Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 30, 2026 · Last updated: October 8, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information SmallClaimsHelper collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. SmallClaimsHelper (the "Service") is operated by Simcha Fuchs ("we," "us," "our"), an individual operating a sole proprietorship doing business as SmallClaimsHelper.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide

When you use the Service, you voluntarily provide:

• The case details you enter (state, parties, claim type, amount, narrative, evidence list) and the resulting draft documents
• Your email address, if you provide it to Stripe at checkout or when you contact support — used to send your payment receipt and respond to support requests
• If you choose “Save and finish later” in the case form: the answers you have typed so far, and optionally an email address to send the link to. The email address is used to send that one message and is not stored.

You choose what to enter. There is no account to create, and we do not require an email address in the case form itself. You may use generic or fictional values in the case fields. Your finished documents are shown to you in your browser; any email you give to Stripe at checkout is used only for your receipt and support.

Payment information

When you purchase, your payment details are collected and processed directly by Stripe on its own checkout page: your card details, your email address, and your billing address (Stripe asks for as much of it as it needs — at least your country and postal code — to calculate any sales tax). We never see or store your full card number. Stripe sends us the checkout record, which includes your name, email, billing address and the amount paid. We use your email to send the link that delivers your documents and to answer support requests; we do not store the rest of that record on our servers — it stays with Stripe.

Server logs

Our hosting provider (Netlify) automatically logs basic request information (IP address, user agent, timestamp, requested URL) for security and abuse prevention. These logs are retained by Netlify per their privacy policy.

2. Product analytics

We use PostHog, a product-analytics service, to understand how the Service is used and to detect faults. It is loaded on our pages and records:

• Usage events — pages viewed, which step of the form you reached, whether a purchase completed and whether your documents were delivered. Some events carry details of your case: the state you are filing in, the case type you choose, and your claim amount as a range (for example “1000-2499”), never the exact figure. PostHog also records clicks on the page’s buttons and links together with their text, so picking a state or a case type from the list is recorded too. No event carries your name, the other party’s name, either address, your description of the dispute, or the documents we generate. We use these to find and fix failures; a customer who paid and did not receive documents is invisible to us without them. The payment reference Stripe adds to the link that brings you back here is removed from every event before it is sent; events about a paid order carry only its last 10 characters, so support can find your order, and that fragment cannot be used to access it.
• Session recordings — we do not use these. PostHog can replay a visit as a video of the page, and that is switched off in our configuration. A replay records what the page displays, not only what you type, which here would include the complaint, court script and evidence list the Service generates for you.
• Technical data — browser, device type, and approximate location derived from IP. We also record uncaught JavaScript errors (the error message, and the file and line that raised it) so we can find faults no one thought to instrument. Browser console messages are no longer captured; that was a feature of session replay.

PostHog stores an identifier in your browser to recognise return visits. We use the same PostHog account across our other services, which are separated by a site label; we do not combine your activity across them to build a profile.

To opt out, enable “Do Not Track” or “Global Privacy Control” in your browser: our configuration honours both signals, and PostHog will capture nothing at all. You can also email info@smallclaimsforms.net and we will delete your events.

2a. Information we do not collect

The Service does not use any of the following:

• Google Analytics, Fathom, Plausible, or any other third-party web analytics beyond PostHog as described above
• Social media tracking (Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight, etc.)
• Advertising networks, retargeting, or cross-site tracking pixels
• Any sale or sharing of your data for behavioural advertising
• Session replay or heatmap tools (Hotjar, FullStory, Clarity, etc.) — including PostHog's own session replay and heatmap features, which are switched off in our configuration

Stripe may set its own cookies on its hosted checkout pages; that processing is governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy linked above.

3. How we use your information

• To generate your small claims court document drafts. Your inputs are passed to Anthropic's Claude API to produce the output.
• To deliver your small claims court document drafts. We render the output to you in the browser and may email you a confirmation receipt.
• To recover and re-deliver a paid order. If a paid order fails to generate, we may use the case inputs held under “Data retention” to produce and re-deliver the documents you paid for.
• To process payment. We pass payment instructions to Stripe; Stripe handles the transaction.
• To prevent abuse. We may review server logs to detect fraud, spam, or technical issues.
• To respond to your support requests. If you email us, we use that information to help you.

4. Third-party processors

The Service relies on the processors below. Your data is shared with them only as necessary to provide the Service:

• Anthropic (privacy policy) — receives your inputs via the Claude API to generate the output. Per Anthropic's commercial terms, inputs submitted via the API are not used to train their models.
• Stripe (privacy policy) — processes payments on its own checkout page and collects your card details, email address and billing address there; it also calculates sales tax and handles any refund we issue (refunds are issued by hand, see the Refund Policy). Stripe is a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified payment processor.
• Netlify (privacy policy) — hosts the website and stores temporary session data.
• Resend (privacy policy) — sends the one confirmation email after a purchase, containing the link that delivers your documents, and, if you ask for it, the email containing your “Save and finish later” link. Receives your email address and that link only; never your case details or documents.
• PostHog (privacy policy) — product analytics, as described under “Product analytics”. Receives page views, named events (including the state, case type and claim-amount range described there), clicks on buttons and links with their text, uncaught JavaScript errors, your IP address, browser user agent, and a randomly generated device identifier. It does not receive names, addresses, your description of the dispute, or the documents generated for you: session replay and heatmaps are disabled in our configuration. Hosted in the United States.

We do not sell your data, share it with advertisers, or use it for marketing purposes outside of the Service (which may include affiliate links; see “Affiliate links and partner offers”).

5. Data retention

• Form sessions: your inputs are stored for 24 hours so they can be recovered if your browser loses them during checkout. After 24 hours they can no longer be retrieved, and a daily cleanup permanently deletes them, so they are gone within 48 hours at most.
• Saved progress in your browser: while you fill in the case form, your answers are kept in your browser’s session storage for that tab, so a reload does not lose them. They never leave your device this way, and they are cleared when you close the tab, start over, or receive your documents.
• “Save and finish later” (optional): if you ask for a link to finish later, the answers you have typed so far are stored on our server for 72 hours under a random link that only you receive. Anyone who has the link can open those answers, so keep it private. After 72 hours the link stops working, and a daily cleanup permanently deletes the answers, so they are gone within 96 hours at most. Your addresses are not part of this: the form asks for them only after payment. If you give an email address so we can send you the link, it is used for that one email and not stored.
• Generated documents: held on our server only until your browser collects them, and deleted as soon as it does. Any that are never collected are deleted by the same daily cleanup once they are 24 hours old.
• Paid orders: a completed payment stays redeemable for 72 hours, so you can come back and generate your documents. This holds no extra data about you — the case inputs behind it still expire after 24 hours, as above, and the usage count we keep against the payment reference is deleted by the daily cleanup after 72 hours. If you return after that, re-enter your answers and your payment is re-applied automatically; you are not charged twice.
• Payment records: retained by Stripe per their retention policy, which we cannot override.
• Server logs: retained by Netlify per their retention policy (typically 30 to 90 days).
• Analytics events: retained by PostHog for up to 12 months, then deleted. You can ask us to delete yours sooner at any time.

6. Your rights

All users

You can request at any time, by emailing info@smallclaimsforms.net:

• A copy of the data we hold about you (access)
• Correction of any inaccurate data
• Deletion of your data (subject to any records we are legally required to keep)
• Opt-out from any marketing emails

We respond to all requests within 30 days.

California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the rights listed above plus the right to know what categories of personal information we collect, sell, or share. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. California residents can contact us at the email above to exercise these rights.

European Union / UK residents (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are in the EU or UK, you have the rights listed above plus:

• The right to data portability (receive your data in machine-readable form)
• The right to object to processing based on legitimate interest
• The right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

Our legal basis for processing is (a) performance of a contract (delivering your purchase), and (b) legitimate interest (fraud prevention, which you may opt out of by not using the Service).

7. Security

Data in transit is protected by HTTPS/TLS. Data at rest is encrypted by Netlify and Stripe using industry-standard encryption. Despite reasonable precautions, no internet transmission or storage is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children

The Service is intended for adults. It is not directed to people under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided data, contact us and we will delete it.

9. International data transfers

Our processors are located in the United States and European Union. If you use the Service from outside these regions, your data will be transferred to and processed in those jurisdictions. By using the Service, you consent to this transfer.

10. Affiliate links and partner offers

SmallClaims may earn money through affiliate partnerships. Some links in our emails or on the Service — for example, a service relevant to your small claims case — may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you sign up or buy through them. This is always at no extra cost to you and never changes the price you pay the partner. We only include offers we believe are genuinely useful to people handling a small claims case; an affiliate relationship does not change our recommendations, and an affiliate link is not an endorsement or legal advice (SmallClaims is not a law firm).

When you follow an affiliate link you leave the Service, and any information you provide on the partner’s site is governed by that partner’s privacy policy, not ours. We do not sell or hand your personal information to these partners. An affiliate network may report back to us that a referral resulted in a sign-up or purchase using an anonymous tracking identifier (not your name or email), so we can measure which recommendations are useful.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after an update constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact

For any privacy question, concern, or request:

Email: info@smallclaimsforms.net
Response time: typically within one business day (Monday–Friday).