Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This site is operated by Michael Seidl (XR Macher), reachable at seidl@xrmacher.com. The site itself is hosted by world4you Internet Services GmbH (Hafenstraße 35, 4020 Linz, Austria).

2. What data we collect

When you sign up for the open beta we store, exactly:

• Your email address - so we can send you the installer and answer support requests.
• Your IP address - kept for spam prevention and to enforce the per-IP rate limit on the signup endpoint.
• Timestamps - when you signed up, when (if) your access was approved, and when you last downloaded the installer.
• A randomly-generated download token - lets you fetch the installer without an account; expires automatically after 14 days.

We do not use any tracking cookies, no analytics, no third-party fonts, no social media pixels. The Stream Deck profile and the manual are static files served from the same domain.

3. Optional in-app usage statistics (telemetry)

PassthroughForge can send anonymous and identifiable usage statistics to our server so we can see how the open beta is doing — how often the app is launched, how long sessions last, which build is in the field, and whether anything is crashing. This data is strictly opt-in and is never sent unless you explicitly tick the box on first launch (or later under Settings → Privacy).

When telemetry is enabled, the app sends us:

• Your license code, if you have activated a paid license. This is the same code you entered into the License dialog and is how we link a session to your account in the admin dashboard. If you are still on a free trial, no license code is sent and we receive only an irreversible SHA-256 hash of your machine ID, which we cannot reverse to identify you personally.
• The PassthroughForge version you are running (e.g. 2.93.1).
• Session timestamps — when each session started and ended, plus a per-machine launch counter.
• Approximate session duration, split into foreground and tray time, in seconds.
• Crash information when PassthroughForge terminates unexpectedly: exception code, faulting module name and offset, the build version, and a short call stack. Local Windows user names are stripped from file paths before the report leaves your machine. No memory contents, no profile data, no screen captures.
• The IP address of the telemetry POST request. We store this server-side alongside your session row so we can match telemetry to the beta-program account that signed up from the same network — this lets us give you targeted support during the beta and understand how the build is actually being used. The IP is never shown to other users, never sold or shared, and is subject to the same 24-month retention window as the rest of the session record. This applies to both trial and activated users; if you do not want your IP linked to telemetry, simply leave the opt-in box unticked (which is the default).
• Optionally, the email address you used when you signed up for the beta. If you type it into the opt-in dialog (the field is blank by default), it is sent with every telemetry POST so we can automatically pair the irreversible machine-hash from your PC with the beta-signup record that uses the same email. This is the most reliable way to link your sessions to your beta account regardless of network changes. The email itself is not stored a second time on the telemetry tables; it is used purely to write the machine-hash into your existing beta-signup row, and is then discarded by the server. Leave the field blank to skip this auto-pairing.

What we explicitly do not collect:

• Your Windows user name, computer name, network identifiers, or any path or filename that could leak personal data.
• The contents of your masks, profiles, kneeboards, captured windows, or any in-game content.
• Which aircraft, mission, or third-party module you are flying.
• Keystrokes, mouse traces, controller bindings, or any input data.

Web-server access logs (separate from telemetry) are kept for at most 7 days for abuse-prevention and are only consulted in case of a security incident.

Statistics are sent at three moments: once when PassthroughForge starts, every 15 minutes while it is running, and once when it shuts down. If your machine is offline the data is simply not sent — there is no persistent local queue and no retry across reboots, except for crash reports which are saved to disk and posted on the next successful launch.

Legal basis: Article 6 (1) (a) GDPR — your explicit, withdrawable consent given via the opt-in checkbox in PassthroughForge. For activated customers we additionally rely on Article 6 (1) (b) GDPR (contract performance) to link telemetry to your license so we can give you better support and gauge engagement during the beta.

Retention: Identifiable session records are kept for a maximum of 24 months after collection and are then deleted. Aggregated, non-identifiable totals (e.g. "average daily active devices on v2.93") may be kept indefinitely for product planning. Crash records older than 12 months are deleted unconditionally.

Withdraw consent any time by un-ticking the box under Settings → Privacy → Send anonymous usage statistics inside PassthroughForge. From that moment no further data leaves your machine. To also have your historical telemetry rows deleted from our server, email seidl@xrmacher.com; we will purge them within 7 days.

Where the data is stored: on the same world4you database we use for the beta signup, hosted in Linz, Austria. No data is transferred outside the EU and no third-party analytics service is involved.

4. Why we collect it

• To deliver the open-beta software you requested (legal basis: contract / pre-contractual measures, GDPR Art. 6 (1) (b)).
• To prevent abuse of the signup form (legal basis: legitimate interest, GDPR Art. 6 (1) (f)).
• To improve PassthroughForge using opt-in telemetry described in section 3 (legal basis: consent, GDPR Art. 6 (1) (a)).

5. How long we keep it

Your record stays in our database until you ask us to delete it (see section 6) or until the beta program ends, whichever comes first. After the public release, all beta-only signup records are purged within 30 days.

6. Who we share it with

Nobody. Your email address is never sold, shared, forwarded to a mailing-list provider, or used for advertising. The only outbound mails you receive from us are:

• An automatic welcome email when you sign up.
• An access email with your download link when we approve your spot.
• Occasional update notes about new beta versions (very low volume - fewer than one mail per month on average).

Sub-processors used: world4you Internet Services GmbH for hosting + outbound SMTP. No data is transferred outside the EU.

7. Your rights

Under GDPR you have the right to:

• Get a copy of the data we have about you (Auskunft).
• Correct any inaccurate data (Berichtigung).
• Have your data deleted (Löschung / "right to be forgotten").
• Restrict or object to processing.
• Receive your data in a portable format.
• Lodge a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority (Datenschutzbehörde, www.dsb.gv.at).

To exercise any of these rights, just send an email to seidl@xrmacher.com. Deletion requests are honoured within 7 days.

8. Cookies

The public site sets no cookies. The admin panel (/backend/admin.php, password-protected, not used by end users) sets a single PHP session cookie used only during an admin login session.

9. Changes to this policy

If we materially change how we handle your data we will notify every active beta participant by email at least 14 days before the change takes effect, with a clear opt-out / deletion option.

Last updated: 2026-05-04.