Privacy & Data Handling

How SnipLink handles personal data, anonymizes IP addresses, and ensures compliance with privacy regulations.

IP Address Anonymization

SnipLink employs a multi-layer approach to IP address handling that balances analytics utility with user privacy. This section documents our anonymization methodology.

The Anonymization Process

When a link is clicked or QR code is scanned, the visitor's IP address goes through our privacy pipeline:

Technical Implementation

The anonymization algorithm uses industry-standard cryptographic primitives:

// Conceptual pseudocode (actual implementation may vary)
function anonymizeIP(ip: string): string {
  // Daily rotating salt prevents correlation across days
  const dailySalt = getDailySalt(); // Rotates at midnight UTC

  // SHA-256 hash is computationally irreversible
  const hash = sha256(ip + dailySalt);

  // Truncation adds additional protection against brute force
  return hash.substring(0, 12);
}

// Example:
// Input:  "192.168.1.100"
// Output: "a7f3e2d1c9b8" (truncated hash)
// The original IP cannot be recovered from this hash

Why This Approach?

• Daily salt rotation: Prevents tracking users across days. A visitor on Monday and the same visitor on Tuesday will have different hashes.
• SHA-256: Cryptographically secure one-way function. Cannot be reversed to obtain the original IP.
• Hash truncation: Reduces uniqueness further, making rainbow table attacks computationally infeasible while maintaining statistical utility.
• Edge processing: Geolocation happens at Cloudflare's edge, so the raw IP never reaches our application servers.

Data Categories

SnipLink categorizes data by sensitivity and applies appropriate handling:

Data Retention Periods

Analytics data retention varies by subscription plan:

GDPR & CCPA Compliance

SnipLink's data handling practices are designed to support your compliance needs:

GDPR (EU)

• Lawful basis: Analytics processing is based on legitimate interest (website performance measurement)
• Data minimization: We collect only what's necessary for analytics
• Anonymization: IP addresses are anonymized, removing personal data status
• Data subject rights: Users can request data deletion via workspace owners

CCPA (California)

• No sale of data: SnipLink does not sell personal information
• Disclosure: We disclose what data we collect in our privacy policy
• Deletion requests: Workspace owners can delete data on behalf of visitors

API Data Handling

When using the SnipLink API, consider these data handling aspects:

Analytics API Responses

• Click counts are aggregated (no individual visitor data)
• Geographic data shows country/city totals, not individual locations
• Device/browser data is categorized and aggregated

Webhook Payloads

• Never contain raw IP addresses
• Geographic data is derived from anonymized IP processing
• Event IDs allow deduplication without tracking users

Link Metadata

• Creator information is associated with workspace accounts
• Click counts are aggregated totals
• No visitor-specific data is exposed via the API

Security Measures

Data protection is enforced through multiple layers:

• Encryption in transit: All API communication uses TLS 1.3
• Encryption at rest: Database and backups are encrypted with AES-256
• Access controls: Role-based permissions limit data access
• Audit logging: Security events are logged for monitoring
• SOC 2 alignment: Our practices align with SOC 2 trust principles