Privacy Policy
Last updated: 3 July 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how G. Sigurdarson(“Formbear”, “we”) handles personal data. EU data residency is the foundation of Formbear: everything that touches your data runs on EU-owned infrastructure.
1. Two roles: controller and processor
For the data we hold about our own customers (your account and workspace), we are the data controller and this Policy applies. For the responses your respondents submit to your forms and widgets, you are the controller and we act as your processor under our Data Processing Agreement.
2. Data we collect
Account data
- your name and email address;
- workspace details and member roles;
- billing information, handled by our payment provider (we do not store full card details).
Usage data
Limited technical data needed to run and secure the service, such as log and device information. We also run privacy-respecting product analytics on our own self-hosted, EU-based instance: it is cookieless, does not identify you, and its data never leaves our infrastructure.
Response data (on your customers’ behalf)
Answers submitted to your forms and feedback widgets. We process this on your instructions as your processor; see the DPA.
Form analytics (aggregate, anonymous)
When someone views a public form, we derive anonymous, aggregate statistics for the form owner: view counts, coarse location (country and city), device type, browser and operating system family, and the referring site’s domain. This works without cookies or any stored identifier: the visitor’s IP address and browser details are used only for the moment of the request and are not stored or logged. Visit counting uses a one-way code that changes every day and is deleted afterwards, so visits cannot be linked across days, devices, or websites. Location is derived locally on our own servers using the GeoLite2 database created by MaxMind, available from maxmind.com; the IP address never leaves our infrastructure. Analytics for forms on our Free plan is kept for 7 days.
3. How we use data and our legal bases
- To provide the service (performance of our contract with you).
- To secure and improve the service, prevent abuse, and keep it reliable (our legitimate interests).
- To handle billing and meet tax and accounting obligations (legal obligation and contract).
- To send service and, where permitted, product messages (contract and legitimate interests; consent where required).
4. Where your data is stored
Your forms, responses, and account data are stored and processed on our own servers in Germany (Hetzner), on EU-owned infrastructure. We do not route response or personal data through US-region clouds.
5. How we protect it
Data is encrypted in transit with TLS. At rest, storage is encrypted at the volume level, and every response answer receives an additional layer of AES-256-GCM encryption applied before it reaches the database. Access to production data is restricted and logged.
6. Subprocessors
We use a small set of carefully chosen subprocessors. Polar is our only non-EU-headquartered relationship by way of its US-incorporated merchant-of-record entity and its payment processor, and it only ever sees billing data.
| Hetzner (Germany) | Application hosting and the Postgres database. Holds forms, responses, and account data. |
|---|---|
| Lettermint (Netherlands) | Transactional email: sign-in links and new-response notifications. Email addresses only. |
| Polar (Sweden; payments via Stripe) | Billing and EU VAT, as merchant of record. Billing data only, never forms or responses. |
7. Sharing
We do not sell personal data. We share it only with the subprocessors above, where required by law, or in connection with a corporate transaction (with safeguards). We never use Response Data to train AI models.
8. International transfers
Personal data stays within the EU/EEA wherever possible. Where billing involves a transfer outside the EEA (Polar’s merchant-of-record entity and Stripe), it is covered by appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
9. Retention
We keep account data for as long as your account is active and as needed afterwards to meet legal obligations. Response Data is retained according to your instructions, including any per-form retention window you set; you can export or delete responses at any time from your workspace.
10. Your rights
Subject to applicable law, you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to the processing of your personal data, and to data portability. To exercise these rights, contact [email protected]. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. For Response Data, please contact the relevant form owner, who is the controller.
11. Cookies
We use strictly necessary cookies to keep you signed in and to secure the service. Public forms set no cookies and no tracking identifiers: form analytics is cookieless and anonymous (see section 2), and our own product analytics is cookieless as well. We use no advertising or cross-site tracking of any kind.
12. Children
Formbear is not intended for children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data as a controller.
13. Changes
We may update this Policy from time to time and will note the date above. Material changes will be communicated by email or in-product.
14. Contact
Controller: G. Sigurdarson. Privacy contact: [email protected].