Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 19, 2026

Gift Compass ("we", "us", or "our") is operated by an individual based in the United States. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have.

What we collect

When you use the gift search tool

You don't need an account to use Gift Compass. When you run a search, you provide details about the gift recipient (relationship, age range, occasion, budget, and interests). We send this information to Anthropic's API to generate gift recommendations. Anthropic's data handling is governed by their own privacy policy.

We do not permanently store your full search inputs in a way that is linked to your identity unless you choose to save results or sign in, as described below. We do use short-lived server-side caching and anonymous product-improvement records:

Result cache. Identical searches may return cached gift recommendations for up to 48 hours. The cache key is a one-way hash of your search parameters — we do not store your email or account alongside it.
Anonymous backlog. We may record aggregated, non-identifying search context (relationship, occasion, age range, budget, and interest tags) alongside gift ideas that appear often. Free-text interests are not stored in this backlog. This helps us improve recommendations over time.

If you are not signed in, your current search and any picks you heart may also be stored in your browser's session storage or local storage (for up to 7 days on persistent keys) so you can continue where you left off. This data stays on your device unless you sign in and migrate guest picks to your account.

You may optionally enter an email address to receive a link to your scouted results. If you do, we store your email address, the share link ID, and basic search context (relationship and occasion) for up to 48 hours to deliver the email and prevent duplicate sends.

When you create an account

Account creation is optional and only required to save picks across devices, share lists, claim gifts, or use the calendar. When you sign in, we collect:

Your email address
Your name and profile picture (Google sign-in only)
A unique user identifier

We support two sign-in methods: Google OAuth and magic link email (via Resend). If you use both with the same email address, we link them to one account. We store your account information in Upstash Redis.

If you search while signed in but do not save any picks, we may temporarily store your email address and basic search context (relationship, occasion, and budget) for up to 48 hours to send a single follow-up email with a link back to the finder. This record is cleared if you save picks or if the window expires.

When you save gift picks

If you choose to save gifts to a list, we store:

Your list names
The gift items you save (title, reason, price range, search query, and budget used)
The date each gift was saved, and whether it has been marked as gifted
Optional recipient details you add on a list (relationship, age range, interests, and interest tags). These are private to your account and are not shown on shared list pages.

This data is stored in Upstash Redis and linked to your user account. You can delete individual gifts or entire lists from your saved picks page at any time.

When you set a reminder

Reminders are optional and transactional. There are two kinds:

List occasion reminders. When you set a date on a saved list, we store the occasion date, the list name, your email address, and which reminder emails have been sent. Depending on how far away the date is, we may send emails around 22 days before, 7 days before, 2 days before (for dates set closer to the occasion), and a brief follow-up after the date passes.
Calendar holiday reminders. On your gifting calendar, you can opt into email reminders for upcoming gift-giving holidays (for example, Valentine's Day or Mother's Day). We store the holiday identifier, your email address, and send timestamps. These are separate from list occasion reminders.

We use Resend to deliver reminder, sign-in, and Compass newsletter emails.

When you join the Compass

the Compass is an optional weekly newsletter, separate from reminder mail. We only add you if you opt in on a Compass signup form (including the Compass hub, the join page, gift guides, the homepage, individual issues, the site footer, or email preferences) — creating an account does not subscribe you. We store your email, the opt-in timestamp, and (if you later unsubscribe or if a send bounces or is marked as spam) a suppression flag so we do not email you again. Unsubscribing from the Compass does not turn off calendar or list reminders.

When you opt in, we also store basic campaign and page attribution so we can tell where a subscriber first arrived on Gift Compass and which signup form they used. That can include the landing path, signup path, a short source/placement label, a content type and slug when the form sits on a guide or issue, standard UTM campaign parameters, and the hostname of the referring site. We do not store full tracking URLs, click identifiers such as fbclid or gclid, or the full external referrer URL. We do not send your email address to Vercel Analytics, Google Analytics, or Meta Pixel.

When you use the calendar

If you are signed in, your calendar shows personal list reminders and upcoming holidays. We store your calendar preferences in Upstash Redis, including:

Which generic holidays you have hidden from your timeline
Which holiday email reminders you have turned on (described above)

Calendar preferences are private to your account.

When you share a list

If you make a list public, the list name and saved gift items are accessible to anyone with the link. We do not display your name, email address, recipient profile details, or any other account information on public list pages.

Shoppers who want to claim a gift must sign in. When someone claims an item, we store their user identifier and a display name (from their account name or email). The shared page shows who claimed each item by display name only — not their email address.

When you share search results (without saving to a list)

You can share scouted gift ideas without creating a saved list. Depending on how you share:

Share links. We store the search context (relationship, occasion, budget, interest tags) and up to eight gift items on our servers for up to 90 days. Anyone with the link can view them. No account information is included.
Encoded links. Some share URLs encode the gift data directly in the link itself. Those do not create a server-side record, but anyone with the URL can decode and view the contents.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

Generate gift recommendations via the Anthropic API
Authenticate you and maintain your session
Store and retrieve your saved picks and calendar preferences
Send reminder, sign-in, and results-link emails you have explicitly requested
Enable list sharing and gift claiming
Improve recommendations through anonymous aggregated usage data
Monitor site performance and usage via Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights (anonymous, aggregated data)
Measure product usage via Google Analytics 4 when configured (page views and custom events such as searches and saves — we do not send your email or free-text interests in these events)
If Meta Pixel is enabled, measure page visits and configured events for Meta advertising measurement. We do not load Meta Pixel when it is not enabled.

We do not sell your data or use your gift search inputs, account details, or email address to target advertising. We share data with third parties only as described in this policy, including the service providers listed below.

Third-party services

We use the following services to operate Gift Compass:

Service	Purpose	Privacy policy
Anthropic	AI gift recommendations	anthropic.com/privacy
Vercel	Hosting, analytics, and performance monitoring	vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy
Google Analytics	Optional usage measurement (when enabled)	policies.google.com/privacy
Upstash	Data storage (accounts, lists, reminders, calendar preferences, caches)	upstash.com/trust/privacy.pdf
Resend	Transactional email (magic links, reminders, results links)	resend.com/legal/privacy-policy
Google	OAuth sign-in (optional)	policies.google.com/privacy
Amazon Associates	Affiliate links to Amazon products	amazon.com/privacy
Meta Pixel (if enabled)	Advertising measurement and audience insights	facebook.com/privacy/policy

When you click an Amazon affiliate link, you leave Gift Compass. The link includes a search query and our affiliate tag. Amazon's privacy policy applies once you arrive on their site.

Cookies, storage, and sessions

We use a session cookie to keep you signed in. This cookie is necessary for saved picks, sharing, claiming, and the calendar to work. It does not track you across other websites and is cleared when you sign out or delete your browser cookies.

When Google Analytics is enabled, it may set its own cookies to measure page views and events. If Meta Pixel is enabled, it may set cookies or receive browser identifiers for advertising measurement; otherwise, Meta Pixel is not loaded. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party ad tracking when those services are not enabled.

If you use Gift Compass without signing in, we may store search state and guest picks in your browser's session storage or local storage (not cookies) so the site works as you expect. You can clear this at any time through your browser settings.

Data retention

Account and saved picks are retained until you delete them or request account deletion
List and calendar reminders are retained until you delete them or the associated occasion has passed
Session data expires automatically after a period of inactivity or when you sign out
Search result cache expires automatically after 48 hours
Guest email and search follow-up records expire automatically after 48 hours
Ephemeral share links expire automatically after 90 days
Guest browser storage for persistent search and pick data expires after 7 days
Anonymous backlog data is retained indefinitely in aggregated form to improve recommendations; it is not linked to your account

Your choices

You can at any time:

Use the gift search tool without creating an account
Decline to enter an email address for results links or reminders
Delete individual saved gifts or entire lists from your saved picks page
Remove list occasion reminders from your saved picks page
Hide calendar holidays or turn off holiday email reminders on your calendar page
Release a gift claim you made on someone else's shared list
Clear guest data stored in your browser through your browser settings
Sign out, which ends your session immediately
Request deletion of your account and all associated data by emailing hello@giftcompass.io

Children's privacy

Gift Compass is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the product evolves. When we do, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top. Continued use of Gift Compass after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or want to request deletion of your data, contact us at:

hello@giftcompass.io