cdb · chip database

Privacy policy

Last updated: 2026-10-28

cdb is a private lab database for tracking chip and wafer fabrication: samples (nodes), the process steps that turn one sample into another (edges), and the measurements taken on them (characterizations). It is run by the LINQS group for its members. This page says what information cdb keeps about the people who use it, and what it does with it.

Signing in with Google

You sign in with your Google account. cdb asks Google only for the basic sign-in scopes (openid, email, profile). From the sign-in, cdb receives your Google account ID (the sub identifier), your email address and whether Google has verified it, your name, and, for a Google Workspace account, the domain that manages it.

cdb stores your Google account ID and your email address in its account list, together with a username, your role (member or admin), whether your account is approved, and when it was created, approved and last used. Your name and the Workspace domain are not stored; the domain is used only during sign-in, to confirm that a Workspace email address belongs to that organization. A sign-in request that no admin approves within 30 days is deleted.

This information is used only to identify your account and to let an admin approve it. cdb does not request or receive any other Google account data: it never reads your contacts, mail, calendar or files. It shows no ads, and your information is never sold or shared for advertising or any other purpose.

Cookies and browser storage

Session cookie (__Host-cdb_session): keeps you signed in. The server holds only a hash of it. A session ends after 7 days without use and after 30 days at most, or when you log out.
Sign-in cookie: a short-lived cookie (10 minutes) that ties Google's reply to the browser that started the sign-in, so nobody can sign you in to someone else's account.
Preferences: a cdb_prefs cookie and your browser's local storage remember view settings such as the active project, filters, dark mode and panel widths. Logging out clears them.

cdb sets no tracking, analytics or advertising cookies, and it loads no third-party scripts.

What you enter

The content people enter (entries, their fields and notes, attached files and images, groups, projects, and requests and bug reports) is stored on the lab's server, along with a history of every change that records which account made it and when. It is visible to the site's approved members.

The raw text entries (not attachments, and not the site's configuration) are backed up to a private GitHub repository.
The database is mirrored, as Google Docs and Sheets, into the lab's Google Drive folder. The mirror is written by the lab's own Google account; that account's Drive access is used only to write the mirror. cdb never accesses your own Google Drive.

API tokens

Approved members can create API tokens for their own agents and scripts. A token is shown once, when it is created; cdb stores only a hash of it. Tokens expire (after 90 days at most) and can be revoked at any time.

Server logs

The server keeps an access log of requests (the client's IP address, the method and path requested, and the response status) and messages about its own operation, which can include, for example, the email address of a refused sign-in. Sign-in codes and one-time links are removed from logged addresses. Logs are kept for operating, troubleshooting and securing the service.

Who hosts it

Amazon Web Services: the server, its encrypted data disk, and the disk's snapshots (backups).
Cloudflare: DNS and the proxy in front of the server. It sees all traffic to the site in transit, and may set its own security cookies.
Google: sign-in, and the Drive mirror described above.
GitHub: the private backup of the text entries.

Deleting your data or account

To have your account removed or disabled, or to ask what cdb holds about you, contact [email protected]. Entries you recorded are part of the lab's records; ask about those too.

Google API Services User Data Policy

cdb's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Changes

If this policy changes, this page is updated and the date above changes with it.

Contact

Questions about this policy: contact [email protected].