Usage Stats is the name for an information package sent by your copy of Filter Forge to our servers. It contains lists of the filters you use, explore and search for. We use these data to calculate Usage Rank for all filters in the Filter Library, which, in turn, allows us to reward the authors of popular filters. Usage Stats are collected and sent to our servers upon your permission only:
What exactly is sent?
- An identifier of your installed copy of Filter Forge – a long number containing no personally identifiable information. This identifier is necessary to protect filter ratings from being manipulated via “false votes” submitted to our servers.
- The list of filters you use most frequently, based on the number of times you press the Apply or Save As button for a particular filter. This allows us to determine what filters in the Filter Library are the most useful for our users and to reward their authors.
- The list of filters you look at or explore, based on the time you spend tweaking the controls of a particular filter. This lets us see what filters appeal to our users and may therefore deserve an Editor's Pick.
- The list of search terms you used when searching the Filter Library. We want to know what kinds of filters our users would like to see in the Filter Library Armed with this knowledge, we can improve Filter Forge by providing more filters of these kinds.
Is this info stored permanently on your servers?
No. The raw usage information that we collect from Filter Forge users is stored in a temporary database for a relatively short time (currently a week), and is deleted after it has been factored into Usage Rank calculation. Like all online companies, we do full database backups, and the raw Usage Stats database is stored there along with our other data until the backup file expires and is erased.
Can this info be linked with my real-world identity?
No, and we have no intention to do that. The identifier is the only element which could possibly be used to link your Usage Stats with your identity, if we had a data record containing both your identifier and your personal information. However, we do not have any such record, as your identifier is not required in cases when you have to provide your personal data (i.e., in the ordering process and when creating a site account).
Do you publish Usage Stats or share them with other companies?
The raw usage information is available only to the staff of Filter Forge, Inc. In fact, this information makes no sense to anyone else but us. As for the disclosure, we may make aggregate data public, but not the raw info you send to our servers.
How to prevent Filter Forge from sending the Usage Stats?
In the main Filter Forge window, go to Tools > Options, click the Filter Library tab, check the "Never send my Usage Stats" option and click OK.
