HoursBooks Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 25, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how HoursBooks ("HoursBooks," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects information in connection with the HoursBooks time-tracking software, including the website at hoursbooks.com, the worker punch pages at punchout.now, the tablet kiosk, and any HoursBooks mobile applications (together, the "Service"). It should be read together with our Terms of Service.

1. Two kinds of users

HoursBooks is used by employers (who create accounts and manage records) and by crew members / employees (who clock in and out using a kiosk or a personal punch link, without an account). Employers control the employment records kept in their account; for those records the employer acts as the data controller and HoursBooks acts as a processor on the employer's behalf. If you are an employee with questions about records your employer keeps in HoursBooks, please contact your employer first.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Account information (employers)

When an employer registers we collect the information needed to create and manage the account, such as email address, company name, and login credentials. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and stored in hashed form; we never store passwords in plain text.

2.2 Workforce records (entered by employers)

Employers enter business records such as employee names, hourly pay rates, lunch-break defaults, kiosk PINs (stored only as cryptographic hashes), work schedules, timesheets, job-site locations, and pay-period settings. The employer controls what is entered.

2.3 Punch records (created when workers clock in or out)

• Time: every punch is timestamped by our servers.
• Photos: a punch made at a kiosk or from a phone captures a single photo at the moment of the punch, using the device camera. Photos exist to verify who punched. If a camera is unavailable or permission is declined, the punch is recorded without a photo and is marked accordingly.
• Location: a punch made from a worker's phone captures the device's GPS position and accuracy at the moment of the punch only. HoursBooks does not track location at any other time, does not track location in the background, and cannot see a device's location between punches. Location is used to confirm the punch occurred within an employer-defined job-site area.

2.4 Usage and technical information

We and our infrastructure providers automatically collect limited technical information needed to operate and secure the Service, such as log data, device and browser type, IP address, and timestamps. We use this for security, troubleshooting, and cross-device synchronization.

3. How we use information

• Provide, operate, maintain, and improve the Service;
• Record and verify work hours, including overtime and pay calculations;
• Authenticate users, secure accounts, and deter time-clock fraud;
• Synchronize records across an employer's devices;
• Provide support and send service-related communications;
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.

We do not sell personal information. We do not use punch photos, locations, or workforce records for advertising, and we do not use them to train artificial-intelligence models. Punch photos are photographs only — we do not create biometric templates, run facial recognition, or derive biometric identifiers from them.

4. Who can see punch photos and locations

Punch photos and punch locations are visible only to the employer account that owns the records (and to people the employer shares its login with). They are stored in private storage that is not publicly accessible; photos are viewed through short-lived signed links available only to the signed-in employer. Workers at a kiosk cannot browse other workers' photos or records.

5. How we share information

• Service providers. We use trusted third-party providers to host and operate the Service — including cloud database, authentication, file storage, and website hosting providers. They process information on our behalf and are bound to protect it.
• The employer. Records about a worker's punches, hours, photos, and punch locations are available to that worker's employer — that is the purpose of the Service.
• Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of HoursBooks, our users, or the public.
• Business transfers. If HoursBooks is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this Privacy Policy.

6. Data retention

Records remain in an employer's account until the employer deletes them or deletes the account. Time and punch records are typically retained for the periods employers are required to keep payroll records under applicable law. Employers can remove an employee (which disables their punch access) and can request deletion of their entire account and its data by contacting us.

7. Security

The Service is served over HTTPS. Data is stored with access controls that restrict every record to the account that owns it; punch APIs use unguessable per-worker tokens; punch timestamps are set server-side and cannot be altered by devices. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we design the Service so that the sensitive parts — photos, locations, pay data — are only reachable by the account they belong to.

8. Children

The Service is for business use and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

9. Your choices and rights

• Employers can review, correct, export (CSV), and delete their records at any time in the app.
• Workers can decline camera or location permissions on their own devices; punches requiring location will not complete without it, and the worker can instead use the employer's kiosk or ask the employer to record time manually.
• Depending on where you live, you may have legal rights to access, correct, or delete personal information. Employees should direct such requests to their employer (the controller of the records); we will assist employers in fulfilling them.

10. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here with a new "Last updated" date, and for material changes we will provide additional notice in the app.

11. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy: support@depotbooks.com — HoursBooks, Lake Worth, FL.