Privacy Policy — Store Search

Store Search (“we”, “our”, or “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our AI-powered grocery price comparison service (the “Service”) — whether through our website at store-search.shop or our mobile applications for iOS and Android (each, an “App”). Section 1.3 sets out what differs on the Apps, which collect less than the website does.

Deleting your account

You can permanently delete your account at any time from store-search.shop/account, or from the Account screen in the mobile app. Deletion is immediate and removes your sign-in, your profile, your saved stores and vehicles, and your search history. Anonymous community totals (money saved, miles avoided) remain, because they contain nothing that identifies you. If you can no longer sign in, email us from the address on the account and we will delete it for you.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide to Us

Account Data: When you register via email or Google, we collect your name, email address, and profile picture (if provided by Google).
Platform Use: We record whether your account was created on our website or our mobile app, and when you last signed in from each, so we can understand which of our apps you use. We also record the country you connect from (a two-letter country code only — never your IP address or a more precise location) so we know which markets to support.
Search Data: We collect the search queries, selected stores, and products you interact with to provide accurate price comparisons and usage limits.
Location Data (Manual): If you choose to manually enter an address for our map or travel calculator, we collect and process that text.
Preferences: We store your app preferences, such as your preferred theme (light/dark), region, and currency.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

Device Location: If you grant browser permission, we access your device’s precise geographical location (GPS coordinates) to show nearby stores and estimate travel costs. We do not track your location continuously in the background; we only request it when the Service is active.
Usage Data & Analytics: We automatically collect certain information about your device and how you interact with the Service. This includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, the page that referred you to us, and interaction events (such as successful searches). We may also set first-party analytics identifiers in your browser (cookies such as Meta’s browser and click identifiers) so that related events can be recognised as coming from the same browser.

1.3 The Mobile Apps

The Apps use the same account and the same backend as the website, so the account, search, and platform information described above is collected in the same way. The differences are all reductions:

No location access. The Apps do not request or collect your location, and contain no map or nearby-store feature. The travel-cost calculator in the Apps works from distances you type in yourself. If we add location features to an App in future, we will update this Policy and the store privacy disclosures before that version ships, and your device will ask your permission first.
No advertising identifiers and no cross-app tracking. The Apps do not use the Advertising Identifier (IDFA), do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites, and therefore do not present an App Tracking Transparency prompt.
No access to your contacts, photos, camera, microphone, or files.
No push notifications. The Apps do not currently send them and do not ask for notification permission.
Device information. We record which platform your account was created on and which platforms you have signed in from, so that we know which apps to support. We do not collect device identifiers, advertising identifiers, or a device fingerprint.

Apple and Google collect their own information when you download or update an App — for example download counts, crash reports, and any diagnostics you choose to share with them. That collection is governed by Apple’s and Google’s privacy policies, not this one, and we receive only aggregate, anonymised reporting from them.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Provide, operate, and maintain the Service (e.g., executing AI price searches).
Calculate travel estimates, nearby stores, and live fuel prices (when you are signed in).
Process transactions and manage your Premium subscription billing.
Manage your account and enforce our Free tier search limits.
Improve the accuracy of our AI searches and enhance the user experience.
Analyse usage trends and measure the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.
Protect the Service against abuse, fraud, and excessive use (for example, rate limiting by IP address).

Where laws such as the EU GDPR or South Africa’s POPIA apply, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of our contract with you (operating your account and subscription), our legitimate interests (securing the Service, preventing fraud and abuse, measuring and improving the Service, and de-duplicating analytics), your consent where required, and compliance with legal obligations.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with the following third-party service providers to facilitate our Service:

Google Cloud & Firebase: For user authentication, database hosting (Firestore), and serverless functions.
Apple and Google: Distribution of the iOS and Android Apps through the App Store and Google Play. They receive download, update, and crash information under their own privacy policies; they do not receive your Store Search account data from us.
Expo: Builds the Apps and delivers their software updates. Update requests reveal the App version and platform, not your identity or your searches.
Stripe & PayPal: For secure payment processing. We do not store your full credit card number or PayPal credentials on our servers.
Google Gemini AI: Your search parameters (products, custom queries) are processed by Google Gemini to find and aggregate price comparisons.
OpenStreetMap / Leaflet / Overpass API: Your location data (coordinates or entered address) may be processed to retrieve map tiles and nearby store branches.
Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics 4 to measure aggregate traffic, page views, and interaction events (such as successful searches). Google may set cookies and collect IP addresses and device information. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
Meta (Facebook): We use the Meta Pixel and Conversions API to track aggregate usage and measure the success of our advertising. Data shared may include hashed identifiers (such as email address or phone number), IP addresses, browser and click identifiers, the referring and current page addresses, and specific events (like completing a search).

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as local storage and web beacons) to store your preferences (e.g., dark mode), maintain your logged-in session, and collect analytics.

You can configure your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, if you disable cookies, some parts of the Service (like logging in) may become inaccessible or not function properly.

5. Data Security & Retention

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to secure your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or alteration. However, no electronic transmission or storage system is 100% secure.

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Event-level data held in our analytics tools is retained there for up to 14 months; we may retain exported analytics data in pseudonymised form, and aggregate statistics, for longer where needed for long-term trend analysis. Raw server logs (which may include IP addresses) are retained for up to 90 days.

6. Your Data Rights

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

Access the personal information we hold about you.
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”).
Opt-out of certain analytics and tracking.

To exercise these rights, or to delete your account entirely, please contact us at the email address below. You may also update your profile information directly within the app.

7. Children’s Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under the age of 16, and the Apps are rated and listed accordingly on the App Store and Google Play. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16, and the Apps contain no content directed at children. If we become aware that we have collected such data, we will take steps to delete it. A parent or guardian who believes we hold a child’s information may contact us to have it removed.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by updating the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Email: support@store-search.shop