Privacy Policy for "Voice Control for C-Bus (unofficial)"

Effective Date: 26/08/2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to "Voice Control for C-Bus (unofficial)" ("we," "us," or "our"). This service allows you to control your C-Bus home automation system using your voice through Amazon Alexa. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and how we protect it when you use our configuration website (https://cbus.merrick.cam) and the associated Alexa skill (collectively, the "Service").

Your privacy is critically important to us. Our guiding principle is to collect only the minimum information necessary to make the Service function correctly.

2. Information We Collect

To provide the Service, we collect the following specific pieces of information:

• Account Number: When you register, our system generates a unique, anonymous 16-character account number. We do not ask for or store your name, email, or other personal identifiers. This number is used solely for logging into our configuration website.
• C-Bus Network Information: You provide the IP address and port (CNI Address) of your C-Bus Network Interface. This is required for the Service to send commands to your local home automation system. This information is stored securely on our server.
• C-Bus Project File Data: You upload your C-Bus Toolkit project file (.cbz or .xml). Our server parses this file to extract only the names and group addresses of your lighting devices (e.g., "Kitchen Light" at address "1"). This allows us to map your voice commands to the correct device. The original project file is deleted from our server immediately after parsing.
• Amazon Alexa Authentication Tokens: When you link your account, Amazon provides us with secure OAuth2 tokens (an access token and a refresh token). These tokens allow us to verify that requests are coming from your Alexa account. We never receive or store your Amazon email or password.

Information We DO NOT Collect

We explicitly do not collect any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as:

• Your Name
• Your Email Address
• Your Physical Address
• Your Phone Number
• Your Amazon Credentials

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect strictly for the following purposes:

• To Provide and Operate the Service: The primary use of your CNI Address and device information is to receive commands from Alexa and forward them to your C-Bus system.
• To Authenticate Your Account: Your Account Number is used to log you into the configuration website. The Alexa tokens are used to authenticate requests from the Alexa service.
• To Fulfill Alexa's Requests: We share your configured device names (e.g., "Kitchen Light") with the Alexa service during device discovery so they appear in your Alexa app and can be controlled by voice.

4. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or share your information with any third parties for marketing purposes. The only sharing that occurs is the necessary operational data exchange with Amazon's Alexa services as described above. We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid request by a public authority.

5. Data Security

We take the security of your data seriously. All communication between your browser, our server, and Amazon's servers is encrypted using industry-standard HTTPS (TLS). We implement reasonable administrative and technical safeguards to protect the information stored on our server from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access.

6. Data Retention and Your Rights

We retain your configuration data as long as your account is active. You have the right to manage your data. You can log into our configuration website at any time to:

• View and update your CNI Address.
• View and update your device friendly names and settings.
• Re-upload a project file to update your device list.

If you wish to delete your account and all associated data permanently, please contact us at contact@merrick.cam.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for or directed at individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: contact@merrick.cam