Legal

Privacy Policy

Beta version. Effective date: October 26, 2026. Last updated: October 26, 2026.

Stela is run by STELA.OS (“Stela”, “we”, “us”), based in Austin, Texas, USA. This policy explains what we can and can’t see when you use Stela, what we keep, and what we do with it.

The short version

Your projects, contacts, scripts, documents, receipts and branding are encrypted on your device before they reach us. We store only the encrypted version and can’t read it.
We can see your email address, your plan, when your account was created, how much encrypted data you store, and anything you choose to send us as feedback.
We use one session cookie to keep you signed in. No advertising, no tracking cookies and no third-party analytics.
We don’t sell or rent your information, and Stela doesn’t send marketing email.
If you lose both your password and your recovery key, we can’t recover your data.

1. What we can’t see: your content

Everything you put into a project or your Rolodex is encrypted in your browser, on whatever device you use, before it’s sent to us. That includes:

project details, budgets, receipts, financing, funding plans and notes;
cast, crew, guests and other contacts, including their emails and phone numbers;
tasks, schedules, locations, festivals and distribution details;
casting wishlists: the roles, talent ideas, notes and packages you add or import;
scripts and uploaded documents, including their file names and notes; and
your profile and branding: your name, photo, business name, logo, website and business contact details.

When you import a casting list into a Wishlist (pasted text, or a PDF, Word, CSV or text file, including one you pick from a cloud drive through your device’s file picker), it’s read on your device. The file itself isn’t uploaded and nothing is sent to anyone else to read it; only the list you choose to save goes into your project, encrypted like everything else.

Your data is encrypted (AES-256-GCM) with a key that only your devices can unlock. That key is locked by your password and, separately, by your recovery key. We never receive your password or your recovery key, so we can’t unlock your data, and neither can our hosting and infrastructure providers.

There’s no recovery option on our side. Stela never keeps a copy of your key that it can use. Your account stores your recovery key only in encrypted form, locked with your own key, so you can view it again in Settings while you’re signed in. If you forget your password, your recovery key is the only way back in. If you lose both, your data can’t be recovered by anyone, including us.

2. What we can see and store

To run your account, our servers store:

Your email address, which you use to sign in.
Sign-in security data: a salted, one-way hash made from a key your device derives from your password (never the password itself), the same kind of hash for your recovery key, your encryption keys in locked (encrypted) form, and a public key used for sharing features. None of this lets us read your content.
Your encrypted data (and the encrypted copies of any projects you share), plus information about it but not what’s in it: how big each encrypted item is, when it was saved, and what kind of item it is (for example, a project, a contact or a file). From this we could tell, for example, how many projects you have and how much storage you use, but not what any of it says.
Your plan: your plan or tier (for example, free, Beta Pass or complimentary access), when your account was created, and, if you joined from a beta invite link, which invite you used and when you joined.
Session records, so you stay signed in. We store only a hashed version of your session ID, plus when the session started and was last used.
Abuse-prevention counters, which hold a one-way hash of your IP address, email or account ID next to a count of recent attempts. They expire within an hour.
Feedback you send us. If you use Send feedback, we store your message, its category, the screenshot if you attach one, your email, the app version and a short description of your device and browser. Feedback is not encrypted, because it’s a message to the people who build Stela. The form says so.
Basic request details (such as IP address, time, page requested and browser type) in our hosting and infrastructure providers’ logs.

The people who run Stela can see a list of accounts showing each account’s email, sign-up date, number of projects and any complimentary access they’ve been given, and they can read feedback. They can’t see what’s inside any project.

You can share one project with another Stela member, and choose for each person whether they can view it or also edit it. Here’s exactly how it works:

You type the person’s email and pick which tabs they can see. Your device makes a 6-character code. We store only a one-way hash of the code, the invited email, when the invite expires (24 hours) and how many wrong tries it has had. Stela doesn’t send the invite; you send it yourself.
The code only works for a signed-in account with the invited email. A link or a code on its own opens nothing.
Once they accept, your device encrypts a copy of the tabs you picked for that one person’s account, and keeps it up to date when you save changes. We store only the encrypted copy. We can’t read it.
Files are shared too. When you share Docs (or a Script tab that stores files), your device decrypts each file and re-encrypts it under that share’s own key, so the person can open and download it. You can leave individual files out. These copies are stored separately from your own files, encrypted the whole time; we can’t read them. They count toward your storage. When you add or delete a file in a shared project, your device updates their copies the next time Stela is open.
Edit access. You can switch each person between Can view and Can edit at any time, at the invite or later. With Can edit, their device turns each change they make (to the tabs you shared, never files) into a small change record, encrypts it with that share’s key and sends it to us. We store only the encrypted records, and we can’t read them. Your device downloads and decrypts them the next time Stela is open there, checks each one, applies it to your project and shares a fresh copy. Then it tells us to delete the records; we keep only how many changes were applied or skipped (no content) for 7 days, so their device can show it. While you’re away, their changes wait, encrypted. If you switch someone back to Can view or revoke access, our server refuses any further change from them right away.
Restore points. Before your device applies someone’s changes, it saves a restore point and a short activity note (who, which tabs, how many changes and when), encrypted with your own key, so you can undo their changes. We keep the 10 newest per project and can’t read them. They’re deleted with the project or your account.
You see the invited email and when the copy was last updated. They see your account email and the name on your profile.
When you revoke access, cancel an invite, or delete the project or your account, we delete their encrypted copy, the encrypted copies of the shared files, any of their changes still waiting, and every key to them. A short record that the invite existed (no project content) stays so an old code can’t be reused; it goes when you delete the project or your account.
Anything you share can be seen by the person you share it with, and they could copy or download it while they have access. Revoking stops future access but can’t take back what they’ve already seen or downloaded.

4. Crowdfunding numbers

If you paste a Kickstarter campaign link into a project, your device sends that link (and only that link) to our server, which reads the campaign’s public numbers from Kickstarter and passes them back to your device. Kickstarter sees the request coming from our server, not from you. We don’t store the link or the numbers on our server; they’re saved inside your encrypted project.

5. How we use it

We use this information only to:

create your account, sign you in and keep you signed in;
store your encrypted data and send it back to your devices;
apply your plan, enforce storage limits and stop abuse, such as password-guessing or fake sign-ups;
read and answer feedback, keep the service secure, and find and fix problems; and
reply when you write to us.

Stela doesn’t send marketing email. Today Stela doesn’t send automatic email at all. If you email us, we’ll reply from contact@stelaos.app. We don’t use your information for advertising and we don’t build profiles of you.

6. Cookies and device storage

One cookie. We set a single session cookie that keeps you signed in. It’s strictly necessary, it can’t be read by scripts on the page, it’s sent only to Stela over a secure connection, and it’s never shared with other sites. It expires after 12 hours of inactivity, or 7 days at most.
No tracking. We use no analytics, advertising or social-media cookies, and no third-party analytics or tracking tools. The app loads nothing from other websites.
Notifications. The bell and urgent task pop-ups are worked out on your device from your own workspace. Your notification settings, and what you’ve read or snoozed, are saved inside your encrypted workspace. We don’t send notifications by text, email or push. If you tap “Allow alerts on this device”, your browser shows urgent-task alerts itself while Stela is open in a tab; that switch is saved in your encrypted workspace too.
Device storage. Your browser keeps a few small settings, such as your preferred view, theme and filters. If you choose to stay signed in, your browser also keeps a locked copy of your encryption key on that device so you don’t have to retype your password. Your browser can use it, but it can’t be copied out. Signing out removes it.

Our hosting and infrastructure providers. Stela runs on a cloud provider’s network, database and file storage. They store the encrypted data and the account information above on our behalf, and may see IP addresses and request details in their logs. They can’t read your encrypted content either.
When the law requires it. If we receive a valid legal request, we may have to hand over the information we hold. For your content, that means only encrypted data, which we can’t unlock. We’ll tell you about a request unless the law prevents us.
If the business changes hands. If Stela is sold or merged, your information may transfer to the new owner under this policy, and we’ll let you know.

We don’t sell or rent your personal information, and we don’t share it for advertising. The only people who see a project of yours are the ones you share it with yourself.

8. Exports and files you download

When you export a project or download a file, it’s decrypted on your device. Exports and downloads are ordinary, unencrypted files. Once you save or send one, it’s outside Stela’s protection, and how it’s stored and shared is up to you.

9. Information about other people

The contacts, guests, crew and release records you add are encrypted like the rest of your content, so we can’t see them. You decide what to store about others, and you’re responsible for handling it lawfully, including getting any consent you need. Please take extra care with sensitive details, such as anything about a minor or someone’s health. If someone contacts us about their information in your account, we’ll direct them to you, because we have no way to view it.

10. How long we keep it

Your account and encrypted data: for as long as your account exists.
When you delete something: it’s removed from our live database straight away.
When you delete your account (Settings, then Delete my account): we permanently delete your account from our live systems, including your projects, contacts, files, branding, plan and beta records, feedback, sessions, every share you made or were given (including the shared copies of files), and your email address.
Backups: our hosting provider keeps automatic backups of the database that can hold deleted data for up to 30 days before it’s overwritten. We use them only to recover from a failure.
Hosting logs: kept by our hosting and infrastructure providers for a short period, generally no more than 30 days.
Abuse-prevention counters: up to one hour.
Sessions: they end after 12 hours of inactivity or 7 days, whichever comes first.

11. Your choices and rights

See and take your data: it’s yours to view at any time, and Settings has Export everything.
Correct it: you can edit your content at any time. To change the email on your account, write to us.
Delete it: delete individual items, or your whole account, in the app.
Ask us: email contact@stelaos.app with any privacy question or request, including access or deletion requests. We’ll reply within 45 days. We won’t treat you differently for using your rights.

Depending on where you live, including Texas, California and other US states, you may have more rights under local law. Write to us and we’ll help.

12. Security

Your content is encrypted on your device with AES-256-GCM before it’s sent to us.
Your password is strengthened on your device with a slow key-derivation process (PBKDF2-SHA256, at least 600,000 rounds), which makes guessing attacks very expensive.
All traffic uses HTTPS, and sign-in attempts are rate-limited.

No system is perfectly secure. Your password and recovery key are the keys to your data: we can’t reset them, and if you lose both, your data can’t be recovered. If we learn of a security breach that affects your information, we’ll notify you as the law requires.

13. Where your data is stored

Stela is operated from the United States, and your account data is stored and processed in the United States with our hosting and infrastructure providers.

14. Age limit

You must be 18 or older to have a Stela account. Stela is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, email us and we’ll delete it.

15. Paid plans

Stela is free during the beta and we don’t collect payment details. Before any paid plan launches, we’ll update this policy to explain how payments are handled.

16. Changes to this policy

We’ll post any changes here and update the date at the top. If a change is material, we’ll tell you in the app or by email at least 30 days before it takes effect when practical.

17. Contact

STELA.OS, Austin, Texas, USA
Email: contact@stelaos.app

Questions about this page? Email contact@stelaos.app.

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