Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 4, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what information GrottoMade collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to grottomade.com and app.grottomade.com.
1. Information we collect
When you use GrottoMade, we collect:
- Account information — name, email address, and password (stored securely, never in plain text)
- Shop & listing information — shop name, bio, banner and avatar images, listing photos, descriptions, prices, and tags you add
- Verification materials — the process photos and statement you submit for the Verified Handmade review
- Messages— the content of conversations you send through GrottoMade's internal messaging
- Usage data— pages viewed, listings favorited, shops followed, and similar activity used to power features like "Trending" and your notification history
2. What we don't collect
GrottoMade does not process payments, so we never collect or store credit card numbers, bank details, or other payment credentials. Any payment you arrange with another user happens entirely off-platform, on the payment provider's own service.
3. How we use your information
- To operate core features — accounts, listings, search, messaging, favorites, and follows
- To review Verified Handmade applications
- To send transactional emails — new message, favorite, or follower notifications, and account emails like password resets — based on your notification preferences
- To keep the Service safe — investigating reports of prohibited conduct or content
- To improve the Service — understanding what's working and what isn't
4. How we share information
We never sell your personal information. We share it only in these cases:
- With other users, as intended by the feature — your shop name and public listings are visible to anyone; a buyer messaging you sees your shop name; you see the first name of a buyer who messages you
- With service providers who help us run GrottoMade— our database and file storage (Supabase), transactional email delivery (SendGrid), our account and support inbox (Zoho Mail), and marketing emails you've opted into (Mailchimp)
- When required by law — if we receive a valid legal request
5. Cookies & similar technologies
We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and to remember your session. We don't use third-party advertising trackers.
6. Data retention & account deletion
We keep your information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account from Settings, it enters a 30-day recovery window (hidden and unpublished, but recoverable) before being permanently erased. After that window, your listings are deleted permanently, and any messages you sent are anonymized to "Former Seller" or "Former Buyer" for the other party's copy of the conversation, since we can't delete data that belongs to someone else's account.
7. Your rights & choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information, and to opt out of certain uses of it. You can update most of this yourself from your account Settings and notification preferences, or email hello@grottomade.com for anything else, including requests under GDPR or CCPA.
8. Children's privacy
GrottoMade is not directed to children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we'll remove it.
9. Security
We use industry-standard safeguards — encrypted connections, access controls, and hashed passwords — to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security, but we work to keep your data safe.
10. International users
GrottoMade is operated from the United States. If you use the Service from outside the U.S., your information will be processed in the U.S., where data protection laws may differ from your home country.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted here with a new "Last updated" date.
12. Contact
Questions about this policy or your data? Email hello@grottomade.com.