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Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 17, 2026

This policy explains what data Kornet collects, why, how we protect it, and the rights you have over it. We've tried to keep it plain and honest. If anything is unclear, email us at [email protected].

1. Who we are

Kornet ("we", "us") provides an automated malware-cleanup service for WordPress websites. For any privacy question or request, contact us at [email protected]. For the purposes of the EU/UK GDPR, Kornet is the data controller for the personal data described here.

2. What we collect

When you just visit this site: our hosting provider keeps standard, short-lived server logs for security and reliability (which can include your IP address and browser type). If — and only if — you accept cookies, we also use Google Ads conversion tracking, which sets cookies and similar identifiers so we can tell whether a visit came from one of our ads and whether it led to a sign-up. Nothing is set unless you accept: if you decline, no such cookies are placed and nothing is sent to Google. We don't use any of this to build a profile of you, we don't use it to show you personalized ads, and we don't sell your data. See section 3 for how this works and how to change your mind, and section 5 for who receives the data.

When you use the cleanup service: to do the job, we process:

  • Your email address — to sign you in (we send you a sign-in link), to let you get back to your cleanup from any device, and to contact you about it if needed.
  • Payment information — handled directly by our payment processor (Stripe). We never receive or store your full card details.
  • The access details you provide — for example FTP/SFTP credentials. These are encrypted in transit, used only to perform your cleanup, and not retained afterwards. If you prefer, you can install our connector file yourself instead of sharing credentials.
  • A working copy of your site — the files and database content needed to scan, clean, and (if you choose) roll back changes. This may incidentally include personal data that exists within your own site's content. Where our scanner flags a file as suspicious, the contents of that file are sent to our AI provider for a second opinion — see section 5.

3. Cookies and analytics

This website doesn't need cookies to work — it behaves exactly the same with them switched off. The only ones we'd like to set are Google's, for two things: analytics, which tells us how many people visit, how they found us, and which pages they read; and advertising measurement, which tells us whether someone who clicked one of our ads went on to start a cleanup. Between them, that's how we know what to fix and whether our advertising is worth paying for.

They stay off until you accept them. The first time you visit we ask. Nothing loads from Google unless you say yes, and if you decline, no cookies are set and no data is sent to Google. You can change your mind at any time through the Cookie settings link in the footer of any page. Our legal basis for these cookies is your consent, and you can withdraw it whenever you like.

If you accept, Google Analytics stores a randomly generated identifier in your browser to recognize returning visits, and records things like the pages you view, your approximate location (derived from your IP address, which Google Analytics does not store), your browser, and the site that referred you. Google Ads separately sets identifiers that let it recognize a visit as having come from one of our ads. We don't link any of it to your account or your cleanup, we don't use it to build a profile of you, we don't enable personalized advertising on it, and we don't sell it. Google acts as our processor for this data — see Google's privacy policy. Your browser's own settings can block or clear these cookies at any time, and you can manage Google's advertising settings in My Ad Center.

4. Why we use it, and our legal basis

  • To provide the cleanup you requested — performance of our contract with you. Before we connect to your site, we ask you to confirm you own or are authorized to act on it and that we may process its files and database; we keep a record of that confirmation.
  • To keep the service secure and prevent abuse and fraud — our legitimate interests.
  • To improve our malware detection — our legitimate interests. You can object to this or ask us to delete what we've kept at any time (see sections 7 and 8).
  • To contact you about your cleanup — performance of our contract.
  • To measure whether our advertising works — your consent, given through the cookie banner and withdrawable at any time (see section 3).
  • To meet legal and accounting obligations — compliance with law.

5. Who we share it with

We don't sell your data. We share it only with service providers who help us run Kornet, under contracts that require them to protect it:

  • Stripe — payment processing.
  • Cloud infrastructure & storage providers — to run the service and securely hold your site backup during the restore window.
  • An email delivery provider — to send you transactional emails such as sign-in links.
  • Anthropic — AI-assisted malware analysis. When our scanner flags a file as suspicious, we send that file's contents to Anthropic's API so their AI models can judge whether it's actually malicious. Only the flagged files are sent, not your whole site.
  • Google — website analytics and advertising measurement, and only if you accept cookies (see section 3). Google Analytics tells us how the site is used. Google Ads conversion tracking tells us whether someone who clicked one of our ads went on to start a cleanup. Google receives the fact that a visit or sign-up came from one of its ads, together with the cookie identifiers it sets on this site.

We may also disclose data if required by law, or to protect our rights, users, or the public.

6. International transfers

Kornet and some of our providers operate in the United States, so your data may be processed outside your country, including outside the EEA/UK. Where that happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the providers' standard contractual clauses) to protect it.

7. How long we keep it

We keep data only as long as needed for the purposes above. Your site backup is retained for the restore window so you can roll changes back, after which it can be deleted. We also retain some information from cleanups to improve our malware detection. You can ask us to delete your data at any time — including anything we keep to improve our detection — by emailing [email protected], and we'll remove it (see your rights below). We keep limited records (such as billing records) for as long as the law requires. Analytics data, if you consented to it, is retained by Google Analytics for 14 months.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. To exercise any of these, email [email protected] and we'll respond within the timeframe the law requires. If you're in the EU/UK, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

Advertising measurement: we only run it if you accept cookies, and you can withdraw that at any time through the Cookie settings link in the footer of any page — that switches it off immediately for this site. You can additionally turn off personalized advertising across Google in Google's My Ad Center, or block cookies for this site in your browser settings. None of this affects your ability to use Kornet.

9. How we protect your data

We use encryption in transit, restrict access to your data to what's needed to run the service, and don't retain the credentials you provide. The connector/helper file is removed at the end of a cleanup and also removes itself automatically as a backstop. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and to limit how long we hold it.

10. Children

Kornet isn't directed at children and isn't intended for use by anyone under 16. We don't knowingly collect personal data from children.

11. Changes

We may update this policy as the service evolves. The date at the top shows the latest version; significant changes will be reflected here.

12. Contact

Questions or requests about your data? Email [email protected].

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