How we protect your data

Private details like Social Security numbers and EINs are blacked out before your documents are read

We find Social Security numbers, EINs, ITINs, account and routing numbers, and dates of birth, and black them out on every PDF page and photo. In Word, Excel and CSV files they're masked the same way. Only that masked copy is read to build your results, never your original file. Names, addresses and dollar amounts stay, because the review needs them.

Scanned pages and photos of documents have no text to search, so we read them on our own server, with text recognition (OCR) that runs inside LoanPrep. It finds the same numbers in the picture, and they're blacked out before the page goes on to be read. Nothing is sent anywhere else for this. If a page is too blurry or dark to read clearly, we tell you before anything is sent, so you can upload a clearer copy, redact it yourself or type in the lines instead.

Automatic masking can miss a number printed in an unusual way. For the most protection, redact your files before you upload them.

What we keep

If you don't sign in, none of your documents or answers are kept. Your files are read in memory to build your results, then discarded, and when you close or reload the page what you entered is gone too.

If you sign in to save your work, your answers, results and written review are saved to your account until you delete them. The documents you send are kept in private storage so you can run your numbers again without uploading them again, and each one is deleted automatically 30 days after you send it. You can delete any of it sooner. Only the masked copy is ever read. Other users can't see any of it.

We also keep a short record of each check you run on a saved application, its grade and what it flagged, so the next check can show you what changed. It's deleted when you delete the application.

If you ask for early access, we keep the name, email and anything else you tell us on that form, only to invite you to the beta. We don't share it.

If you tick the box for our newsletter, we keep your email, the words you agreed to and when, so we can send it. Leave it anytime from your account, and every issue has an unsubscribe link. If you leave, we keep a note that you did, so you aren't emailed again. We don't share or sell your email.

What we count

Vercel, which runs the website, counts visits to each page, the site that sent each visitor, and their country, browser and kind of device, without cookies. Page addresses are sent to it without anything after the "?", apart from ad tags.

We also count how many visitors take each step: running the quick estimate, asking for early access, starting a check, reaching each part of it, analyzing and paying. Each count keeps only the step, the day, the page the visit began on, and the site or ad that sent it. It doesn't include your name, email, documents or anything you type, and it isn't linked to your account or application.

Who handles your information

• A document-processing provider reads the masked copy of your documents to pull out your figures, and helps write your review. It uses what we send only for that and to watch for misuse. It keeps a copy for up to 30 days, then deletes it, unless the law requires it to keep it longer.
• Supabase stores accounts and saved work for owners who sign in.
• Stripe takes the payment when a check costs money. You pay on Stripe's own page, so we never see your card; we keep only the amount and when it was used.
• Vercel runs the website and counts visits.

We don't sell your information, and we don't send it to lenders.

To redact a PDF yourself

• On a Mac, open it in Preview, show the Markup toolbar, choose the redaction tool, select each number, and save. Apple's guide
• With Adobe Acrobat Pro, on Windows or Mac, use the Redact tool. Its Find Text & Redact option can find Social Security numbers for you. Adobe's guide
• A black box or highlight drawn over a number doesn't remove it; the number is still in the file. Use a real redaction tool, then search the file for the number to check it's gone.
• Free redaction websites have you upload the unredacted file first, so use a tool on your own computer.