Answers to common questions. Still stuck? Email support@privydeck.com. Prefer longer explainers? Browse privacy guides.
No. Personal Shield protects your phone and browser without extra hardware. A home network hub is optional if you want whole-home Wi‑Fi filtering.
A simple 0–100 rating of how well you're protected. It looks at DNS setup, browser blocking, your vault, and active protection modes. Follow the checklist to improve it.
Your encrypted files cannot be recovered. That's intentional: we never store your passphrase. Titles and categories are encrypted too, so we can't read those either. Pick something you'll remember and keep it somewhere safe.
The vault encrypts files in your browser (AES-256-GCM) and we cannot read them. There is not yet a published independent cryptographic audit. Do not make it the only copy of private keys, seed phrases, or recovery codes. See the security page.
Yes for common image types (JPEG, PNG, WebP). Before encryption, PrivyDeck re-encodes the image in your browser to remove EXIF GPS and camera metadata when possible. For PDFs and Office files, use PrivyFile from Privacy Tools.
A safer way to sign in with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello, or a hardware security key. You can create an account with only a passkey (no email). Add more passkeys under Settings. We store a public key only, never your biometrics.
Use a one-time recovery code from signup or Settings → Recovery codes. Each code works once. Rotating codes requires confirming with a passkey. Store them offline, and add a second passkey while you still have access.
Not by default. Local tips always run without calling a model. Cloud AI tips stay off until you enable them under Settings → Privacy preferences. Even then, only blocked domain names, hit counts, and coarse categories are sent to xAI (Grok) in the United States. We do not send your email, name, or account ID. xAI may retain the API request for up to 30 days for abuse auditing and states it does not train on API data.
By default, 30 days. Change the window or purge immediately under Settings → Privacy preferences. VPN IP from a home agent is not stored unless you opt in.
On PrivyDeck’s servers. Vault files are encrypted on your device before upload. We store service data on encrypted volumes where possible.
Pick a template (access, delete, or opt-out), enter the company name, and PrivyDeck generates a ready-to-send letter. Available on Guardian and Household plans.
Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, and Firefox on desktop. On mobile you get DNS protection via our guided setup (including a one-tap iOS profile).
Related guide: How to block ads and trackers in your browser
On the Household plan, each person signs in with their own account (passkey or provider) and keeps a separate encrypted vault. The owner invites members and pays for the plan. They cannot read other members' vaults. Device limits apply per member.
DoH and DoT encrypt your DNS lookups so your ISP sees less. Pick a privacy DNS in Personal Shield or Setup and follow the DoH/DoT steps for your device. ECH (Encrypted Client Hello) can hide the site name from some observers. Enable it in Firefox or Chrome when available. PrivyDeck walks you through it; we don't run our own DNS or ECH proxy.
Export all data from Settings → Privacy data export. Delete your account from Settings → Delete account. Optional features (xAI cloud tips, digests, Web Push, breach checks, VPN IP storage) are off by default; manage them under Settings → Privacy preferences. See Privacy Policy, Your Privacy Rights, and Do Not Sell in the footer. Email privacy@privydeck.com for requests you can't finish in the app. We respond within 30–45 days.
Go to Settings → Delete account, export your data first if needed, then type DELETE to confirm. All score history, devices, vault files, and alerts are permanently removed. Active subscriptions are cancelled automatically.
No. We see aggregated tracker statistics when protection is active, not your full browsing history. Vault files are encrypted before they leave your device. Rule sync is signed but not end-to-end encrypted — details are on the Trust center.
Blocking ads and trackers has to run on the pages you visit. The extension does not request tabs, history, or downloads. Every permission is listed on the Trust center.
Email security@privydeck.com (not a public GitHub issue). We aim to acknowledge within 3 business days. See SECURITY.md and the Trust center disclosure section.
Open Setup from the sidebar and walk through the guided wizard again. Make sure the browser extension is installed and connected. Check that ads, tracker, and malware lists are enabled under Protection Lists.
PrivyDeck protects you as a person: blocking trackers on your devices and home network, scoring your privacy, and storing encrypted documents. PrivBeacon (privbeacon.com) scans websites you own for legal compliance, generates policies, and certifies sites. Use both if you browse the web and run a site.
Open-source utilities at vassbrekke.no/vassdev: Windows privacy hardening, PDF/Office metadata removal (PrivyFile), breach checks (Epic OSINT), and more. Vault photo EXIF stripping is built into PrivyDeck; PrivyFile covers other file types. See Privacy Tools in the sidebar.