Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 2026

1. Data Controller

The data controller for the MechaHandbook app and this website is:
Matteo Dallapiccola
Via Stramaiolo 2, Bedollo (TN), Italy
Email: privacy@mechahandbook.com

2. Overview

MechaHandbook is a mechanical-engineering reference tool. It is available as an application for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad and Mac) and for Android devices, and as this website.

The app has no user account of its own: it does not ask you to register or sign in, and it is designed to work without an internet connection. We do not operate any backend that receives your usage or preference data from the app. Some information may still be processed by your device platform — Apple or Google — when you turn on an optional platform service (Section 3.2), make a purchase (Section 3.5), or choose to contact us (Section 3.6).

3. The App

3.1 Information stored on your device

Your preferences — such as favorites, recently viewed items, language and display settings — are saved locally on your device using the standard storage provided by the operating system. This information stays on your device and is not transmitted to us.

3.2 Optional storage in your Apple or Google account

If you turn on iCloud on your Apple devices, or the backup service linked to your Google account on Android, a copy of the preferences described in Section 3.1 may be stored in your personal Apple or Google account and made available on your other devices. On Apple devices this can take the form of the app keeping those preferences in your iCloud so they stay aligned across your Apple devices; on Android it typically takes the form of a backup that is restored when you set up a new device.

In all cases this:

  • is entirely optional and is turned on or off by you, in your device or account settings, not from within the app;
  • concerns only the app preferences listed above, and never the reference content you consult;
  • keeps that data inside your own Apple or Google account, where it is handled by Apple or Google under their own terms and privacy policies and protected by their security measures;
  • does not give us access to your data: we cannot read, retrieve or otherwise use the information held in your personal account, and we do not receive it on any system of ours.

You can turn this off, and delete the stored data, at any time from your iCloud or Google account settings. The privacy policies of Apple and Google apply to that processing.

3.3 Diagnostics and crash reports

If you have chosen to share diagnostic and usage data with app developers in your device settings (on Apple devices: Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements; on Android: the equivalent "usage & diagnostics" option), Apple or Google may provide us with diagnostic, crash and performance information through their developer consoles. Depending on the platform, this information is subject to aggregation or minimisation measures and does not identify you personally; it is used only to improve the stability of the app. You can turn this option off at any time in your device settings.

3.4 App store analytics

Apple and Google provide us with aggregated, privacy-preserving statistics through App Store Connect and Google Play Console, such as download numbers, sessions, subscription counts and country of origin. These statistics cannot be used to identify individual users.

3.5 In-app purchases and subscriptions

The app may offer paid features, in the form of one-off in-app purchases and/or subscriptions. All purchases and billing are handled exclusively by Apple or by Google through their respective app stores and payment systems. We never see, receive or store your payment details, and we do not carry out any payment processing of our own.

To unlock the paid features, the app checks with Apple or Google whether you hold a valid purchase or an active subscription. This check takes place through the app store on your device. The app receives only the information needed to determine that entitlement — such as the product purchased and its current status — and not your payment card or billing details; that information is processed on your device and is not sent to us. Separately, Apple and Google provide us with aggregated, non-identifying figures about purchases and subscriptions through App Store Connect and Google Play Console.

Each purchase, and the renewal, management or cancellation of a subscription, is governed by the terms and the privacy policy of the store you use.

3.6 Contact and feedback

The app may include a contact link for suggestions, feature requests and bug reports. Selecting it simply opens a blank message in your own email app, addressed to us; nothing is sent until you choose to send it, and you decide what to include. When you write to us, we receive your email address and the content of your message — which, in the case of a bug report, may contain details you add yourself, such as your device model or a screenshot.

We use this information only to read and respond to your request and, where relevant, to fix the issue reported or evaluate the suggestion. We do not use it for marketing and do not add you to any mailing list. Messages are kept only for as long as necessary to handle the request, unless a longer period is required to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

4. This Website

4.1 Cloudflare (hosting and CDN)

This website is hosted on Cloudflare (Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA). As part of its normal operation, Cloudflare processes technical data including IP addresses and browser information in its network logs. This data is retained by Cloudflare for the time needed to provide security, abuse-prevention and network-operation services, in accordance with its applicable retention policies. Cloudflare, Inc. is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. For more information: cloudflare.com/privacypolicy .

4.2 Cloudflare Web Analytics

We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to collect aggregated statistics about website usage. The data collected includes page views, country of origin, device type, and referrer, all in aggregated form. This service does not use cookies and is not used for cross-site tracking, advertising or user profiling. We rely on our legitimate interest in understanding aggregated website usage (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). For more information: cloudflare.com/web-analytics .

4.3 Mailing list

You may leave your email address to be notified when the app launches. The only data collected is your email address, provided voluntarily after ticking an unchecked consent checkbox. You may unsubscribe at any time via the link included in every email. The legal basis for this processing is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

This mailing list is managed by Brevo SAS (159 Rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris, France), based in France and acting as our data processor. Brevo stores your email address on its servers to send the launch notification, and may use sub-processors, including outside the EEA, subject to the safeguards required by applicable data protection law. For more information: brevo.com/legal/privacypolicy .

5. Legal Bases for Processing

  • Information on your device and optional storage in your account: this processing takes place on your own devices and, where you enable it, within your own Apple or Google account. To the limited extent that it concerns us, our basis is our legitimate interest in providing an app that keeps your preferences available across your devices in the way you have asked it to (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Apple and Google act as independent controllers for the operation of their cloud services.
  • Cloudflare infrastructure: legitimate interest in providing a secure and performant website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
  • Cloudflare Web Analytics: legitimate interest in understanding aggregated website usage, without cookies and without user profiling (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
  • In-app purchases and subscriptions: the processing needed to give you access to the paid features you have bought (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Billing is carried out by Apple or Google as independent controllers.
  • Mailing list: your explicit consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
  • Contact and feedback messages: our legitimate interest in responding to your enquiries, providing support and improving the app (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

6. Data Retention

  • Preferences stored on your device: kept until you delete the app or clear its data.
  • Preferences stored in your Apple or Google account: kept there until you turn this off or delete them through that account.
  • Purchase and subscription status: for as long as your purchase or subscription remains valid, as recorded by your app store.
  • Contact and feedback messages: until the request is handled, unless a longer period is required for legal reasons.
  • Cloudflare network logs: retained by Cloudflare for the time needed to provide security, abuse-prevention and network-operation services, in accordance with its applicable retention policies.
  • Cloudflare Web Analytics: aggregated data, no personal data retained.
  • Mailing list: until you unsubscribe.

7. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Rectify inaccurate data
  • Request erasure of your data
  • Restrict or object to processing
  • Data portability
  • Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
  • Lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority

Where we rely on our legitimate interests, you have the right to object to that processing at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation.

For any data held within your Apple or Google account (see Section 3.2), you can exercise these rights directly with Apple or Google, who control those services.

The Italian supervisory authority is the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali .

8. Contact

For any privacy-related request, contact us at:
privacy@mechahandbook.com

9. Children

MechaHandbook is a technical reference tool intended for professionals, students and engineering enthusiasts and is not specifically directed at children.

10. Information for App Store and Google Play Users

The privacy information shown on the App Store and the "Data safety" information shown on Google Play reflect the practices described here: MechaHandbook has no account system, does not collect personal data through a backend operated by us, and the optional account storage described in Section 3.2 takes place within your own Apple or Google account, outside our control. Any paid features are billed by Apple or Google through their own payment systems: we receive no payment data and only aggregated, non-identifying figures about purchases and subscriptions.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the app and website evolve. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Where features described here as optional become available in your version of the app, the corresponding parts of this policy apply from that point. Where required by law, we will give appropriate notice of material changes.