Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information to operate ShareThreado, verify user accounts, and effectively display public startup and product Threados:

• Account Details: When registering, we collect your name, email address, encrypted password hash (bcrypt), and optional profile photo.
• Threado Content & Engagement: Public text posts, titles, attached website URLs, click analytics, and love reaction interactions.
• Payment Metadata: Transaction metadata, currency, order status, and checkout IDs. All payment processing is securely handled by Polar.sh (we do not store or process raw credit card numbers on our servers).
• Technical Data: IP addresses, request timestamps, user-agent strings, and browser metadata automatically logged for operational security and fraud prevention.

2. Public Content Disclaimer

ShareThreado is a public startup discovery feed and catalog platform. Any content you publish in a Threado post—including post titles, descriptions, website URLs, and associated public profile details—is publicly accessible on the web and indexed by search engines (such as Google).

Please do not include confidential, proprietary, or sensitive personal information in your public Threado submissions.

3. Cookies & Analytics (Google Analytics)

We use essential browser cookies and local storage tokens strictly for user authentication session management (access tokens and refresh tokens) to keep you logged in securely.

We also use Google Analytics to analyze visitor traffic, track aggregated usage patterns, and measure platform performance. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect standard web log and visitor behavior information in anonymous form. We do not sell your browsing data to third-party advertisers.

4. Third-Party Data Processors

To operate ShareThreado, we engage trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf under strict operational and security standards:

• Vercel Inc.: Hosting infrastructure, edge network deployment, and serverless application functions.
• Polar.sh: Complete payment gateway handling, merchant-of-record services, checkout flow, and transaction invoicing.
• Google Analytics: Website traffic analytics, pageview monitoring, and audience aggregation.
• Cloud & Database Hosting Providers: Secure database storage, password encryption, and API backend infrastructure.

5. Outbound Links & Referral Tracking

ShareThreado contains outbound links to external product websites. When visitors click on a website link attached to a Threado, standard referral parameters (such as utm_source=sharethreado) are automatically appended to the destination URL. This allows external website owners to measure referral traffic originating from ShareThreado.

6. How We Use Your Information

We process your information for the following legitimate purposes:

• Operating, maintaining, and improving the ShareThreado platform and public feed.
• Publishing your Threado posts and managing user account tiers (including Lifetime PREMIUM status upgrades upon payment verification).
• Promoting selected featured Threados across our official community channels.
• Preventing spam, fraudulent transactions, bot abuse, or prohibited content violations.
• Responding to customer support inquiries and serving account management requests.

7. User Rights (Access, Correction & Data Deletion)

Regardless of your geographical location (including compliance with EU GDPR, UK GDPR, and California CCPA privacy standards), you hold full rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access & Export: You can request a copy of all personal data held about your account.
• Right to Rectification: You can edit inaccurate or outdated profile information in your user dashboard at any time.
• Right to Erasure (Data Deletion): If you wish to delete your account and remove all personal information and submitted Threados, you can request full data deletion by emailing us at [email protected]. Upon request, your account and associated personal data will be permanently deleted from our primary servers.

8. Data Retention Period

We retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active or as needed to provide platform services.

Upon receiving a valid account deletion request, your personal profile data and user-generated posts will be purged within 30 days. Financial transaction records processed through Polar.sh are retained for the duration required by applicable legal, tax, and accounting compliance laws.

9. Minimum Age Restriction

ShareThreado is strictly intended for users who are at least 13 years of age (or 16 years of age in applicable European jurisdictions). We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, we will take immediate steps to delete such information and terminate the account.

10. International Data Transfers

ShareThreado operates globally using cloud infrastructure (such as Vercel and global Content Delivery Networks). Your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in servers located outside your home state, country, or jurisdiction (including the United States and European Union data centers). By using ShareThreado, you consent to the transfer of information to servers worldwide equipped with standard security protections.

11. Policy Changes & Notifications

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our service offerings, legal regulations, or operational practices. When updates occur, the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will be revised accordingly. For material updates affecting user rights, registered users will be notified via a dashboard alert or email notification.

12. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

This Privacy Policy and any disputes or claims arising out of or in connection with your use of ShareThreado shall be governed by and construed in accordance with applicable statutory laws, without giving effect to any conflict of law principles.