Privacy Policy

What CogCharts Is

CogCharts is a desktop trading terminal that runs locally on your computer. It connects directly to your brokerage account(s) and data providers through their APIs. CogCharts is not a cloud service — the core application runs entirely on your hardware.

Data Stored Locally

The following data is created and stored exclusively on your local machine in SQLite databases and configuration files. CogCharts (the company) has no access to this data:

Broker API Credentials

Your brokerage API keys, tokens, and connection settings are stored locally in an encrypted database on your machine. They are never transmitted to CogCharts servers. Credentials are sent only to your broker's API endpoints as required for authentication.

AI API Keys

If you use CogBot AI with a cloud provider (Claude, OpenAI), your API key is stored locally and sent only to the AI provider's API endpoint. If you use a local AI model (Ollama, LM Studio), no data leaves your machine. CogCharts does not proxy, log, or store your AI conversations.

Market Data & Candles

Historical price data, candles, quotes, and market information are stored in a local SQLite database. This data is sourced from your connected brokers and data providers.

Trade History & Executions

Your trade executions, positions, P&L history, and performance analytics are stored locally. This data is fetched from your broker's API and processed on your machine.

Alerts, Drawings & Settings

Price alerts, chart drawings, watchlists, scripts, UI preferences, and all application settings are stored locally.

Data We Collect

Account Registration (Pro Tier)

If you purchase a license or subscribe to CogCharts Pro, we collect your email address and payment information. Payment processing is handled by Stripe — we do not store credit card numbers. Your email is used for license activation, account recovery, and product updates.

Cloud Sync (Pro Tier Only)

Pro subscribers may optionally enable cloud sync, which transmits the following to CogCharts servers: application settings, alert configurations, watchlists, and UI preferences. Cloud sync does not transmit broker credentials, API keys, trade history, market data, or AI conversations.

Cloud Screener Queries (Pro Tier)

When using the Pro cloud screener, filter criteria are sent to our server to execute scans against our market database. We do not log individual queries or associate them with user accounts beyond what is needed for rate limiting.

License Validation

The desktop application periodically contacts our licensing server to validate your license status. This request includes your license key and a device identifier (a hash — not your hardware serial number). No trading data or personal information is included in license checks.

Data We Do Not Collect

CogCharts does not collect, transmit, or have access to: your trading activity or positions, broker account balances or statements, order history or execution details, AI conversations or analysis results, chart drawings or annotations, screen recordings or screenshots, keystroke or interaction telemetry, or any data beyond what is explicitly described above.

Third-Party Services

Brokerage APIs

CogCharts connects to your broker (Interactive Brokers, Tradier, Alpaca, Questrade, OANDA, etc.) using their published APIs. Your data exchange with these services is governed by their respective privacy policies. CogCharts acts as a client application — we do not intermediate or log broker communications.

Market Data Providers

CogCharts fetches market data from Yahoo Finance, Stooq, Alpha Vantage, and other providers based on your configuration. These requests are made directly from your machine to the provider's servers.

AI Providers

If you configure a cloud AI provider (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI), chart data and your prompts are sent directly from your machine to the provider's API. Review the provider's privacy policy for how they handle your data. CogCharts does not see, store, or relay AI conversations.

Stripe (Payments)

License purchases and Pro subscriptions are processed by Stripe. Stripe's privacy policy governs payment data handling. CogCharts receives only a confirmation of payment status — not your full card details.

Data Retention

Local data persists until you delete it or uninstall the application. Cloud-synced settings (Pro tier) are retained while your subscription is active and deleted within 30 days of account closure or upon request. Email and license records are retained for legal and accounting purposes.

Data Security

Local databases are stored in your user profile directory with standard OS file permissions. Broker credentials are encrypted at rest. Cloud communications use TLS encryption in transit. Our cloud infrastructure runs on AWS with encryption at rest enabled.

Your Rights

You can request deletion of your cloud account and associated data at any time by emailing support@cogcharts.com. Local data is under your full control — you can view, export, or delete it at any time through the application or by deleting the database files directly.

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the CCPA including the right to know what data we collect, the right to delete your data, and the right to opt out of data sales. We do not sell personal information.

If you are an EU/EEA resident, you have rights under GDPR including access, rectification, erasure, and data portability. Our lawful basis for processing is contract performance (license/subscription) and legitimate interest (license validation).

Children's Privacy

CogCharts is not intended for use by anyone under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users and posted on this page with an updated date.

Contact

For privacy-related questions or data requests, contact support@cogcharts.com.