Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

StageScouter ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our platform at stagescouter.com ("the Service"). By using the Service, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly:

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored as a one-way hash, never in plain text). When you build your speaker profile, we collect your speaking topics, target audiences, experience level, preferred formats, location preferences, bio, social media links, fee range, and optionally your headshot and business logo. When you subscribe, payment information is collected and processed directly by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number, CVV, or full card details on our servers.

Information collected automatically:

When you use the Service, we may collect your IP address, browser type and version, device information, pages visited within the Service, time and date of access, and referring URL. We use cookies to maintain your authentication session and to track referral attribution for our partner program (the "ss_ref" cookie, which expires after 30 days).

Information from third parties:

If you sign up through a partner referral link, we record the referring partner's code to attribute the referral. Search results displayed in the Service are sourced from publicly available web content via third-party search APIs and are not stored long-term on our servers.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to: provide, operate, and maintain the Service; match speaking opportunities to your profile; generate personalized pitch materials, bios, and one-pagers; process your subscription and manage billing; communicate with you about your account, updates, and support requests; improve the Service through anonymized and aggregated usage analytics; attribute partner referrals and calculate commissions; and comply with legal obligations.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information with the following categories of third parties, strictly as needed to operate the Service:

Payment processor (Stripe): Your payment information is transmitted directly to Stripe for processing. Stripe's privacy policy governs their handling of your data.

CRM platform (CoachMarketer/GoHighLevel): Your account information (name, email, subscription status) is stored in our CRM to manage your account, send transactional emails, and provide support.

Search API provider (Serper.dev): Your search queries are transmitted to our search API provider to return results. Queries do not include your personal information beyond the search terms you enter.

Hosting provider (Vercel): The Service is hosted on Vercel. Server logs may contain IP addresses and request metadata.

We may also disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

5. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a cost factor of 12 and are never stored in plain text. Authentication tokens are signed using industry-standard JSON Web Tokens (JWT). All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you cancel your subscription, your account data is retained for 90 days in case you choose to resubscribe, after which it may be deleted. Pipeline data, search history, and generated pitch materials stored in your browser's local storage are controlled by you and can be cleared at any time. You may request deletion of your account and all associated data by contacting us at support@stagescouter.com.

7. Cookies

We use the following cookies: session authentication cookies to keep you logged in during your browser session, and the "ss_ref" referral tracking cookie (30-day expiration) to attribute partner referrals. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but doing so may affect your ability to use the Service.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to: access the personal information we hold about you; request correction of inaccurate information; request deletion of your personal information; object to or restrict certain processing of your data; request a portable copy of your data; and withdraw consent where processing is based on consent. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@stagescouter.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

10. California Residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). You have the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to request deletion, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information. To make a CCPA request, contact us at support@stagescouter.com.

11. International Users

The Service is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Service, you consent to this transfer. If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your data based on contractual necessity (to provide the Service you subscribed to) and legitimate interest (to improve and secure the Service).

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at support@stagescouter.com.