks and add a "Publish" button next to them. This reading happens on your device; website content leaves your browser only when you choose a specific block and click Publish.
- Website content and publishing settings we collect: When you click Publish, we collect the website content you select — the specific HTML or Markdown block — plus the publishing settings you submit, such as visibility, custom link, optional page-protection password, and branding preference. We send this data to our publishing endpoint to create your page, exactly as if you had submitted it on dochost.io. We store the published content and related page metadata so we can host, serve, update, delete, rate-limit, and moderate the published page. We do not collect other page content, unselected conversation text, full URLs or URL paths, browsing activity outside the supported sites, keystrokes, mouse movements, or clicks outside the extension's own controls.
- Anonymous install ID: The extension generates a random identifier stored locally in your browser. It is sent with publish requests and analytics events to prevent abuse (rate limiting) and to measure usage. It is not tied to your identity unless you sign in.
- Limited browsing and interaction analytics: The extension sends anonymous usage events to PostHog, including event counts, interactions with the extension's own controls (for example, opening the publish panel or clicking Publish), the hostname of the supported site where the event occurred, content format, and extension version. This lets us measure use and detect when a supported site's layout change breaks the extension. It does not send unpublished page content, unselected conversation text, full URLs or URL paths, or any browsing activity outside the supported sites.
- Passwords and signed-in publishing: The extension does not read or collect your dochost account password or passwords you enter on supported AI websites. You sign in directly on dochost.io, and the extension receives an API access token — not your account password — so it can publish to your account. If you type an optional page-protection password in the extension's publish panel, the extension sends that password over HTTPS only when you click Publish. It is not saved in local extension storage, included in analytics, or shared with PostHog. Our server immediately converts it to a salted PBKDF2-SHA256 hash and does not retain the plaintext value.
- Local storage: The extension keeps a random install ID, API access token, display name, plan tier, review-prompt state, and a record of pages published from that browser (a content fingerprint, published URL, and timestamp) in Chrome's local extension storage. Published-page records stop being used after seven days, but may remain locally until they are pruned, you clear the extension's storage, or you uninstall the extension. The extension does not store account passwords, page-protection passwords, conversation text, or complete unpublished content there. You can revoke the extension's API key in your dochost account settings; clearing extension storage or uninstalling the extension removes its local copy. The extension does not load or execute remote code.
- Sharing: Extension data is not sold. Published content is shared publicly at the generated dochost link according to the visibility you choose. We share extension-related data only with service providers that help us operate the publishing service: Cloudflare for hosting, storage, and network delivery; PostHog for the extension analytics described above; and Google Web Risk, which receives URLs extracted from submitted content so we can check them for malware, phishing, and unwanted software. Google Web Risk does not receive the full submitted document unless the document itself consists of a URL.
We offer optional dochost apps for Android and for iOS (iPhone and iPad). They are the same app built for each platform, and both are governed by this same Privacy Policy. Each point below applies to both apps unless it names one platform. Specifically:
- Anonymous install ID: The app generates a random identifier and stores it on your device. It is sent with publish and link-statistics requests to prevent abuse (rate limiting) and to keep track of the pages you published from that device. It is not tied to your identity.
- Content you publish: Content you choose to publish from the app is uploaded to dochost and handled exactly like content published on dochost.io, as described in this policy.
- Usage analytics: The app sends anonymous usage events to PostHog, such as the app being opened and a publish being clicked or failing, together with the install ID and app version. It does not send the content you publish in these events.
- Device permissions: The app does not access your contacts, location, camera, or microphone.
- Clipboard and files: The app reads your clipboard only when you tap "Paste". It accesses a file only when you pick it in the app or share it to the app.
- Network permission (Android): The only permission the Android app itself asks for is internet access (
INTERNET). Libraries built into it add network-state access (ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE), Google Play billing (com.android.vending.BILLING) so in-app purchases work, and an app-private permission Android uses for the app's own internal messages. None of these shows a permission prompt or reaches personal data on your device.
- Files you pick or share: When you pick a file in the app or share one to it, that file is uploaded to dochost so it can be published.
- How the install ID is created: The install ID is a random value generated by the app. It is not your device's Android ID or advertising ID. It identifies the pages you publish without an account, and it is used for rate limits and analytics.
- Install ID on iOS, and no tracking: On iOS the install ID is generated the same way. It is not Apple's advertising identifier (IDFA) or any other device identifier. The iOS app does not track you across apps or websites owned by other companies, does not share data with data brokers, and therefore never asks for tracking permission (App Tracking Transparency).
- Analytics events: The usage events the app sends to PostHog include, for example, the app being opened, a publish being clicked or succeeding, a link being copied, and a sign-in being started or completed.
- Optional sign-in: Signing in is optional. If you choose to, you sign in with Google, GitHub, or email on dochost.io in a browser tab, and the app then receives your account's name and email address. The Android app can also sign you in with Google directly through your device's Google account picker. On iOS, the browser sign-in runs in Apple's secure sign-in sheet, and you can also use Sign in with Apple.
- Sign in with Apple (iOS): Apple shares an email address with us — your own, or, if you choose "Hide My Email", a private relay address at privaterelay.appleid.com that forwards to you. Apple sends your name only the first time you sign in with it; after that we receive only the email address and Apple's account identifier. We store the refresh token Apple issues solely so we can revoke your Sign in with Apple authorization with Apple when you delete your account.
- In-app purchases: Pro and Max subscriptions and page extensions bought in the app are processed by Google Play Billing; dochost never sees your card details. Records of these purchases (product, transaction ID, dates, and status) are processed by RevenueCat on our behalf to verify purchases and keep your plan in sync.
- In-app purchases on iOS: In the iOS app, subscriptions and page extensions are processed by Apple's App Store instead of Google Play; dochost never sees your card or Apple account payment details. RevenueCat processes the same purchase records (product, transaction ID, dates, and status) on our behalf, for the same purpose. You manage or cancel an App Store subscription in iOS Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions (labelled Apple Account on recent iOS versions).
- Sharing to dochost and "Open in dochost" (iOS): The share extension and "Open in dochost" read only the text, link, or file you choose to share or open — nothing else on your device or in the app you shared from. The extension passes it to the app through storage private to dochost on your device. A file you open in dochost is also kept in the app's private storage so you can open it again; deleting the app removes it.
- Reporting, hiding, and blocking in Explore: If you report a page, we receive the page's address and the reason you type, and store your IP address only as a one-way hash, to handle the report and limit abuse. Hiding a page or blocking an author is stored only on your device; we are not told whom you hide or block. To make blocking possible, each page in Explore carries an opaque author code that is derived from, but does not reveal, the publisher's account or install ID, and that is meaningless outside dochost's Explore.
- Opening published pages: Current versions of the app open published pages in a separate, sealed viewer inside the app that shares no sign-in, cookies, or storage with the rest of the app; links that leave dochost open in your browser, and you can always open the page in your browser from the viewer. Earlier Android versions opened published pages in your browser, not inside the app.
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
Where your data is stored. Published pages and uploaded files are stored in Cloudflare object storage, and your account and page metadata are stored in our database hosted on Cloudflare's infrastructure. Payment data is held by Stripe, and analytics events by PostHog, under their own terms.
How long we keep it.
- Published pages: Pages published on a Free account expire automatically — 7 days by default, or 3 days for a private (unlisted) page — after which they are removed and no longer served. Paid plans (Pro, Max, lifetime) create permanent pages, and one-time paid extensions keep a page online for the duration purchased or permanently if you choose the forever option. You can delete any page at any time.
- Account data: We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account (or ask us to), we delete the associated personal data, except where we must retain it to meet a legal obligation.
- Passwords and authentication data: Account password hashes are retained while the corresponding email/password account is active. A page-protection password hash is retained until you remove the password or delete the page; the plaintext password is not retained. Server-side API key records remain until you revoke the key in your account settings or delete your account.
- Anonymous sessions: An anonymous publishing session is retained for 30 days.
- Browser extension data: Published-page records stop being used after seven days but may remain in local storage until pruned. Other local extension data remains until you clear the extension's storage or uninstall the extension. The install ID is sent to our servers with publish and analytics requests, as described in the Browser Extension section, and server-side rate-limit records are retained only as long as needed to enforce abuse limits.
- Analytics, email, and payment data: Analytics data is retained by PostHog and Plausible, transactional email data by Resend, and payment records by Stripe according to their respective retention policies.
- In-app purchase data: Google Play and RevenueCat keep records of purchases made in the Android app according to their own retention policies.
- iOS purchase and sign-in data: Apple and RevenueCat keep records of purchases made in the iOS app according to their own retention policies. The Apple refresh token we hold for Sign in with Apple is kept only while your account exists and is revoked with Apple when you delete your account.
- Mobile app data on your device: The install ID, your Explore hide and block lists, and files you opened in dochost stay on your device until you delete the app (or, for opened files, remove them in the app).
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with third parties except: (a) with the service providers listed below who process data on our behalf to operate dochost; (b) content you choose to publish, which is public by design and viewable by anyone with the link; and (c) where required by law or to protect our rights, users, or the public.
We rely on the following third-party providers to operate dochost:
- Cloudflare for network delivery, application hosting, database infrastructure, and object storage. Cloudflare may process published content, account and page metadata, IP addresses, request headers, and other data needed to deliver and secure the service.
- PostHog for product and browser-extension analytics. PostHog receives the usage events, anonymous identifiers, and limited technical properties described above, but not unpublished document content or passwords.
- Plausible for cookieless website and published-page analytics. Plausible receives page paths, browser/user-agent information, IP addresses for aggregate geolocation and visitor counting, and limited event properties; it does not receive passwords.
- Google Web Risk for publish-time safety checks. It receives URLs extracted from submitted content so we can check them for malware, phishing, and unwanted software; it does not receive passwords.
- Stripe for subscription and one-time payment processing. Stripe receives the account, transaction, and payment-method data needed to process payments; we do not store full card details.
- Resend for verification, password-reset, and other transactional emails. Resend receives the recipient name, email address, and email content needed to deliver those messages; it does not receive account or page-protection passwords.
- Google and GitHub when you choose social sign-in. The selected provider processes the sign-in request and shares the profile and authentication data needed to connect your account.
- Google AdSense for advertising on dochost's own marketing and documentation pages. Google receives the request data (including IP address, user agent, and the page URL) needed to select and measure ads, and may set or read advertising cookies on your device.
- Google Play for distributing the dochost Android app and processing in-app purchases. Google processes the payment and purchase data needed to complete those purchases; we do not receive your card details.
- Apple for distributing the dochost iOS app through the App Store, processing in-app purchases made in it, and Sign in with Apple. Apple processes the payment and purchase data needed to complete those purchases, and the sign-in data described in the Mobile apps section; we do not receive your card or Apple account payment details.
- RevenueCat for purchase verification and subscription status in the Android and iOS apps, acting as our service provider. RevenueCat receives purchase records (product, transaction ID, dates, and status) so it can verify purchases and keep your plan in sync; it does not receive card details or passwords.
These providers process data under their own terms. We do not sell your personal data.
Publish to dochost's use and transfer of user data complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. We use user data only to provide or improve the extension's single purpose — publishing content that the user explicitly selects to dochost — and for security, abuse prevention, legal compliance, and internal operations that support that purpose. We do not use or transfer extension user data for personalized or interest-based advertising, creditworthiness or lending decisions, or sale to data brokers. Humans may access user data only with the user's specific consent for support, when necessary for security or abuse investigation, when required by law, or after the data has been aggregated and anonymized for internal operations.
dochost shows ads from Google AdSense on its own marketing and
documentation pages so the free tier can stay free. Pages published by authors
(/d/... and author subdomains) carry no ad code at all — we do not
monetize content our users publish, and advertisers are not given access to it.
What this means for your data:
- Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on dochost.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads
to you based on your visit to dochost and/or other sites on the Internet.
- Third-party vendors and ad networks may also use cookies to serve ads based
on your prior visits to this or other websites.
- We do not share your account data, document content, or email address with
advertisers, and we do not use published content to target ads.
How to opt out. You can turn off personalized advertising from Google at
Google Ads Settings, and read how Google
uses information from sites that use its services at
Google's advertising technologies page.
To opt out of third-party vendor cookies more broadly, use
aboutads.info or, in the EU,
youronlinechoices.eu. Opting out stops ads
from being personalized; you may still see non-personalized ads.
See our Cookie Policy for the cookie categories involved.
Depending on your location, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, or to object to certain processing. To exercise these rights, contact us.
You can delete your dochost account at any time, in any of these ways:
- In the Android app: open Me → Delete account, then type
DELETE to confirm.
- In the iOS app: open Me → Delete account, then type
DELETE to confirm.
- On the web: sign in at dochost.io and go to Settings → Security → Delete Account (dochost.io/settings/security).
- By email: write to admin@dochost.io and ask us to delete your account.
What is deleted. Your account and profile (name, email address, and sign-in details), your sessions, your API keys and app access tokens, and your account's credits. Custom domains are released at Cloudflare and stop serving your pages, and your subdomain is released.
What happens to your pages. Pages you published are not deleted. They are detached from your account: they stay online without an owner, and you can no longer edit or delete them. If you want a page taken down, delete it before you delete your account.
Subscriptions.
- A subscription you bought on the web through Stripe is cancelled immediately when your account is deleted, and billing stops. The unused part of the current period is not refunded.
- A subscription you bought in the Android app through Google Play cannot be cancelled by us. Deleting your dochost account does not stop Google from billing you, so cancel it first in Google Play → Subscriptions. While a Google Play subscription is still active, account deletion is refused until you cancel it.
- A subscription you bought in the iOS app through Apple's App Store cannot be cancelled by us either. Deleting your dochost account does not stop Apple from billing you, so cancel it first in iOS Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions.
What may be kept. We may keep payment and tax records where the law requires us to retain them. Stripe, Google Play, Apple, and RevenueCat also keep their own purchase records, as described under Data Retention and Storage.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any changes on this page with an updated date.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us or email admin@dochost.io.