Privacy Policy
What TideWeld Software collects, why, who else sees it, and how to get it removed. Written to describe what this site actually does rather than to cover every eventuality.
Last updated 28 October 2026
Who we are
TideWeld Software is an independent software company based in Nova Scotia, Canada. We operate tideweldsoftware.ca and the Coldbridge psi-value calculator. Ian Hearns is responsible for how TideWeld Software handles personal information. You can reach us at ian@tideweldsoftware.ca.
What we collect, and why
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Account details Username, email address, first and last name if you give them, and an encrypted form of your password. |
To create and secure your account, and to contact you about your subscription. |
| Subscription records Which plan you are on, its status, and the dates it started and renews. |
To know whether to let you into the software you have paid for. |
| Project data The calculations you choose to save: names, geometry, materials, boundary conditions and results. |
So your work is there when you sign in from another machine. Stored only when you use Save to my account. |
| Material libraries Custom and composite materials you create. |
So your library follows you between devices. |
| Website analytics Pages visited, approximate location, browser and device, via Google Analytics. |
To see which pages are useful. We do not use it for advertising. |
| Newsletter email Only if you enter it in the subscribe form. |
To send occasional updates. Unsubscribe any time. |
| Server logs IP address, time, page requested, browser string. |
Kept by our host for security and troubleshooting. |
A note for professional users. Project data you save may describe a real building and carry a client’s project name. We treat it as confidential and never look at it except where you ask us to help with a specific problem. If your own obligations to a client prevent that, use the calculator without saving to your account — everything works the same, the work simply stays in your browser.
People we contact about our software
We sometimes email architects, engineers, energy modellers and firms whose business contact details are publicly listed, for example on a company website or professional directory, to tell them about our tools. For these contacts we keep your name, firm, role, business email address, where we found it, the dates we wrote, and whether you replied, signed up or asked us to stop. We use this only to manage that correspondence. We do not buy contact lists and we do not add you to any newsletter.
To stop hearing from us, reply to any message or email ian@tideweldsoftware.ca. We will keep only your address on a do-not-contact list so you are never re-added. Records for people who don’t respond are deleted within 12 months of our last message.
What we never collect
We do not see or store card numbers or bank details. Payments are handled entirely by Stripe or PayPal, whichever you choose at checkout, and we receive only confirmation that a payment succeeded together with the last few digits of a card where the processor supplies them. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.
Who else is involved
- Stripe — processes card payments and holds the billing relationship for customers who pay by card.
- PayPal — the same, for customers who choose to pay with a PayPal account.
- Google — provides the analytics described above, and serves the fonts this site uses, which means Google receives your IP address when a page loads.
- Hostinger — hosts the website, its database, and our business email.
- Anthropic — provides the AI assistant we use to help draft and manage outreach email, which means the contact details of people we write to are processed by it.
These providers operate outside Canada, including in the United States, so your information may be stored or processed there and can be subject to the laws of those countries.
Cookies
Signing in sets a cookie so the site knows it is you. This is required; the software cannot work without it. Google Analytics sets its own cookies to count visits. You can block or delete cookies in your browser. Blocking the analytics ones changes nothing about how the site works for you; blocking the sign-in cookie will stop you being able to log in.
Work kept in your browser
The calculator stores recent projects and your material library locally in your own browser so they are there when you return. That data stays on your device, is never sent to us, and is cleared when you clear your browsing data.
How long we keep things
- Account and subscription records — while your account exists, and afterwards only as long as needed for tax and accounting obligations.
- Saved projects — kept while your account exists, and deleted on request or when we close inactive accounts. Export anything you need before cancelling.
- Analytics — retained according to Google’s settings, currently a rolling period of no more than 14 months.
- Server logs — short-term, per our host’s retention.
Your rights
Under Canadian privacy law, principally PIPEDA, you may ask us to show you what we hold about you, correct anything wrong, delete your account and its data, stop any further email from us, or withdraw consent for anything that is not required to run your subscription. Email us and we will respond within 30 days. There is no charge.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled a request, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Security
The site runs over HTTPS. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes and cannot be read by us. Saved projects are tied to your account and every request is checked against the signed-in user, so one subscriber cannot reach another’s work. No system is perfect, and we will tell affected users promptly if a breach ever puts personal information at real risk.
Children
This is professional engineering software. It is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
Changes
If this policy changes we will update the date at the top. Where a change materially affects how we handle your information, we will tell subscribers by email.
Contact
Questions, requests or complaints: ian@tideweldsoftware.ca.