Security & Data Handling
Last updated: August 2026
Tender documents are commercially sensitive, and the CivilProposals team treats them that way. This page describes -- plainly and truthfully -- where your data lives, how it's protected, how the AI processing works, and where we honestly stand on formal certifications. If anything here doesn't answer your firm's specific question, email hello@civilproposals.com and you'll get a straight answer.
Where your data is stored
Your account data, uploaded documents, saved projects, and proposal library are stored in a managed PostgreSQL database on Railway, our hosting platform, in its US-West (San Francisco) region. The application itself runs on the same platform. The marketing site (this page) is served by Cloudflare and holds no customer data. Payments are handled entirely by Stripe -- your card details go directly to Stripe and never touch our servers.
Encryption
- In transit: all connections to civilproposals.com and app.civilproposals.com are encrypted with TLS (HTTPS). There is no unencrypted access to the Service.
- At rest: your data sits on Railway's managed, SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt -- we never store or log a plain-text password. Sessions use signed, tamper-evident cookies.
- API keys and secrets are held as server-side environment variables, never in code or in the database, and background job payloads are deliberately redacted so credentials never sit in the job queue.
AI processing and the no-training commitment
Draft generation is powered by Claude, via Anthropic's commercial API. Under Anthropic's commercial terms, data sent to the API is not used to train their models. Your documents are sent to Anthropic only to generate your outputs -- extraction, analysis, and drafting for your project -- and Anthropic processes that data in the United States. We don't use your documents to train models either, and no other customer's AI output can draw on your uploaded material.
Per-account isolation
Everything you upload or generate -- briefs, company material, CVs, saved projects, the proposal library -- is scoped to your account in the database. Other firms using CivilProposals cannot see, search, or reuse any of it. Library isolation between accounts is covered by an automated check in our development process, not just a policy statement.
Data ownership
You retain ownership of everything you upload and everything the platform generates for you -- your tender briefs, your drafts, your exported packs. We claim no rights over any of it.
Confidentiality
Uploaded tender documents are treated as confidential. They are not shared with other accounts, not used to train any model (see AI processing and the no-training commitment above), and isolated per account (see Per-account isolation above).
Your responsibilities
- Keep your own copies of anything you rely on -- treat CivilProposals as a working tool, not a system of record, and maintain your own backups.
- Review and approve all AI-generated content before it goes to a client.
- Keep your account credentials secure.
Deleting your data
Email hello@civilproposals.com from your account address and we'll delete your account and its stored data -- uploaded documents, saved projects, and library entries -- and confirm when it's done. Backups held by our hosting provider expire on their standard retention cycle.
Where we stand on SOC 2
Honestly: CivilProposals has not completed a SOC 2 audit. We're a young product and we'd rather tell you that plainly than imply otherwise. The infrastructure we build on carries its own certifications -- Railway is SOC 2 Type II certified, and Stripe is a PCI-DSS Level 1 service provider -- but those certify our providers, not us. If SOC 2 is a hard requirement for your firm, talk to us before signing up and we'll be upfront about where things stand and what's on the roadmap.
Australian data residency
Most of our users are Australian firms, so here is the current reality: your data is processed and stored in the United States -- the application and database run in Railway's US-West region, and Anthropic's AI processing also happens in the US. There is currently no Australian-hosted option. Australian data residency is on our roadmap as the product matures; if it's a requirement for a specific pursuit (some government tenders do require it), email us and we'll tell you honestly whether we can meet it yet rather than talking around it.
Reporting a security concern
If you believe you've found a vulnerability in CivilProposals, email hello@civilproposals.com with the details. You'll get a response from the team -- practising civil engineers who understand exactly how sensitive tender material is -- and a fix will be prioritised ahead of feature work.
Related reading: our Security & Data Handling Privacy Policy covers what we collect and why, and the Terms of Service cover responsibility for reviewing AI output.