Privacy Policy

DarkStar Research, LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you use the Aperture platform and related services.

Information We Collect

When you create an account, we collect basic information necessary to provide the service, such as your name, email address, and organization details. We do not collect information beyond what is required for platform functionality.

We collect anonymized, aggregate usage data through Umami, a privacy-focused analytics tool. Umami does not use cookies, does not track users across websites, and does not collect any personally identifiable information. All analytics data is aggregated and cannot be tied back to individual users.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Aperture platform
• Authenticate your identity and manage your account
• Communicate with you about service updates and security notices
• Understand aggregate usage patterns to improve the product

We Will Never Sell Your Information

DarkStar Research, LLC will never sell, rent, trade, lease, license, or otherwise provide your personal information to any third party for any reason, under any circumstances. This is an absolute commitment with no exceptions. Your data is yours — not a product, not a revenue stream, not a bargaining chip. We will never monetize your personal information, period.

We use your information solely to operate and improve the service you signed up for. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, marketing platforms, or any other third party for their own purposes.

Third-Party Services and Integrations

Aperture integrates with third-party services to provide platform functionality, including but not limited to open-source intelligence (OSINT) feeds, threat enrichment APIs, artificial intelligence and machine learning services, external data sources, authentication providers, and infrastructure services.

In the course of providing the Service, we may transmit data you submit — such as indicators of compromise, threat data, or article content — to these third-party services for processing, enrichment, or analysis. We only transmit the minimum data necessary to provide the requested functionality.

We have no control over the data collection practices, privacy policies, security measures, or data retention policies of any third-party service. Once data is transmitted to a third-party provider, it is subject to that provider’s own terms and privacy practices. We make no representations or warranties regarding the privacy or security practices of any third-party service.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services that interact with Aperture. Your use of features that rely on third-party integrations is at your own discretion and risk.

Analytics

We use Umami for website analytics. Umami is a privacy-focused analytics tool that does not use cookies, does not collect personally identifiable information, and is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR. All data is anonymized and aggregated. No individual user behavior is tracked or stored.

Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and regular security reviews. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. If you request account deletion, we will remove your personal information within a reasonable timeframe, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

Legal Disclosure

We will never voluntarily disclose your personal information to any government agency, law enforcement body, or other third party. However, we may be compelled to disclose information if required to do so by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other valid legal process.

In such cases, we will disclose only the minimum information legally required and, to the extent permitted by law, we will notify you of the disclosure so that you may seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the platform or by email. Your continued use of Aperture after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at [email protected].