Privacy Policy

Controller

Joachim Christof Huben, c/o flexdienst – #11403, Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 76, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.

E-mail: mail@jch-technologies.de
Phone: +49 15679 698581

This policy covers JCH IED Studio, our product website and licence checks through license.jch-technologies.de.

Website and Technical Delivery

Website requests involve processing IP addresses, requested addresses, request times and browser and connection information needed to deliver content and secure the service. We do not use this to create advertising profiles.

The information pages load no external fonts or analytics libraries. The payment page pay.html loads Paddle.js from Paddle's CDN. Visiting that page therefore connects your browser to Paddle, which receives connection information.

Test downloads are protected by an access code. The web server processes the username and submitted code to control access; its configuration stores a password hash. Test files, including version information and checksums, are served only after successful authentication. The connection and logging information described below also applies to these requests.

Our licence server processes personal data for sign-in, subscription assignment and management of activated devices. Storage is not limited to a single subscription token:

Data	Processing
Apple user identifier (`sub`), internal account ID and email supplied by Apple, including relay addresses	Stored in the account for assignment and support
Device ID, device name and first and last recorded use	Stored for device management; the device name is the computer hostname and may include a person's name
Session token	A hash is stored with creation and expiry times, rather than the unmodified token
Paddle subscription and customer identifiers or Apple transaction identifiers, source, product, plan, status and period	Stored to assign and check entitlement
Webhook event identifier, type and timestamps	Stored to process events and recognise previously received events
Signed licence token	Generated and delivered to the app, not stored in the server database. The app keeps it for local verification during its validity.

Apple identity tokens and authorisation codes are processed for authentication or revocation and are not stored as such in the database. Account details extracted from an identity token and technical logs are separate matters. IP addresses are also processed for connections and abuse prevention. Hashes and technical identifiers do not automatically make personal data anonymous.

Billing addresses and payment instrument details are not stored in our licence database; the relevant purchase provider processes them. IED credentials, SCL files and station communication contents are not sent to the licence server for entitlement checks.

Purchases and Checkout through Paddle

For Paddle purchases, Paddle acts as reseller (Merchant of Record) and processes customer, billing and payment information as a separate controller. The relevant entities and international processing are explained in Paddle's Privacy Policy. Information needed to associate and verify the subscription is transmitted to our technical licence management service.

The Paddle integration serves the requested purchase or payment management and is loaded only on the checkout page. Cookies, device storage access and any required consent must also be considered in light of the actual Paddle notices and settings; embedding Paddle does not make all additional processing exempt from consent requirements.

Contacting Us

If you contact us by email or telephone, we process the contact information and contents you provide to handle your request.

For chat support in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, we link to our Just Connect Here messenger at just-connect-here.de. No messenger widget is embedded on this website; the messenger is accessed when you open the link. Messages and contact details submitted there are processed to handle your request. The messenger's own privacy information also applies to its use.

Types of Data Processed

Connection data for the IEDs you configure (host / IP, TCP port, OSI AP-Title, AE-Qualifier, P/S/T selectors, optional display name) and for the GOOSE bridge (WebSocket URL).
Authentication passwords (optional, for IEDs that require ACSE auth): stored in the operating system keychain (macOS Keychain, iOS Keychain) in encrypted form. They are NOT transmitted to vendor servers.
SCL files (SCD/ICD/CID/IID) are processed strictly locally — never uploaded or shared. The file remains at its original location (via LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace).
MMS read/write values (variable values, dataset contents, reports) are kept in application memory only and discarded on quit. There is no persistent storage.
GOOSE frames (received/sent via the bridge) are kept in memory only, in the bridge app and the Studio app. The bridge is a separate, standalone helper application with its own privacy policy.

Purposes of Processing

Establishing and managing MMS connections to IEC 61850 IEDs.
Receiving and sending GOOSE messages via the separate bridge app.
Browsing / subscribing to / querying data points, displaying and testing values, RCB management.
SCL editing and export (SCD/ICD/CID/IID).
Server simulation (in-app IEC 61850 server for testing purposes).

Principle

Technical engineering data is processed locally or exchanged with your selected IEDs and bridge as described above. Website requests, licensing, contact requests and payment processing are separate activities. We do not sell personal data.

Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR for contract performance, pre-contractual requests and necessary licence checks.
Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR for secure and reliable technical delivery and prevention of abuse. Our legitimate interest is operating the website and licence service securely.
Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR where statutory retention duties apply.
Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR where separate consent is obtained. Voluntarily entering data does not by itself constitute blanket consent.

Recipients / Disclosure

Engineering contents such as write commands and GOOSE publications are transmitted to your selected IEDs or bridge.
The app also communicates with our licence server for licence functions.
During Paddle checkout, the browser communicates with Paddle and the services it uses for payments. Recipients, international transfers and safeguards are explained in the linked Paddle privacy policy.
Technical infrastructure processes connection information needed to deliver the website and licence service. Your chosen email or telephone providers may also process communications when you contact us.

Retention and Account Deletion

Data category	Current technical handling
Apple user identifier and account email	Until account deletion
Device ID, name and usage timestamps	Until device removal or account deletion
Session hashes	Deleted on logout, account deletion or in the next cleanup after expiry. Sessions normally expire after 365 days; expired sessions are removed at service startup and daily thereafter, normally within one further day.
Subscription records	Currently remain after expiry and account deletion. Account deletion removes the internal account link; external customer and transaction identifiers may still permit identification.
Webhook events	Deleted in the next cleanup after 90 days from receipt; cleanup normally runs daily
Licence token	Not stored in the server database; stored locally on the device

Automatic cleanup runs at licence service startup and daily thereafter. Technical failures can delay it. Expired subscription records still have no automatic deletion period; their technical retention is not limited to the subscription period. Removing an internal account link does not amount to full anonymisation. Statutory erasure rights remain unaffected; requests may be sent to the contact address above.

Database backups: The entire database is backed up daily. Following a successful backup, the configured cleanup removes backups older than 14 completed days. Day rounding and the daily schedule mean regular retention can be about 15 to 16 days. Failed backups can delay cleanup. Deleted account data may remain in backups until the relevant backup is removed.

Logs and abuse prevention: The licence service's reverse proxy keeps access logs containing connection information, particularly IP addresses and user agents. Depending on configuration, requested URLs and response headers may also be included. A binding deletion period for server logs has not yet been established; rotation of the shared Caddy service is still being checked. Not storing a token in the database therefore does not guarantee its absence from all technical logs.

The IP-based sign-in rate limiter uses memory. Its assessment window is one hour; this is not a deletion deadline for all retained IP keys. Entries may remain until memory cleanup or a service restart.

Local engineering data: Received MMS values and GOOSE frames are discarded on quitting. Saved connections and settings remain in the app container until deleted. IED authentication passwords remain in the operating system keychain until the relevant entry is removed. Contact request retention depends on handling the request and any statutory duties. Data controlled by Paddle is subject to its published retention criteria.

Permissions

macOS (App Store)

Network client: connections to IEDs (TCP/102), the bridge (WebSocket), and HTTPS services for sign-in, licensing and purchases.
Network server: inbound TCP connections for the embedded MMS server simulator (port 102 or user-defined).
File read/write (user-selected): for opening SCL files and exporting SCD/ICD files via the native file picker.
Keychain: for the encrypted storage of IED authentication passwords.
App Sandbox: fully sandboxed (com.apple.security.app-sandbox=true).
NO access to camera, microphone, location, contacts, calendar, photo library (apart from an indirect permission string due to a third-party library dependency) or other personal resources.

iOS / iPadOS (App Store)

Local network (NSLocalNetworkUsageDescription): for connections to IEDs and the bridge on the same subnet.
File picker (Files app / Document Picker): for opening SCL files.
Document handling (LSSupportsOpeningDocumentsInPlace=YES): SCL files can be opened directly from iCloud Drive / Files app without being copied into the app container.
NO access to camera, microphone, location, contacts, calendar or similar personal resources.

Transport and Data Security

MMS (IEC 61850-8-1): ACSE auth (optional, configured per IED) supplies the password via the AARQ Authentication-Value field. Plain MMS is unencrypted by protocol; security must be provided by the network (VPN, VLAN, firewall) or by IEC 62351 extensions on the IED side.
GOOSE (IEC 61850-8-1 §15): L2 multicast, unencrypted by protocol. Security is provided by network segmentation (VLAN). Optional VLAN tagging can be configured.
Bridge WebSocket: local connection to the jch_goose_bridge app (typically ws://localhost:8765 or LAN). Not recommended outside the LAN without TLS tunnelling.
Warning: Writes to productive IEDs should only be performed in audited, sufficiently secured networks. This application provides no multi-user permission control — anyone with access to the device has full app access.

Your Rights (EU/UK)

Access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, data portability (Arts. 15–21 GDPR). Contact as above. Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it for future processing. You also have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority.

We comply with UK GDPR in addition to the EU GDPR. The above contact details also apply to the United Kingdom.

California Privacy (CPRA)

We do not sell personal data.
Engineering data remains local or is exchanged with your selected IEDs and bridge. Website, licensing, contact and checkout processing is described above.
Privacy rights requests: mail@jch-technologies.de.
Not intended for children; we do not knowingly collect data from minors.

US State Privacy (VA / CO / CT / UT)

We do not sell personal data.
Engineering data remains local or is exchanged with your selected IEDs and bridge. Website, licensing, contact and checkout processing is described above.
Privacy rights requests (e.g., access / deletion): mail@jch-technologies.de.
Not intended for children; we do not knowingly collect data from minors.

Changes

These notices may be updated as needed.

As of: 05.11.2026

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