Dear Thortspace … I have concerns about data privacy and security.
Answers to data privacy and security questions
Can I use Thortspace without storing my data in the cloud?
The answer is “No” … Thortspace does not have a “Local-only” mode. But let’s talk about data privacy and security just a little bit...
“I’ll pass on thort, don’t go for subscriptions nor sending data to someone I don’t know. At least with Amazon, Google, Dropbox, Apple or big names there is some level of peace of mind.” — This is a comment posted on OutlinerSoftware.com
Thortspace services are Powered by Google App Engine
Thortspace Premium and Free services run on Google App Engine and your sphere data is stored on Google’s Cloud Data storage. Your data is as secure on our service as it is on any of Google’s native services. See:
(1) First off, let’s address the issue about data privacy head on
The first thing to say is that Thortspace Premium service actually does store your data on Google’s Cloud Datastorage where the data is effectively as secure as any of the rest of Google’s direct customer data. Gooisoft pays Google for the privelege of doing so, and this is part of what your subscription payment pays for.
Here’s a quote from the Thortspace privacy policy:
“Your cloud data is stored in Google’s global data centre network, where it is encrypted at rest, in transit, and in backups, and physically protected by access controls, guards, video surveillance, and perimeter fencing. Employee background checks, vulnerability management, and internal audits are used to protect it to the same standards used for Google’s own data.
“All data transmitted between you and this cloud, including your private data and your authentication credentials, is encrypted by industry-standard TLS to protect against eavesdroppers and MITM attacks, and communication between collaborating users is encrypted using TLS with key exchange occurring via the cloud to secure against impersonation.
“Google’s cloud is certified under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework for meeting EU data protection law for storage of personal and sensitive data for EU customers.”
For the techies amongst us, you may like to know that we use TLS ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security ) for data transit and Google Cloud’s built-in encryption for storing data.
The place to start in understanding our commitment to your data privacy is probably the data privacy policy:
https://www.thortspace.com/legal-information/privacy/
Gooisoft is registered with the UK Information Commissioners Office and complies with all Data Protection legal requirements. See Gooisoft Information Commissioner’s Office Registration
I think in general the point is that while cloud data may “feel like” it is less private than local network data, the reality may often be the reverse.
Google spend millions of dollars protecting the data you store on their cloud which no individual or individual organisation could afford to spend off their own bat … possibly not even governments.
In fact the weakest point to accessing the Thortspace data for any given user is likely to be their own devices and computers (which users tend to leave unsecured).
If you still have questions after reviewing this, please do ask more questions.
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