Privacy Policy

1. Overview

TheGiftShuffle (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates thegiftshuffle.com (the “Site”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, the third parties that help us run the Site, and your rights regarding that information. We aim to collect as little personal information as possible.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide

• Email address, collected only if you choose to save a wishlist item or email yourself your saved gift picks. It is used solely to store or send your list. We do not send marketing emails and we do not share your email with third parties for marketing.

Information collected automatically

• Usage and analytics data. Like most websites, we collect standard analytics such as the pages you view, the approximate location derived from your IP address, your device and browser type, and the site that referred you. We use this to understand how the Site is used and to improve it. See Section 5 for the providers involved and Section 6 for the cookies this can set.
• Affiliate click data. When you click a “Buy” or shop link, we record which product was clicked (identified by its Amazon product ID, or ASIN) and the time of the click in our own first-party store. This data is product-level and is used to see which gifts are popular. It is not linked to your name or email.
• Server logs. Our hosting provider and our request rate-limiter process your IP address briefly to keep the Site secure and prevent abuse. IP addresses used for rate limiting are held only in temporary memory and are not stored long term.

Information stored in your browser

• localStorage stores your wishlist items and saved gift picks (“My Picks”) locally on your device. This data never leaves your browser unless you explicitly save a wishlist item or email your picks with your email address.
• sessionStorage stores a temporary list of recently shown product IDs so we do not show you the same gifts repeatedly in one session. It is cleared when you close your browser tab.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To store your wishlist against your email address, or to email you your saved picks, when you ask us to.
• To measure how the Site is used and improve the shuffle experience and our gift guides.
• To understand which products are popular, using product-level affiliate click counts.
• To keep the Site secure, prevent abuse, and comply with our legal obligations.
• We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not use it to build advertising or cross-site tracking profiles.

4. Affiliate Links

TheGiftShuffle is an affiliate site. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and in affiliate networks such as Impact (impact.com), which connect us with other retailers. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, the retailer may place cookies on your device under its own privacy policy, and we may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

5. Third-Party Services We Use

We rely on the following service providers to operate the Site. Each processes data under its own privacy policy:

• Vercel, our hosting provider, which also provides cookieless Vercel Web Analytics (aggregate page-view and visitor metrics).
• Google Analytics 4 (provided by Google), which we use to measure Site usage. Google may act as an independent controller of the data it collects.
• Upstash, which hosts the database where we keep affiliate click counts and saved data.
• Affiliate partners (Amazon Associates and the Impact network) as described in Section 4.
• Image hosts. Product and hero images may be served from third-party hosts including retailer and brand sites, Pexels, Unsplash, and placeholder services, which may collect standard web request data.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We keep cookies to a minimum and do not use advertising or retargeting cookies. The technologies in use are:

• Functional browser storage (localStorage and sessionStorage), used only for the features described in Section 2. These are not cookies and are not sent to any server.
• Analytics cookies. When Google Analytics is enabled, it sets its own cookies (for example, _ga) to measure usage. Vercel Web Analytics is cookieless and does not set cookies.
• Third-party retailer cookies. Amazon and other affiliate partners may set their own cookies once you click through to their sites.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and you can signal an opt-out of analytics using your browser’s Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control (GPC) setting, or by using a tracker-blocking extension. Blocking analytics cookies does not affect the Site’s core features.

7. Children’s Privacy

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

8. Your Rights (CCPA / GDPR)

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete the personal data we hold about you, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information. The personal data we hold about an individual is generally limited to an email address you chose to submit. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at aj@aideptsolutions.com and we will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

9. Data Retention and Security

We keep email addresses you submit until you ask us to delete them or they are no longer needed for the purpose you provided them. Affiliate click event records are retained for a short period (currently about seven days) for recent-activity reporting and are then automatically removed; aggregate click counts may be retained longer in non-personal form. We apply reasonable technical safeguards, including HTTPS, security headers, and access-restricted storage, to protect your information. No payment or financial data is collected or stored by us.

10. International Users

The Site is operated from the United States, and our service providers process data in the United States and other countries. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries whose data-protection laws may differ from those of your country.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Email us at aj@aideptsolutions.com.