Data Handling and Privacy

What Data We Handle

ClawHosters stores different types of data in different locations. This page breaks down exactly what is stored where, who can access it, and how it is protected.

Understanding the data flow helps you make informed decisions about what you put into your OpenClaw instance and what stays under your control.

Data Stored by ClawHosters

The ClawHosters platform (clawhosters.com) stores account and billing data needed to run the service.

Data	Location	Protection
Email address	ClawHosters database	Stored in PostgreSQL on a dedicated VPS in Germany
Account password	ClawHosters database	Hashed with bcrypt, original never stored
Billing records	ClawHosters database	Transaction history retained per German tax law
Instance metadata	ClawHosters database	Instance name, tier, status, IP address
API tokens	ClawHosters database	Hashed, only shown once on creation
LLM API keys (BYOK)	ClawHosters database	Encrypted with Rails credentials at rest

All of this data lives on a server in Germany (Hetzner Cloud, Falkenstein data center). There are no replicas or backups stored outside of Germany.

Data Stored on Your Instance

Your OpenClaw instance runs on its own dedicated VPS. The data on that VPS is under your control.

Data	Location	Who Can Access
AI conversations and chat history	Your VPS	You (via web UI, channels, or SSH). ClawHosters does not access this data unless required for support.
Instance configuration (openclaw.json)	Your VPS	You and ClawHosters (for maintenance and updates)
Installed skills and plugins	Your VPS	You and ClawHosters (for maintenance)
Container logs	Your VPS	You and ClawHosters (for support and monitoring)

ClawHosters maintains SSH access to customer instances for maintenance, updates, and support purposes. However, customer conversation data is not accessed unless specifically required to resolve a support request. The chat data stays on your VPS and is not transmitted to ClawHosters servers.

If you enable SSH access, you have full root access to the VPS and can inspect, export, or delete any data on it.

Data Stored by Third Parties

Some data is handled by external services as part of payment processing and LLM routing.

Data	Service	What They Receive
Payment method (credit card, bank)	Stripe	Card/bank details for payment processing
Cryptocurrency payments	Coinbase Commerce	Wallet address and payment amount
LLM prompts and responses	LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.)	Your prompts if using managed LLM or BYOK

Credit card numbers and bank details never touch ClawHosters servers. Stripe handles all payment data and is PCI DSS compliant.

When you use a managed LLM add-on or BYOK, your prompts are sent directly to the LLM provider. ClawHosters routes the request but does not store the prompt content or the response.

Different LLM providers operate under different legal jurisdictions. Some are based in the USA (subject to the CLOUD Act), some in China, and some in the EU. This affects how your prompts are handled once they leave your German VPS. For a full breakdown of each model's provider, jurisdiction, and data training policy, see LLM Add-on: Model Privacy and Jurisdiction.

Data Encryption

Layer	Method
Data in transit	TLS (HTTPS) for all web traffic and API calls
Passwords	bcrypt hashing
API tokens	SHA256 hashing
BYOK API keys	Rails encrypted credentials (AES-256-GCM)
Database at rest	Hetzner disk encryption on the underlying storage
Instance VPS disk	Hetzner disk encryption on the underlying storage

The database and VPS disks use the encryption provided by Hetzner Cloud's storage layer. This protects against physical access to the drives but does not encrypt individual database fields (except for BYOK keys, which are encrypted at the application level).

What We Do Not Store

• Credit card numbers or bank account details (Stripe handles these entirely)
• The content of your AI conversations (stays on your VPS)
• Your LLM prompts or responses (routed, not stored)
• Hetzner API keys from customers (we use our own provisioning keys)
• SSH private keys (you keep those; we only store the public key hash)

Data Deletion

When you delete your ClawHosters account:

1. Instance data. Your VPS and any snapshots are deleted within 24 hours
2. Account data. Email, profile, and instance metadata are deleted within 30 days
3. Billing records. Retained for 10 years per German tax law (GoBD)
4. Stripe data. Managed by Stripe per their retention policy

You can also delete individual instances at any time from your dashboard. When an instance is deleted, the VPS is destroyed and any associated snapshots are removed.

Data Portability

You can export your data at any time:

• AI conversations: Access your instance via SSH or the web UI and copy your conversation history
• Instance configuration: Download your openclaw.json from the dashboard or via SSH
• Billing history: Available in your dashboard under Billing
• Account data: Contact support to request a full data export

Related Docs

• Security Overview: Infrastructure, container, and data protection measures
• GDPR Compliance: Your rights under GDPR and how to exercise them
• Authentication and Access Control: How each access method is protected