Privacy policy

Last updated: 8 October 2026

Sharpe & Clear makes free, animated finance lessons (YouTube: @SharpeAndClear) and runs this website, sharpeandclear.com. It also runs the study platform at app.sharpeandclear.com, where the Level I course lives. This page explains, in plain words, what happens to your data on both.

In short

No ads, no advertising trackers, no analytics, and no cookies on sharpeandclear.com.
The study platform uses one cookie, only to keep you signed in.
Our servers and our email provider are in the EU.
When you buy, Link and Stripe handle the payment: we never see your card details.
We never sell or rent your data.
You can download or delete your data at any time.

Who is responsible

Sharpe & Clear is responsible for your data on sharpeandclear.com and app.sharpeandclear.com. For any privacy question or request: hello@sharpeandclear.com

When you visit our websites

Server logs: like every website, our servers keep technical logs (IP address, date and time, page requested, browser type) to keep the sites secure and fix errors. On the study platform, IP addresses are shortened before they are written to the logs.
No tracking: sharpeandclear.com uses no cookies, no analytics, no ads and no tracking pixels, and loads no fonts or scripts from other companies.
The live demos on the course page run in your browser and send nothing to us.

When you ask for the free guide or our emails

Your email address and level (Level I, Level II, Level III or "Not sure yet").
Your confirmation: when you click the link in our confirmation email (double opt-in), the date and time are recorded as proof of your consent.
Email activity: like most email tools, our email provider can record whether an email was delivered, opened or clicked.

We use these to send you the free guide, then occasional emails: new lessons, study tips and news about our course. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.

When you create an account on the study platform

Your email address, and your first name if you give it.
Sign-in links and codes: they work for 15 minutes. We store them only in a scrambled form (a hash) and delete them after 24 hours. There are no passwords.
Your devices: up to 3 devices stay signed in. For each one, we keep a random identifier (in a cookie on that device), a short label based on your browser, such as "Chrome on Windows", and the dates of first and last use. We don't keep the full browser details.
Your settings: the exam window you choose, your email choices, and when you accepted our terms.
Security emails: when a new device signs in, we tell you by email.
A security log: sign-ins, device changes and account actions, with their dates.

When you study

Your study progress: lessons done, your answers to questions, your flashcard schedule, points and streaks. It is saved in your browser and on our server, so it follows you from one device to another.
Feedback you send from the app (bug reports and ideas), with the page and the app version.
Error reports: if something breaks, the app sends us a technical error message. These reports are anonymous: no account, no IP address, and email addresses are removed from them.

When you buy

Link and Stripe handle the payment. You buy through Link (Sold through Link, LLC, a Stripe company), and Stripe processes the payment. They collect your payment and billing details and are responsible for them under their own privacy policies. We never see your full card details.
We keep what we need to give you access and handle refunds and disputes: your email, what you bought, the price, the date, the exam window you chose, the payment reference, the proof that you asked for immediate access before paying, and any refund or dispute.
Our own purchase record: if you ask Link to delete your data, Stripe also deletes it from our Stripe account. We still keep our own purchase record for as long as tax and accounting law requires.
Campaign tags: if you came through a link with a campaign tag (for example from one of our videos), we keep that tag with your purchase, to learn which videos help people. It is part of the link, not a tracker.

When you write to us

We keep your emails as long as we need them to help you. Emails about payments and refunds are kept as long as accounting law requires.

Cookies and storage

sharpeandclear.com: no cookies.
The study platform: one cookie, only to keep you signed in. It lasts up to 60 days and is renewed when you use the app. The app also keeps your progress and settings in your browser (local storage), so it stays fast. Nothing is used for tracking or advertising, so there is no consent banner.

Why we use your data

To run your account, the course and your purchase: to perform our contract with you (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)).
To send the free guide and our emails: your consent (Article 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw it at any time; this does not affect what happened before.
To keep accounting records: a legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)).
To keep our services secure, limit account sharing, fix errors and learn which videos help people: our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)). You can object at any time.

Who else processes your data

Hetzner (Hetzner Online GmbH, Germany, EU) hosts our websites in the EU, and the study platform and its encrypted backups in Germany.
Brevo (Sendinblue SAS, France, EU) stores our email list and sends our emails: the free guide, our newsletter, sign-in links and security emails.
Link and Stripe: Link (Sold through Link, LLC, a Stripe company) sells you the course, and Stripe processes the payment. For the data they collect, they are responsible under their own privacy policies.

Hetzner and Brevo process data only on our behalf, under data processing agreements. We never sell or rent your data, and we don't use it for advertising. We share data with authorities only when the law requires it.

Where your data is stored

Our servers and our email provider are in the EU. Link and Stripe may process payment data outside the EU, for example in the United States, with the safeguards that the GDPR requires.

How long we keep it

Retention periods
Data	How long
Free guide and newsletter	Until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it
Server logs	About two weeks
Sign-in links and codes	Valid 15 minutes, deleted after 24 hours
Devices you signed out	Deleted 30 days after the session ends
Account, settings and study progress	As long as your account exists. After 24 months with no sign-in and no paid access, we email you, then delete the account.
Security log	12 months
Feedback you send	12 months
Error reports (anonymous)	30 days
Purchase records	As long as tax and accounting law requires (up to 10 years)
Technical payment messages from Stripe	90 days
Emails you send us	As long as needed to help you; payment emails as long as accounting law requires
Backups	Encrypted and rolling: deleted data leaves them within 12 months

Your rights

You can ask to see your data, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, or receive a copy of it. You can withdraw your consent at any time; this does not affect what happened before. Just write to us.

In the app, under Settings: "Download my data" gives you a copy of your account data as a file, and "Delete my account" deletes it once you confirm with a code we email you. Deleting your account also ends any paid access and erases your progress.
Our emails all have a one-click unsubscribe link.
A complaint: you can also complain to a data protection authority, for example the one in the country where you live or work.

Security

Everything travels over HTTPS. There are no passwords to steal: sign-in links, codes and sessions are stored only in scrambled form (hashes). Backups are encrypted, and access to our servers is limited to us.

Children

Our services are for adults preparing for a professional exam. They are not meant for children under 16.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we update the date at the top. If a change matters for account holders, we tell you by email or in the app.

Contact

For any privacy question or request: hello@sharpeandclear.com