Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 28, 2026

This Policy explains what information PacketStream handles, why we handle it, and the choices available to you.

1. Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to PacketStream Inc. (“PacketStream,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) and to information handled through packetstream.io, the PacketStream account dashboard, residential proxy services, the Packeter app for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, the Search API, Fetch API, and MCP server, reseller services and APIs, the referral and affiliate programs, trial and contact forms, support, and related products and features (collectively, the “Services”).

It does not govern independent websites, applications, resellers, internet providers, or other third parties that have their own privacy practices.

2. Information we collect

Account and contact information

When you create or manage an account, we may collect your username, email address, hashed password, authentication credentials, account type, account settings, referral information, and communications with us. Some older accounts also have campaign or click identifiers that were recorded at signup; we no longer collect them.

Billing, transaction, and payout information

For customers and resellers, we process account balance, deposits, purchases, refunds, invoices, payment status, transaction identifiers, processor customer identifiers, and related records. For Packeters, we process earnings, cashout requests, payout email addresses, payout status, and related records. Credit-card transactions are handled by Stripe, and PayPal handles PayPal purchases and payouts. PacketStream retains the processor identifiers and transaction records needed for accounting, support, fraud prevention, refunds, and compliance.

Proxy traffic and network metadata

To route, meter, secure, and troubleshoot proxy connections, we may process account and authentication identifiers, source and exit IP addresses, approximate geography, destination hostname and port, proxy protocol, requested country and session options, timestamps, connection status, error information, and bytes transferred.

PacketStream systems and participating Packeter devices process customer and first-party traffic in transit to provide the Services. First-party traffic consists of requests PacketStream services make on behalf of their customers, such as retrieving publicly available web content a customer requests, and PacketStream’s own monitoring, testing, and quality checks. When a customer connects normally to an HTTPS destination, the traffic between the customer’s client and that destination remains encrypted by the destination’s TLS connection. Unencrypted HTTP traffic is not end-to-end encrypted and may be readable while in transit.

We also keep samples of proxy requests. For a small share of proxy connections, we record the proxy username, the time, and the first 100 bytes of the request as it reached us, without your proxy credentials. For a SOCKS5 or HTTPS connection, this shows the destination host and port and, for HTTPS, the start of the proxy request headers. For an unencrypted HTTP request, it can include the full URL, the request headers, and the start of any data sent with the request. Samples include nothing after those first 100 bytes. We use them for support, monitoring, and investigating abuse.

Packeter app and device information

When the Packeter app is installed or running, we may process the Packeter account identifier, public IP address, approximate geography and connection type, operating system, processor type, app version, device and connection status, traffic volume, timestamps, diagnostics, earnings, and information needed to prevent fraud and operate the network. We use IP-geolocation providers to find the approximate location and connection type of a Packeter’s public IP address. The app routes customer and first-party traffic through the Packeter’s internet connection while it is running.

The Android app sends the same kind of information as the apps for other systems. It also sends a random installation ID that the app creates. This ID is not a hardware or advertising identifier.

Proxy customers receive the Packeter connection’s public exit IP address and approximate geography. They do not receive the Packeter’s PacketStream username, email address, payment information, or other account identity from the proxy service. First-party traffic reaches destinations from the Packeter’s public IP address, as customer traffic does, but does not disclose the Packeter’s identity or PacketStream account to destinations or to PacketStream’s customers.

Reseller and subaccount information

For reseller services, we may process reseller account and contact information, API credentials, subaccount identifiers and account data, balance allocations, usage records, transaction history, a log of actions taken through the reseller API, and support communications. A reseller may provide information about its end customers or subaccounts when it uses the reseller API or requests support.

Search API, Fetch API, and MCP server

When you use the Search API, the Fetch API, or our MCP server, we record each request’s ID and time, the API key or connected app used, the type of request, the outcome, the provider that handled it, the number of attempts, how long it took, and the charge. These records do not include your search query, the search results, the URL you fetch, the user agent you set, or the page content, and the API does not store them. The dashboard shows your recent requests and daily usage. Usage records are kept with your account’s billing records and are not deleted on a fixed schedule.

To answer a search, we send your query and the search options you choose, such as country, language, location, and page, to one or more third-party search data providers. We send it from PacketStream’s own account with each provider. We do not send your PacketStream account identity, API key, or IP address. Each provider handles the request under its own terms and privacy policy.

To fetch a page, PacketStream retrieves it through the Packeter network as a proxy connection. As with other proxy traffic, a Packeter device can read the content only of pages fetched over unencrypted HTTP.

Apps connected with MCP OAuth

Some AI apps, such as Claude, can connect to our MCP server by asking you to sign in to PacketStream instead of using an API key. When you allow an app, we record the app’s name and the addresses it asked us to return you to, the account it is connected to, the access granted, and when it was connected, last used, and disconnected. We store only hashed versions of the codes and tokens we issue to the app. An access token lasts one hour, and the app renews it with a refresh token. A connection ends after one year unless you disconnect it sooner.

A connected app can use the search and fetch tools and charge those calls to your balance. It does not receive your password, API key, payment details, or proxy traffic. Its calls are recorded like other API requests.

To disconnect an app, open the MCP page of your dashboard. You can disconnect one app or all apps, and a disconnected app stops working at once. Removing PacketStream inside the app may not disconnect it, and changing your password or replacing your API key does not disconnect connected apps. We delete expired codes and tokens automatically. We keep the record of each connection, including disconnected ones, with the usage records it produced.

Referral and affiliate programs

When you apply to the affiliate program, we collect where you plan to share PacketStream, how you plan to promote it, any notes you add, and your agreement to the Affiliate Terms. For affiliate payouts, we collect your PayPal email address and the country you live in. If we need tax information before a payout, we ask for it by email. The dashboard does not collect it, and our payout records note only its status and a reference to it.

For referral and affiliate links, we record the account each link belongs to, daily counts of visits and signups through each link, which accounts signed up through a link, and the deposits, credit, and commission connected to them. To check for self-referrals and linked accounts, we compare account email addresses, payment email addresses, and PayPal payout addresses. We also compare keyed hashes of the IP address used to sign up through a referral link, to apply to the affiliate program, to open the Share & earn page, or to sign in while in a program. We keep the result of these checks and the hashes, not a separate copy of the information compared. We delete each hash 90 days after it was last recorded.

Trial, contact, and support information

When you submit a form or contact us, we may collect your name, email address, company or website, message, proposed use case, expected bandwidth, business size, current provider, reseller interest, referral source, attachments, and other information you choose to provide. We use this information to respond, evaluate discretionary trial credits, provide support, and manage the customer relationship.

Website and dashboard information

PacketStream serves its public website and its fonts itself. The website does not use analytics, advertising, or tag-management tools. When you use the dashboard, we process your IP address, browser information, and the requests you make, to provide and secure it. We use cookies and similar technologies for authentication, security, short-lived messages, referral credit, and remembering settings, as described in Section 6.

3. Sources of information

We collect information:

  • directly from you when you register, purchase, request a payout, submit a form, or contact us;
  • automatically when you use the website, dashboard, proxy network, Packeter app, or APIs;
  • from resellers when they create or manage subaccounts or request support;
  • from payment, customer-relationship, security, fraud-prevention, IP-geolocation, infrastructure, and communications providers; and
  • from the referral or affiliate link you followed, if any.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

  • create, authenticate, secure, and administer accounts;
  • route proxy connections, select exits, maintain sessions, meter bandwidth, calculate balances, and troubleshoot failures;
  • operate the Packeter network, calculate earnings, review cashouts, and maintain the Packeter app;
  • provide reseller APIs, subaccounts, usage information, allocations, and reseller support;
  • provide the Search API, Fetch API, and MCP server, connect the apps you allow, and bill API usage;
  • process purchases, payments, refunds, invoices, and payouts;
  • respond to trial requests, contact forms, and support communications;
  • detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, security incidents, abuse, and violations of our Terms;
  • send service, administrative, billing, security, support, and permitted marketing communications;
  • run the referral and affiliate programs, credit referrals and commission, and check for linked accounts;
  • analyze and improve the Services and develop features; and
  • comply with law, enforce agreements, resolve disputes, and protect PacketStream, users, and third parties.

5. How we disclose information

We may disclose information to the following categories of recipients:

  • Service providers. Vendors that provide cloud infrastructure, security, customer-relationship management, forms, communications, payment processing, IP geolocation, and technical support. These include Stripe and PayPal for payments and payouts, HubSpot forms and support workflows, Klaviyo and Brevo communications, and Cloudflare Turnstile on the signup form.
  • Search data providers. They receive search queries and search options, as described in Section 2.
  • Apps you connect. An app you connect with MCP OAuth receives the results of the searches and fetches it requests, including your remaining balance.
  • Referrers and affiliates. If you sign up through a referral or affiliate link, the link’s owner sees customers they referred only as totals. Packeters they referred are shown with a partly hidden username, their signup date, and what the referrer earned from them.
  • Packeters and proxy customers. Network and traffic information is exchanged as needed to route a proxy connection. A customer receives the exit IP address and approximate geography; a Packeter device receives customer and first-party traffic and the destination information needed to complete the connection.
  • Resellers. A reseller can access information about the subaccounts it creates or manages, including identifiers, balances, usage, and transaction history. PacketStream may disclose information to a reseller when needed to support that reseller’s end customers.
  • Professional advisers and business counterparties. Auditors, insurers, attorneys, advisers, financing sources, and parties involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, financing, or sale of assets.
  • Authorities and other parties for legal or safety reasons. We may disclose information when we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with law or legal process, enforce our agreements, investigate fraud or abuse, or protect rights, safety, property, and the integrity of the Services.
  • With your direction or consent. We may disclose information when you ask us to or authorize the disclosure.

PacketStream does not sell personal information for money.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

Our dashboard uses cookies needed for authentication, security, and short-lived messages. When you edit the “Bill To” text on an invoice, your browser saves it on your device for next time and does not send it to us. Our website and dashboard also use cookies to remember settings, such as your light or dark theme and notices you have dismissed. When you follow a referral or affiliate link (a link with a psr code) while signed out, the dashboard saves that code in a referral cookie for 60 days, so that a signup in that time can be credited to the link. The first link you follow is kept, and a later link does not replace it. We do not use cookies for advertising or analytics.

Our public website loads nothing from third parties unless you choose to load a HubSpot form: on the contact and free-trial pages, the form loads only when you press its load button. In the dashboard, Cloudflare Turnstile loads when you start filling in the signup form, and the deposit page loads Stripe and PayPal payment components.

You can control cookies through your browser. Blocking essential cookies may prevent login or other account features from working. Browser privacy settings do not necessarily control data processed as part of proxy traffic, Packeter operation, or account transactions.

Where laws such as the GDPR require a legal basis, PacketStream processes personal information as necessary to perform a contract with you, pursue legitimate interests such as operating and securing the Services, comply with legal obligations, protect vital or legal interests, and obtain consent where required. You may withdraw consent for future processing where consent is the applicable basis.

8. Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Retention periods vary based on the type of record and may reflect account status, billing and tax obligations, fraud and security needs, dispute resolution, legal requirements, and backup cycles. We may retain transaction, usage, security, and compliance records after account closure when reasonably necessary for those purposes. We may aggregate or de-identify information and retain the resulting information where it no longer reasonably identifies you.

9. Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for protecting your password, proxy authentication key, API keys, reseller credentials, devices, and account access.

10. International processing

PacketStream is based in the United States. We and our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries whose data-protection laws may differ from those where you live. Where required, we use an approved legal mechanism for international transfers.

11. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live and subject to applicable exceptions, you may have the right to request access to personal information, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or information about how it is used and disclosed; to object to certain processing; to withdraw consent; or to appeal a denied request. You may also have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising a privacy right.

To make a request, email help@packetstream.io from the address associated with your account and describe the right you wish to exercise. We may need to verify your identity or authority before acting. We may retain information or deny a request where permitted by law, including for security, fraud prevention, billing, tax, legal claims, and compliance obligations.

You can opt out of marketing email using its unsubscribe link. Service, security, billing, and account communications are not marketing and may continue while you maintain an account.

12. Children

The Services are intended for adults who are at least 18 years old. PacketStream does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact help@packetstream.io so we can review and take appropriate action.

13. Third-party sites and services

The Services may link to or interact with third-party websites and services. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies. Destinations are chosen by proxy customers, by customers who ask PacketStream services to retrieve content, and, for monitoring and testing, by PacketStream. PacketStream is not responsible for a destination’s collection or use of information.

14. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy as the Services or legal requirements change. We will post the revised version with a new “Last updated” date and may provide additional notice through the dashboard or email when appropriate.

15. Contact

Questions, concerns, and privacy requests may be sent to help@packetstream.io.