The short version
PorchIQ runs on a computer at your property. Your camera footage, the AI's descriptions of it, vehicles and plates, who is home, your automations, and your device history stay on that computer. The AI that describes cameras, searches footage, and writes automations runs there too. We receive only what we need to run your account and subscription. We do not sell your personal information or use it for advertising.
1. Who is responsible
FrontPorchIQ LLC ("PorchIQ", "we") at 207 E. Grand River Ave, Suite 1A, Howell, MI 48843 is responsible for the personal information that reaches us. For data that stays on your PorchIQ computer, you and your household control it; we cannot see it.
2. What stays at your property
Camera footage, snapshots, detections, and the AI's descriptions of events
Vehicles, license plates (if plate reading is on), known people, pets, and visitors
Presence (who is home and when), schedules, and calendars you connect
Automations, routines, scenes, dashboards, and settings
Device states, history, logs, and energy and climate data
Sign-in records for household members and your connected-service keys, which are stored encrypted
This data leaves your property only if you send it somewhere, for example by turning on encrypted backups to storage you choose, opening PorchIQ remotely, or connecting a third-party service (see section 4).
3. What reaches us
Account details: your name, email address, and how you sign in.
Billing: plan and subscription status. Card details go directly to Stripe (or Apple or Google); we never see or store your full card number.
License check: about once a day, your PorchIQ install sends your plan, an install ID, and the app version so we can confirm your subscription and offer updates.
Remote access: if you turn it on, a secure Cloudflare tunnel connects your property to the internet. Your traffic passes through Cloudflare encrypted; we keep the tunnel's settings and connection status, not what you view.
Crash reports: only if you turn them on, with personal details removed.
Support and community: what you send us in support requests, emails, or forum posts, and any diagnostics you choose to attach.
Website: porchiq.com uses its own built-in analytics, not Google Analytics or any outside tracker, and the analytics set no cookies (the community forum sets one cookie to remember your display name if you post). It records the pages viewed, time on page, how far you scrolled, page speed, the referring site and campaign tags, your device type, browser, screen size and language, and an approximate location (country, region and city) worked out from your IP address. Your IP address itself is never stored. Each visitor is counted with a code that changes every day, so no one can be followed from one day to the next. If your browser sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track, nothing is sent at all.
4. Services you connect
When you connect services such as Home Assistant, device makers' clouds (for example Yale, UniFi, SmartThings, Ecobee, Sonos, Rachio), vehicle makers or Smartcar, Google Calendar, or Twilio for texting, your PorchIQ computer talks to them directly using credentials you provide. Those companies handle data under their own privacy policies. We do not receive that data.
5. How we use what reaches us
To create and run your account; process payments; check licenses and deliver updates; provide remote access; answer support requests (a person reviews every support reply); keep the Service secure and prevent abuse; fix bugs and improve PorchIQ; send service messages, such as receipts and important changes; and meet legal obligations. We send marketing emails only if you opt in, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
6. Who we share it with
We share personal information only with service providers that help us run PorchIQ, under contracts that limit their use of it: Stripe (payments), Cloudflare (website, hosting, remote access, and storage), our email provider, and, if you buy through an app store, Apple or Google. We may also share information if required by law, to protect people's safety or our rights, or as part of a merger or sale of the business, in which case this policy continues to apply. We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
7. Your choices and rights
In PorchIQ Settings you can: turn plate reading on or off; choose to keep camera history for 7, 14, or 30 days; keep audio recording off; download your own data; and delete your account and its data. The owner can erase the whole house.
For data that reaches us, you can ask to see, correct, download, or delete it by emailing [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days (or the time required by your state's law) and may need to verify your identity. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights, including the right to appeal our decision. We will not treat you differently for using these rights.
8. How long we keep it
We keep account and billing records while your account is open and for up to 7 years after it closes, as needed for taxes and accounting. License check records are kept for up to 12 months. Support messages are kept for up to 3 years. Data at your property is kept as long as you choose; canceling a subscription does not delete it.
9. Security
We use encryption in transit, encrypted storage for keys and secrets, passkey and multi-factor sign-in options, and access limited to the people who need it. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by law.
10. Children
PorchIQ accounts are for adults. Household members of any age may appear in camera footage or presence data at your property, which stays under your control. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13; if you believe we have, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Where data is processed
We are based in the United States, and data that reaches us is processed in the United States and wherever our service providers operate.
12. Changes to this policy
We will post updates here and change the effective date. If a change is material, we will tell you by email or in the app before it takes effect.
13. Contact
FrontPorchIQ LLC, 207 E. Grand River Ave, Suite 1A, Howell, MI 48843. Email [email protected].
All terms and policies · Questions? [email protected]