Sortem Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 September 2026

1. Who we are

Sortem is a UK-based software business providing desktop file organisation and file management software.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Sortem is responsible for the personal information described in this Privacy Policy where Sortem determines how and why that information is processed.

Privacy enquiries can be sent to: danny.burrows@sortem.ai

This Privacy Policy explains how information is handled when you visit the Sortem website, create or use a Sortem account, purchase a subscription, contact us, or use the Sortem desktop application.

2. Information we may process

Depending on how you interact with Sortem, we may process:

Account information

This may include your email address, account identifier and authentication-related information required to provide and secure your Sortem account.

Subscription and transaction information

This may include your subscription status, plan, Stripe customer or subscription identifiers, transaction status and related billing information.

Sortem does not need to store your complete payment card details itself. Payments are processed through Stripe, which may collect payment and billing information directly.

Support and communications

If you contact Sortem, we may process your name, email address and the contents of your communication, together with any information you voluntarily provide when requesting support.

Website or waitlist information

If you provide your email address through a Sortem website form or waitlist, we may process that information for the purpose described when you submit the form.

Technical and security information

Our service providers and backend systems may process technical information necessary to operate, secure and troubleshoot the service, such as request information, timestamps, IP addresses, device/browser information, authentication information and error information where applicable.

File-related information used by Sortem

During normal Organise or Rename use, Sortem may process:

• file names;
• limited folder and relative-path information;
• your organisation or rename instruction;
• generated identifiers or other information required to perform the requested operation.

File names and paths can themselves contain personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information. Users should consider this when naming files and when choosing to use AI-assisted features.

Optional content-aware renaming

Content-aware renaming is an optional feature for supported files with unclear or meaningless names. If you explicitly enable it for a rename operation, Sortem may extract relevant information from those files and send that information to the AI service so it can understand what the files are and suggest more useful names.

This option is off by default. It does not change how normal file organisation works and does not give Sortem unrestricted or permanent access to your files.

3. File contents and your choices

During normal organisation and renaming, Sortem does not send the contents of your files to AI. It instead uses file names, limited folder/path context and the instructions you provide.

You can use Sortem without giving AI access to your document contents. File-content access is not required for normal organisation or default renaming.

If you deliberately enable content-aware renaming, Sortem may send relevant information extracted from supported files to the AI service for that rename operation. This can help with files whose names provide too little information to suggest a useful new name.

Content-aware renaming is off by default and requires your explicit permission. Sortem uses relevant extracted information for the requested rename operation; this policy does not state that entire files are sent to the AI service.

4. Local file processing, history and Undo

Sortem performs file movement and renaming operations on the user's device.

Sortem also maintains local information used for activity history and supported Undo operations. This can include:

• file names;
• local file paths;
• original and new locations;
• file sizes;
• action information;
• timestamps;
• locally generated file fingerprints.

To help identify a file for recovery and Undo purposes, Sortem may read small samples from a file locally and use them to create a fingerprint.

This local file sampling is separate from content-aware renaming. Recovery samples are used for the local fingerprint and are not used as AI input.

Local Sortem history and Undo information remains on the user's device unless the user separately chooses to share that information, for example when requesting support.

Users remain responsible for protecting access to their computer and files.

5. Why we use personal information

We process personal information where necessary to:

• create and authenticate Sortem accounts;
• provide the Sortem service;
• determine whether a customer has an active subscription and which features they can access;
• process purchases and subscriptions;
• perform AI-assisted file organisation and renaming requested by the user;
• provide customer support;
• maintain service security and prevent abuse;
• diagnose technical problems;
• maintain appropriate business, accounting and transaction records;
• respond to legal or regulatory requirements;
• communicate with people who have requested information about Sortem.

6. Our lawful bases

Under UK data protection law, the lawful basis depends on why the information is being processed.

Contract

We may process information where it is necessary to provide the Sortem service you have requested, including account authentication, subscription access and the operation of requested product functionality.

Legal obligation

We may retain and process certain transaction, accounting or business records where required by applicable law.

Legitimate interests

We may process limited information where necessary for legitimate business purposes such as protecting Sortem against fraud or abuse, securing the service, diagnosing faults, responding to customer enquiries and improving the reliability of the service, provided those interests are not overridden by the rights and interests of the individual.

Consent

Where we specifically ask for consent — for example, for certain marketing communications or non-essential website technologies where consent is required — you may withdraw that consent at any time.

7. AI processing

Sortem uses OpenAI technology to provide AI functionality.

During normal Organise and Rename use, information sent for AI processing can include:

• file names;
• limited folder/path context;
• the user's instruction;
• technical identifiers required to structure the request.

During normal organisation and default renaming, document contents are not sent to OpenAI. If a user explicitly enables content-aware renaming, relevant information extracted from supported files may also be sent for that rename operation.

OpenAI states that data submitted through its API and business services is not used to train its models by default unless the customer explicitly opts in to data sharing.

OpenAI may retain API abuse-monitoring information for a limited period in accordance with its own data controls and legal obligations.

8. Authentication

Sortem uses Clerk to provide account authentication.

Clerk may process information required to create, authenticate and secure a Sortem account, such as email address, user/account identifiers, authentication information and relevant technical/security information.

Clerk maintains its own privacy and data-protection documentation governing its processing.

9. Payments

Sortem uses Stripe to process payments and subscriptions.

When you make a payment or start a subscription, payment and transaction information may be provided directly to Stripe.

Stripe may process information including your name, email address, billing information, payment method information, transaction information and fraud-prevention information.

Sortem may receive information from Stripe such as:

• customer identifiers;
• subscription identifiers;
• subscription status;
• payment or checkout status;
• plan information;
• transaction-related information required to administer the subscription.

Sortem does not need to receive or store your full payment card number in order to determine whether your Sortem subscription is active.

Stripe also processes certain information for its own legal, regulatory, security and fraud-prevention purposes under its own privacy terms.

10. Hosting and infrastructure

Sortem uses cloud infrastructure providers, including Render, to operate its backend services.

Information passing through Sortem's backend may therefore be processed by infrastructure providers where necessary to deliver, secure and maintain the service.

Sortem seeks to minimise the information processed through its backend to what is reasonably required to provide the service.

11. Who we share information with

Where necessary to provide Sortem, information may be processed by service providers including:

• Clerk — account authentication;
• Stripe — payments and subscriptions;
• Render — backend hosting and infrastructure;
• OpenAI — AI processing.

We may also disclose information where reasonably necessary to comply with law, enforce our legal rights, investigate fraud or security incidents, or protect users and the service.

We do not sell customer document contents to advertisers.

We do not provide customer document contents to OpenAI during normal organisation or default renaming. Relevant extracted content may be provided when a user explicitly enables content-aware renaming for supported files.

12. International processing

Some of Sortem's service providers operate internationally, including in the United States and other countries.

As a result, some personal information may be processed outside the United Kingdom.

Where UK data protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, Sortem relies on the relevant provider arrangements and legally recognised transfer mechanisms as applicable, such as adequacy regulations, approved contractual safeguards or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

Users can contact Sortem for further information about international data-transfer safeguards relevant to their information.

13. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including providing the service, maintaining security, resolving disputes and meeting legal, tax and accounting obligations.

Retention periods may therefore differ depending on the type of information.

Account and subscription information may be retained while an account or subscription is active and for an appropriate period afterwards where necessary for administration, security, dispute resolution or legal compliance.

Financial and transaction records may be retained for the period required by applicable tax, accounting and other legal obligations.

Support communications may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to resolve the enquiry and maintain appropriate business records.

Local Sortem history and Undo information is stored on the user's own device and can remain there until it is removed by the user, the application or its applicable history-management functionality.

Third-party providers may maintain their own retention periods for information they process under their respective terms and legal obligations.

14. Security

Sortem takes reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect information processed through the service.

These measures include separating local file operations from remote AI processing where appropriate, keeping content-aware renaming off by default, limiting file information used by AI functionality, using established authentication and payment providers, and using authentication and subscription checks to protect access to relevant services.

However, no software, network or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Users are responsible for maintaining appropriate security for their own devices, accounts and files.

15. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis for processing, UK data protection law may give you rights including:

• the right to be informed about how your personal information is used;
• the right to request access to your personal information;
• the right to request correction of inaccurate personal information;
• the right to request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances;
• the right to request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
• the right to object to certain processing;
• the right to data portability where applicable;
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute and may depend on the circumstances and lawful basis involved.

To make a privacy request, contact: danny.burrows@sortem.ai

We may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests.

Right to object

Where Sortem relies on legitimate interests to process your personal information, you may have the right to object to that processing. Contact us using the email address above if you wish to exercise this right.

16. Complaints

If you have concerns about how Sortem handles your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Information Commissioner's Office

17. Marketing

Sortem will only send electronic marketing where there is an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

Where marketing is based on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Marketing emails should provide an appropriate unsubscribe method.

Service messages relating to an account, payment, subscription, security issue or important product operation are not necessarily marketing communications.

18. Children

Sortem is a business productivity and file-management service and is not designed or marketed specifically for children.

If we become aware that personal information has been collected in circumstances where additional protections or consent are legally required, we will take appropriate steps.

19. Automated decision-making

Sortem uses AI to help users organise and rename files.

This functionality makes recommendations or carries out file-management instructions. It is not intended to make solely automated decisions about individuals that produce legal or similarly significant effects under UK data protection law.

20. Website cookies and storage

The Sortem website does not use advertising cookies, analytics cookies or third-party tracking scripts. Where the website stores information in your browser, it is strictly necessary for the site to function — for example, keeping you signed in while you use an account area. No consent banner is used because no non-essential technologies are set. If this changes, this page will be updated and an appropriate consent mechanism will be provided before any non-essential technology is used.

21. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when Sortem's functionality, service providers, business practices or legal obligations change.

The "Last updated" date at the top of this page should be changed whenever the policy is materially updated.

Where a change materially affects how personal information is processed, we will provide additional notice where appropriate.

22. Contact

For questions about this Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information, contact:

Sortem
Email: danny.burrows@sortem.ai