Choose Coffee

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 5, 2026

At Choose Coffee, we take your privacy seriously. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us, including:

  • Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your email address, name, and profile picture.
  • Preferences: Your coffee preferences, favorites, and settings that you configure.
  • Communications: When you contact us, we collect the content of your messages.

We may also receive certain technical information when you use our service:

  • Device information (browser type, operating system)
  • Usage data such as pages visited and feature interactions when analytics cookies are enabled
  • Approximate location when you use location-based features such as Near Me or when an IP-based geolocation fallback is requested
  • Hashed IP addresses for rate limiting certain features (such as semantic search). We store only a one-way cryptographic hash of your IP address — the raw IP address is never stored — and these records are automatically deleted within hours

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Provide, maintain, and improve our services
  • Personalize your coffee recommendations
  • Send you transactional emails related to your account (such as welcome emails and account deletion confirmations) — these do not require separate consent as they are part of the service you signed up for
  • Send you updates about new features and coffees (with your consent)
  • Respond to your questions and requests
  • Detect and prevent fraud or abuse
  • Comply with legal obligations

3. Publicly Displayed Information

When you create an account and contribute to Choose Coffee, certain information may be displayed publicly:

What Is Displayed Publicly

  • Your name
  • Your profile picture (if provided)
  • Your public reviews, including ratings, tasting notes, brew method, and review text

Your Control Over Public Data

You have control over what information is visible to others:

  • Review Visibility: Each review you post has a visibility toggle. You can choose to make your reviews public (visible to all visitors) or private (visible only to you).
  • Saved Favorites: Your saved coffees, roasters, and gear bookmarks are not displayed publicly.
  • Profile Pages: We store a profile visibility preference in account settings for future use, but we do not currently operate public user profile pages.

4. Authentication & Third-Party Services

Choose Coffee uses Clerk as our authentication provider. When you create an account or sign in:

  • Clerk processes your authentication credentials (email, password, or social login tokens) on their servers
  • We receive your name, email address, and profile picture from Clerk to create and maintain your Choose Coffee account
  • We do not store your password — authentication is handled entirely by Clerk
  • Clerk's own privacy practices are governed by Clerk's Privacy Policy

Other Service Providers

We use the following third-party services to operate Choose Coffee. Each may process limited personal data as described below:

  • Vercel — Hosts our website and processes all incoming requests, including IP addresses and standard HTTP headers. See Vercel's Privacy Policy
  • Neon — Hosts our database where your account information and preferences are stored. See Neon's Privacy Policy
  • Resend — Delivers transactional and marketing emails on our behalf. Resend receives your email address when we send you a message. See Resend's Privacy Policy
  • Google Analytics — Collects anonymized usage data (pages visited, session duration, device information) only when you consent to analytics cookies. See our Cookie Policy for details and controls
  • Google Maps — Renders maps on certain pages. When a map loads, your browser connects directly to Google, which may receive your IP address. See Google's Privacy Policy

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

  • Service Providers: With trusted third parties who help us operate our service (e.g., hosting, analytics).
  • Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights and safety.
  • Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
  • With Your Consent: When you explicitly authorize us to share your information.

6. Data Security

We implement technical and organizational measures to help protect your personal information, including:

  • Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS) and use of encrypted database connections
  • Access controls to help limit who can view your data
  • Secure authentication through a trusted identity provider

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you
  • Correct inaccurate information
  • Delete your personal information
  • Request a copy of your personal information in a portable format, where required by applicable law
  • Opt out of marketing communications
  • Withdraw consent where applicable

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below.

8. Data Retention & Account Deletion

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services.

  • Account Deletion: You may request deletion of your account at any time by contacting us. If your account is deleted, it is deactivated in our system and your reviews are removed from public display.
  • Content Removal: When your account is deleted, your publicly displayed information (name, profile picture, reviews) is removed from the Service.
  • Retained Data: We may retain anonymized or aggregated data (such as aggregate ratings and statistical data) that cannot be used to identify you. We may also retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

9. Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to provide functionality, remember your preferences, and understand how you use our service. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

legal@choose.coffee