FinestIQ
Privacy Policy
Last updated October 22, 2026
The short version. FinestIQ helps you look things up in the publicly available Department Manual. We keep what we need to run your account and answer your questions, we never sell your information, we don’t show ads, and we don’t use tracking or analytics tools. Your questions are not shared with your department or employer.
This policy explains what FinestIQ (“FinestIQ”, “we”, “us”) collects when you use the website at finestiq.app and the FinestIQ apps, how we use it, who helps us provide the service, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. FinestIQ is an independent reference tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of New York or the New York City Police Department.
What we collect
- Account details: your name, your email address (if you add one), your title or rank (which you choose so answers can lead with your duties), and your password, which we store only as a scrambled one-way hash (we can never see it).
- Sign-in with Face ID, Touch ID or a passkey: your device keeps your face or fingerprint; it never reaches us. We store only the passkey’s public key, a name for the device (like “iPhone”) and when it was last used.
- Sign-in with Google (and Apple, when available): the provider tells us your account ID with them, your name, your email and whether they have verified it. We don’t receive your Google or Apple password.
- Your questions and our answers: what you ask (typed or spoken), the answer, the manual pages it cites, any rating or comment you leave, and which answer model was used. Spoken questions are turned into text; the recording itself is not kept.
- Your recent conversations and pinned answers, so they follow you to your other devices (up to 20 recent conversations and 50 pins).
- Usage counts: how many questions, voice questions and read-aloud answers you use each day, and their estimated cost, so we can keep the service fair and affordable.
- Error reports: when something breaks on your device, a short report: the device type and system version (for example “iPhone · iOS 18.1 · Safari”), the screen you were on and the error message.
- Security records: a scrambled (hashed) form of your connection’s address to stop repeated wrong passwords or floods of requests, and a log of account changes (for example a password reset).
- On your device only: preferences such as colors, answer length and voice settings, and the conversation on your screen, are saved in your browser and never sent to us. We use one sign-in cookie and, during sign-in with Google, one short-lived security cookie. We don’t use advertising or tracking cookies.
How we use it
- To sign you in, keep your account secure and answer your questions.
- To show answers that fit your rank, and to save complete, cited answers to common questions so the next person who asks gets them instantly. Saved answers are stored without your name or account.
- To keep the service working and improve it: the administrator may review questions, answers, ratings and errors to fix mistakes, find gaps in the manual coverage and check answer quality.
- To email you about your account (confirming your email, resetting your password, an invitation). We don’t send marketing email.
- To prevent abuse and keep usage within fair limits.
We don’t sell or rent your information, we don’t use it for advertising, and we don’t share your questions with your department, your employer or anyone else, except as described below or when the law requires it.
Who helps us run FinestIQ
These companies process information on our behalf, only to provide the service:
| Company | What they do | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Write and check answers, search the manual, turn speech into text, read answers aloud | Your question, recent conversation and the manual passages; voice recordings for transcription |
| Google (Gemini) | Write answers | Your question, recent conversation and the manual passages |
| Netlify | Hosting and file storage | Everything the app stores, and connection details when you visit |
| Neon | Account database | Account details and account history |
| Resend | Sending account emails | Your email address and the email’s content |
| GitHub | Keeping a private, off-site copy of our daily backup | The backup (see “How long we keep it”) |
| Google, Apple | “Continue with Google / Apple”, if you use it | Only what you share with them to sign in |
We use the paid business services of OpenAI and Google, whose terms say they do not use what we send them to train their models. Don’t include personal, case or confidential details about other people in your questions.
How long we keep it
- Questions, answers, ratings and comments: 90 days, then deleted automatically (the administrator may set a period between 30 and 365 days).
- Saved answers to common questions (without names): up to 12 months.
- Recent conversations and pins: until you remove them or your account is deleted.
- Error reports: 30 days. Share links: 24 hours.
- Backups: daily backups are kept 14 days, and a private copy of each is kept up to 90 days, so deleted information can stay in a backup for up to 90 days before it is gone.
- Your account: until you or the administrator delete it.
Your choices
- See or fix your information: your email, password and rank are in Settings. You can ask us for a copy of your questions and answers.
- Delete your account: email us and we’ll delete your account, conversations and pins; your questions and answers are deleted with the next automatic clean-up or sooner on request.
- Sign-in options: remove a Face ID passkey any time in Settings › Sign-in.
Depending on where you live, you may have more rights over your information (for example under California law). Email us and we’ll help.
Security
Connections are encrypted (HTTPS), passwords are stored only as one-way hashes, sign-in links work once and expire, and repeated failed sign-ins are blocked for a while. No system is perfectly secure; please use a strong password or Face ID and keep your device locked.
Children
FinestIQ is for adults. You must be 18 or older to use it, and we don’t knowingly collect information from anyone younger.
Changes
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top, and for important changes we’ll tell you in the app or by email before they take effect.
Contact
Questions or requests: privacy@finestiq.app