Robert Barr operates Squishy Scout and is the data controller for the personal data described here. This notice explains what we collect, why, and what you can do about it.

What we collect and why

• Age data (date of birth, kept only to apply our 13+ minimum and 18+ community rules). Legal basis: legal obligation and legitimate interests in child safety.
• Account data (email address, display name, login credentials managed by our authentication provider) — to create and secure your account. Legal basis: performance of our contract with you.
• Preferences (ZIP code, watchlist, muted retailers, alert settings) — to show nearby store stock and send the alerts you asked for. Legal basis: contract.
• Push subscription tokens — to deliver browser push alerts. Legal basis: consent, which you can withdraw by disabling alerts.
• Usage and device data (pages viewed, product views, IP address, browser type, error logs) — to keep the service running, prevent abuse, and improve it. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
• Affiliate link clicks (product and retailer, hashed IP address, browser type) — to measure which products drive referrals and attribute commissions from affiliate partners. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
• Content you post (reviews, ratings, collections, profile handle and bio, trade board Have/ISO listings) — to publish it where you chose to and to moderate it. Public posts are visible to anyone; private collections stay private. Legal basis: contract and legitimate interests in keeping the community safe.
• Support messages and tickets you send us — to answer you and keep a record of the conversation. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
• Subscription records (plan, status, renewal date, payment provider identifiers) — to give you the features you paid for. Legal basis: contract. We never see or store your card details.

Who we share it with

• Service providers / subprocessors — hosting, database, email delivery and push notification providers, acting on our instructions.
• Paddle, our Merchant of Record, for the sale of Scout Pro, subscription management, payments, invoicing and tax compliance.
• Affiliate networks and retailers — when you click an affiliate link, the retailer or affiliate network receives the fact that the referral came from Squishy Scout so that any qualifying commission can be attributed. No other account data is passed.
• Professional advisers (legal, accounting) where necessary.
• Authorities where we are legally required to disclose.

We do not sell your personal data.

Retention

We keep account and preference data while your account is open, and delete or anonymise it within 90 days of account closure. Usage logs are kept for up to 12 months. Billing records are retained as long as required by tax and accounting law.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you can request access to your data, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or object to processing based on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent at any time. You can also ask us not to sell or share your personal information — we do not. To exercise any of these, email thesquishyscout@gmail.com; we respond within 30 days. If you are in the UK or EEA you may also complain to your local supervisory authority.

International transfers

Our infrastructure is hosted in the United States. Where data is transferred out of the UK or EEA, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.

Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures including encryption in transit, row-level database access controls, and least-privilege access to production systems.

Cookies

We use essential cookies and local storage to keep you signed in and remember preferences. We do not use advertising cookies. See our Cookie Notice for details.

Children

Squishy Scout is for members aged 13 and over. We collect a date of birth at sign-up purely to enforce that minimum and to decide whether an account runs in Safe Mode (13–17: no public profile and no community posting). We do not display your date of birth to anyone and do not use it for advertising or profiling. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13; if you believe a younger child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Contact

Privacy questions: thesquishyscout@gmail.com.