Privacy Policy

Effective July 8, 2026 · SealBook is operated by Olympia Software Solutions (Virginia).

1. Data minimization is the design

SealBook is built to hold the least sensitive data that still produces a legally sufficient record. We never store images of government IDs and never store full identification numbers — journal entries record ID type, issuing state, expiration, and at most the last four characters, and in states that prohibit identifying numbers we automatically record none. ID barcode scans are parsed on the capturing device or in transient memory and immediately discarded.

2. What we collect

• Account data: name, email, commission details, organization membership.
• Journal records: the statutory contents of notarial-act entries created by notaries, including signer names, addresses, signatures, and (with explicit consent, where permitted) thumbprint images stored as encrypted evidence — never used for biometric matching or identification.
• Case evidence: documents and recordings a notary chooses to retain, encrypted at rest.
• Session data: consent records, timestamps (device, GPS, server), location assessments for statutory compliance, and identity-proofing outcomes (pass/fail and a provider reference — not the underlying ID data).
• Technical data: IP addresses, device information, and audit logs of access to records.

3. How it is used

To provide the service; to create and protect the legally required records of notarial acts; to detect fraud and enforce statutory gates (identity, location, retention); to process payments through Stripe; and to comply with law, including lawful inspection requests directed to the record owner.

4. Third parties

We share data only with processors necessary to the service: payment processing (Stripe), identity-verification providers during remote sessions (which process ID images under their own policies; we receive outcomes only), infrastructure and video providers, and email delivery. We do not sell personal information and do not use journal or evidence content for advertising.

5. Security

Evidence files, recordings, certificates, and verification documents are encrypted at rest under per-notary keys. Journal entries and audit logs are hash-chained so any alteration is detectable. Access to evidence is itself logged. Signing-certificate passphrases are never stored.

6. Retention

Notarial records are retained for the period required by the notary's commissioning jurisdiction (typically 5–10 years; remote-session recordings per state law, e.g., 10 years in Maryland). Records bound to sealed entries or legal holds cannot be deleted during those periods, including by us, through the application. Account data is deleted on request where no statutory retention applies.

7. Your rights

Notaries may export their complete journal at any time. Signers may direct requests about their data to the notary who performed the act (the legal custodian of the record) or to us at [email protected]; statutory record-retention obligations may limit deletion. We honor applicable rights under Virginia's Consumer Data Protection Act and other applicable state privacy laws, including Maryland's Personal Information Protection Act obligations applicable to notary technology vendors.

8. Changes and contact

We will post updates to this policy with a new effective date. Contact: [email protected] · Olympia Software Solutions, Virginia.