Last updated: 22 August 2026
myUSBdrive keeps your files on your own hardware, in your own home. We never see, store, or have access to the contents of your files, photos, music, or documents, including when you use remote access. This policy covers the limited personal data we handle when you use our website and services, including everything the drive itself sends us, which is listed in full in section 2.
1. Who we are
This website (myusb.cloud) and the myUSBdrive software and services are provided by Linkive Limited ("we", "us", "our"), a company registered in England and Wales.
- Company registration number: 17416528
- Registered office: The Business and Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2DX
- ICO data protection register reference: [ICO REGISTRATION NUMBER]
- Contact for privacy matters: privacy@myusb.cloud
Linkive Limited is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. We are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is processed.
2. The personal data we collect
When you download the software
Downloading myUSBdrive does not require an email address or an account. The download starts when you click the button, and we do not ask who you are.
We collect an email address only if you choose to give us one, in one of two places on the download page: asking us to email you the download link so you can use it on another device, or subscribing to news about new features and upgrades. If you subscribe, we use your address to send you those updates, and you can unsubscribe at any time. We may also contact you about critical or security issues affecting the software (see sections 3 and 7).
When you contact us
Our contact form collects your name, email address and the message you send, so we can respond to your enquiry.
When you subscribe to remote access
If you buy a remote access plan, we (and our payment processor) collect the information needed to create and manage your account and take payment, including your email address, account credentials, chosen personal web address, and billing details. Card details are handled directly by our payment processor and are not stored by us.
When you use the website
With your consent, we collect anonymous usage statistics through analytics cookies (see section 6). Our website hosting and security providers also automatically process technical data such as your IP address and browser information to deliver the site securely and prevent abuse.
What your myUSBdrive device sends
The drive is not silent, and we would rather you read what it does here than discover it later. This is the complete list of connections it makes. The same list appears in the software itself, under Settings then Privacy, so you can hold one against the other. None of it includes your files, your file names, or anything read from inside a file.
| Connection | What is sent | When |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription check All devices |
Your device's Raspberry Pi serial number, to dashboard.myusb.cloud | Once an hour |
| Device heartbeat Subscribed devices |
The device name you chose, the software version, and the time, so your account can show the drive is online | Once an hour |
| Update check All devices |
Software version, serial number, and which Raspberry Pi model it is | Only while someone has the drive open in a browser: shortly after the page loads, then every six hours |
| Update result All devices |
The version installed, how long each step took, free disk space, and a short error message if it failed. The last part of the device's own application log is added only if you have switched on the option on the drive's Help page to send log files when an update fails, which is off unless you turn it on. That log records what the software did, not your files | Once, after an update finishes or fails |
| Film and TV artwork All devices |
The title and year read from the video's file name, sent to themoviedb.org to find the poster. Nothing from inside the file is sent | The first time a folder holding a video is opened. The answer is saved on the drive, so it is asked once per film |
| Album artwork All devices |
The album folder name and the artist folder name, sent to theaudiodb.com | Only when you press "Look up album details". Browsing your music sends nothing |
| Activation Subscribed devices |
Your activation code, the serial number, device name and software version | Once, when a subscription is activated on the drive |
| Two-factor authentication Subscribed devices |
The serial number, device name, and the six-digit code you enter. Codes are checked on our server rather than on the drive, so someone who takes the drive does not get the second factor with it | When you set up, use, or turn off two-factor authentication |
| Remote access Subscribed devices |
An outward connection to Cloudflare, held open so your own web address reaches the drive without opening a port on your router. Anything you view while away from home travels over it, which means it passes through Cloudflare's network on the way. On your own home network it does not | Continuously, while remote access is switched on |
| Network fault check All devices |
One lookup of dashboard.myusb.cloud sent to the public name servers at 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8, to work out whether the fault is your network or ours. The answer is shown to you and is not sent to us | Only after your own network has already failed to find that address, while activating or while building a problem report |
The Raspberry Pi serial number identifies the hardware rather than you. On a subscribed device it is linked to your account, because it is how we know which subscription belongs to which drive, so we treat it as personal data. A drive that has never been activated makes the hourly subscription check as well, sending only that serial number.
Underneath our software sits Raspberry Pi OS. Like any Raspberry Pi, it sets its clock from internet time servers and contacts the Raspberry Pi and Debian software repositories when the operating system is updated. That is the operating system's own traffic, not ours, and we do not receive it.
What we do not collect
- We never have access to the files, photos, music or documents on your drive, including when you use remote access. They are not uploaded to us, copied, scanned, indexed, or used to train anything.
- Your device password never leaves the drive.
- The software on the drive contains no analytics, no tracking and no advertising.
- The pages the drive serves load entirely from the drive itself. No fonts, scripts or images are fetched from anyone else, so no other company sees you using it.
- There is no background crash reporting. A software update that fails reports what went wrong so it can be fixed, and the drive's own log is included only if you switch that on yourself on the Help page.
- Problem reports are created as a file you download and can read before deciding whether to email it to us. Nothing is sent on its own.
- We do not use your data for advertising, and we do not sell it to anyone.
3. Why we use your data, and our lawful bases
Under UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for using your personal data. Ours are:
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Emailing you the download link, if you ask us to | Consent, and taking steps at your request |
| Contacting you about critical or security issues affecting the software | Legitimate interests (keeping you and the software secure) |
| Sending you news updates | Consent |
| Replying to enquiries you send us | Legitimate interests (responding to you) |
| Providing and managing your remote access subscription | Performance of a contract with you |
| Taking payment and keeping accounting records | Contract, and legal obligation |
| Protecting the site from fraud and abuse (including reCAPTCHA and server logs) | Legitimate interests (security) |
| Analytics cookies to understand how the site is used | Consent |
| Checking hourly whether a drive has an active subscription | Performance of a contract, where you have one. Legitimate interests (operating the check the software depends on) where you do not |
| Recording that a subscribed drive is online and reachable | Performance of a contract with you |
| Checking for and delivering software updates | Legitimate interests (keeping the software working and secure) |
| Diagnosing a software update that failed | Legitimate interests (finding and fixing faults in the software) |
Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time (see section 6 for cookies, or email us).
4. Who we share your data with
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers ("processors") who help us run the service, under contracts that require them to protect it:
| Provider | What they do |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare, Inc. | Website delivery, DNS, download storage, and the secure remote access tunnel |
| Vercel Inc. | Hosting for our website and download service |
| Resend | Sending the download-link email |
| Google LLC | Website analytics and reCAPTCHA spam protection |
| Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd.) | Taking subscription payments |
We may also disclose personal data if required by law, or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
Third parties your drive contacts directly
These are not our processors, and they are a different thing from the list above. Your drive contacts them itself, over your own internet connection. We neither see nor receive what is exchanged.
| Who | What they receive |
|---|---|
| TMDb (themoviedb.org) | A film or programme title read from a file name, returning the poster and description |
| TheAudioDB (theaudiodb.com) | An album and artist name, but only when you ask for album details, returning the artwork |
| Cloudflare public DNS (1.1.1.1) and Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8) | A single lookup of dashboard.myusb.cloud, only when your own network has already failed to find it |
5. International transfers
Some of our providers are based outside the UK, including in the United States. Where your personal data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or a UK adequacy decision, so that your data receives an equivalent level of protection.
6. Cookies and analytics
When you first visit, we ask whether you accept analytics cookies. We do not set analytics cookies unless you choose "Accept".
- If you accept, we use Google Analytics to collect anonymous statistics about how the site is used (for example which pages are visited). Analytics data is not used for advertising.
- If you decline, no analytics cookies are set. We store a small record of your choice in your browser so we do not ask again.
- Google reCAPTCHA runs on our contact form to prevent spam and abuse. Your use of reCAPTCHA is subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms.
You can change your mind at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser, which will make the cookie banner appear again.
7. How long we keep your data
- Download email addresses: we keep your email address so we can contact you about critical or security issues affecting myUSBdrive. We do not use it for news updates unless you have subscribed to those. You can ask us to delete it, or unsubscribe from updates, at any time.
- Contact enquiries: [e.g. up to 24 months after your enquiry is resolved]
- Account and subscription data: for as long as your account is active, then [e.g. 6 years] for accounting and tax records.
- Analytics: [e.g. 14 months] (the retention set in Google Analytics).
- Information sent by your drive: update and diagnostic records are kept for [e.g. 12 months]. A drive's subscription status and the time it was last seen online are kept for as long as that drive is registered to your account.
8. Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you (access);
- have inaccurate data corrected (rectification);
- ask us to delete your data (erasure);
- ask us to restrict or object to how we use it;
- ask for your data in a portable format (portability);
- withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on consent.
To exercise any of these rights, including asking us to delete your personal data, email privacy@myusb.cloud. We aim to respond within 15 days. If your request is complex, we may need longer, in which case we will tell you and will take no more than the one month allowed by law.
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113. We would appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.
9. How we protect your data
We use encryption in transit (HTTPS), reputable infrastructure providers, and access controls to protect personal data. Your remote access connection is encrypted through Cloudflare and does not require you to open your home network to the internet. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.
10. Children
Our services are not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the "last updated" date at the top of this page. If the changes are significant, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.
12. Contact us
For any question about this policy or your personal data, email privacy@myusb.cloud or write to us at The Business and Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 2DX.