Privacy & data retention

Last updated: 2026-06-01

Ask The Nozzle is a diagnostic tool that uses Anthropic's Claude API to analyse photos of failed 3D prints. This page explains exactly what happens to the data you submit.

What is processed

When you submit a diagnosis request, your photos, gcode file, slicer settings text, and free-text notes are sent to Anthropic's Claude API to generate the diagnosis. Anthropic processes the request under their commercial API terms and does not retain the data for model training. The diagnosis text comes back to you in the browser.

What we keep on this server

Always (needed for billing and abuse prevention; cannot be opted out):

• A minimal usage record per request: timestamp, number of photos, whether you uploaded a gcode file, the AI's predicted defect class, and the token count. This record never contains your photos, gcode, settings text, notes, or the diagnosis text. It cannot be used to reconstruct your submission.

Only if you tick "Help improve the agent":

• Your uploaded photos and gcode file.
• Any slicer settings text and notes you provided.
• The AI's full diagnosis text.
• Any correction you submit via the "Diagnosis wrong?" box.

Saved submissions are reviewed by the operator to identify cases where the agent was wrong and to improve the diagnostic rules. Each saved submission has a 12-character case ID shown next to your diagnosis. You can request deletion of any saved submission at any time using that case ID — see "Delete my data" below.

The learned defect pattern from a saved case may also be added to the agent's public knowledge base in a generalised, anonymised form. Your raw photos and gcode are never republished. Personal identifiers (filenames, machine serial numbers) are stripped. The published form looks like: "Defect class X with material Y is often caused by Z; fix is W." If you would prefer your case to be reviewed but not republished in any form, just delete it via the case ID after submitting.

Pricing & quota (for context)

Free trial: 30 credits on signup — enough for one photo diagnosis plus a small chat. Paid plans range from £3/month (300 credits) to £25/month (3,000 credits), or pay-as-you-go top-ups from £3. Annual subscriptions get 2 months free. Credits expire 12 months from your last activity. Cancel any time. Higher-volume usage is on request — see /subscribe.

Retention

Saved submissions are kept for up to 12 months from the date of submission, then automatically deleted. Usage records (the minimal kind) are kept for up to 24 months for billing and analytics.

Delete my data

To delete a saved submission, send an HTTP DELETE request to /api/cases/<case_id>, where <case_id> is the 12-character ID shown under your diagnosis. For example:

curl -X DELETE https://askthenozzle.com/api/cases/abc123def456

Or email the operator with the case ID and we will delete it within 7 days. To delete every saved submission you have made, email the operator from the same address you used for your account — we will purge all saved cases linked to that address.

Third parties

• Anthropic (Claude API, US) — receives the photos, gcode, settings, and notes for the duration of the diagnosis call. Subject to Anthropic's commercial terms; not used for model training.
• Stripe (payments, Ireland/US) — handles all card data for subscriptions and top-ups. We receive only your email address, a subscription tier flag, and a Stripe customer ID. Card numbers, CVV, and billing address never touch our servers. Subject to Stripe's privacy policy.
• Resend (transactional email, US) — receives your email address and the 6-digit one-time code when you request a sign-in link. No other content is sent. Subject to Resend's privacy policy.
• Hostinger (VPS hosting, EU) — hosts the application server. Standard server logs (IP address, request paths, timestamps) are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.
• Let's Encrypt / ISRG (TLS certificates) — issues the HTTPS certificate for askthenozzle.com. No user data is shared.
• Umami (privacy-respecting analytics, self-hosted by us) — counts page views and aggregate referrer/device stats. No cookies are set, no fingerprinting is performed, and your IP is not stored. The Umami instance runs on our own server. Data never leaves our infrastructure.
• WordPress (blog at askthenozzle.com/blog, self-hosted by us) — when you visit the blog, WordPress sets standard session cookies if you comment or sign in. The blog runs on our own server; data never leaves our infrastructure.
• Meta Pixel and Meta Conversions API (Meta Platforms Ireland Limited) — browser Pixel only if you accept the cookie banner; the server-side Conversions API also mirrors signup and purchase events to Meta (legitimate interest for ad measurement under UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)). Shared with Meta: hashed email, IP address, browser user-agent, conversion event type (Lead / Subscribe / Purchase), conversion amount in GBP. Not shared: photos, gcode, diagnosis content, free-text notes.

Legal basis (UK GDPR)

Processing of your submission for diagnosis is performed under contract (you ask for a diagnosis; we provide one). Retention beyond the diagnosis call requires your explicit consent via the checkbox on the upload form. You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting the case (see above). For minimal usage records, the legal basis is legitimate interests (billing, fraud prevention).

Contact

For questions or data requests: info@askthenozzle.com.