Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Account information — When you sign in, we collect your name, email address, and authentication provider (Apple, Google, or email).

Phone number — To send a gift, we collect and verify a mobile phone number (via a one-time SMS code) through our authentication provider. We use it to confirm your identity and help prevent fraud. The number is held by that provider subject to their own privacy policy.

Payment information — When you send a gift by card, payment details are collected and processed by our payment provider. We do not store full card numbers.

Buyer bank account information — When you choose to pay for a gift by bank (ACH Direct Debit), you connect your bank through Stripe's Financial Connections. The connection returns a tokenized routing and account number used to authorize the debit; we may also access balance and account-ownership information to reduce failed debits and confirm the account belongs to you. We do not store your bank login credentials.

Identity verification — When recipients redeem a gift, we collect government ID information and a selfie, and conduct OFAC/sanctions screening, through our identity verification provider. This data is processed and stored by that provider subject to their own privacy policy.

Recipient bank/brokerage account information — When recipients connect a bank or brokerage account to receive a payout, account details are handled by our bank-connection or ACH origination provider. We store only what is necessary to initiate the transfer.

Usage data — We collect information about how you use the platform (pages visited, features used, device type, browser) to improve the product and diagnose issues.

Communications — When you contact us, we retain the content of your message to respond and improve our support.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To operate the platform — sending gifts, processing payments, delivering claim links
• To verify identity and conduct required OFAC/sanctions screening at redemption
• To send transactional emails and SMS (receipts, claim links, notifications)
• To prevent fraud and comply with applicable law
• To improve the product through analytics and error monitoring
• To respond to your support requests

We do not sell your personal data for money. We do, however, use analytics and advertising-measurement technologies (such as Google Analytics, Google Ads, and PostHog) that share certain usage and device information with those providers so we can measure ad performance and improve the product. Under California and other U.S. state privacy laws this may be considered a “sale,” “sharing,” or “targeted advertising.” You can opt out at any time on our Your Privacy Choices page, and we honor Global Privacy Control browser signals. See “Your Privacy Choices” below.

3. Third-Party Services

We use trusted third-party providers to operate Beestow. Each is bound by their own privacy policies and applicable data protection law.

4. Data Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data — encrypted connections, access controls, and secure infrastructure. No system is perfectly secure; if you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at support@beestow.com.

5. Data Retention

We retain account and transaction data for as long as your account is active and for a reasonable period after closure, as required for legal, compliance, and dispute resolution purposes. Identity verification records are retained as required by applicable financial regulations. You may request deletion of non-essential data at any time (see Your Rights below).

Retention of contact information. Because Beestow gifts do not expire, we retain a recipient's contact information (such as email address and phone number) for as long as they hold an unclaimed or unredeemed gift, in order to notify them about their gift and account, send required notices, and comply with unclaimed-property law.

Unclaimed property and disclosure to state administrators. If a gift's value becomes dormant under applicable unclaimed-property law and we are unable to reach the owner, we are required by law to report and deliver that value to the relevant U.S. state's unclaimed-property administrator. As part of that process, we are required to disclose identifying information about the owner — such as name and last known contact or address — to that state administrator. Before reporting and delivering value, we will send advance notice to the owner's last known contact. We track dormancy periods solely to meet these legal obligations.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Essential — cookies that keep you signed in (via our authentication provider) and let core features work. These can't be turned off without breaking the platform.

Analytics — Google Analytics and PostHog help us understand how the platform is used and diagnose issues.

Advertising — Google Ads sets a cookie (_gcl_aw) so we can measure which ads led to a gift purchase and optimize our campaigns.

You can turn off the analytics and advertising categories on our Your Privacy Choices page, control cookies through your browser settings, and we automatically honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals. Disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to access, correct, or delete the personal data we hold about you. You may also request a copy of your data or ask us to restrict how we use it. To exercise these rights, email support@beestow.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Note: some data may be retained where required by law or legitimate business necessity even after a deletion request.

8. Your Privacy Choices (U.S. State Privacy Rights)

If you are a resident of California or another U.S. state with a comprehensive privacy law, you have the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information and its use for “targeted advertising.” As described above, our use of advertising and analytics technologies may fall within these definitions.

To exercise this right, visit Your Privacy Choices and turn off advertising and analytics cookies for your browser. We also honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signals as an opt-out request automatically. Depending on your state, you may also have the right to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information — see “Your Rights” above, or email support@beestow.com. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.

9. Children

Beestow is not directed at minors. Users must be 18 or older to redeem a Beestow gift. We perform age and identity verification at redemption (government ID + selfie via our identity verification provider), which is the operative check before any cash leaves our system. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with their data, please contact us at support@beestow.com and we will delete it.

If you are sending a gift on behalf of a minor (for example, a parent or guardian purchasing a gift "for a child"), please do so via your own Beestow account — the receiving adult claims the gift and holds it on the minor's behalf until they reach the age of majority.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email or by a notice on the platform. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact

Privacy questions or requests? Email us at support@beestow.com.