This Privacy Policy describes how ("Shopping Ads," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares information about you when you use our website, mobile applications, browser extensions, and related services (collectively, the "Platform"). By using Shopping Ads, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide Directly
- Account information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, password, and account type (Shopper, Brand, or Creator).
- Brand information: If you register as a brand or business, we collect your business name, website URL, billing information, and campaign details.
- Payment information: When you add funds, withdraw cashback, or make purchases, we collect payment details. Payment card data is processed by our third-party payment processors (Stripe, PayPal) and we do not store raw card numbers.
- Communications: When you contact us, submit reviews, or set deal alerts, we collect the content of those communications.
- Profile data: Display name, optional profile photo, preferences, and referral codes.
1.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Usage data: Pages visited, products compared, links clicked, search queries, time spent on pages, and features used.
- Click and transaction data: When you click affiliate links through Shopping Ads, we record the click, the destination retailer, and—when our affiliate partners report it—the resulting purchase amount to calculate and credit your cashback.
- Device and connection data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and referring URLs.
- Cookies and similar technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and local storage. See Section 4 for details.
1.3 Information from Third Parties
- Affiliate networks: Our retail and affiliate partners share transaction confirmation data to enable cashback crediting.
- Payment processors: Stripe, PayPal, and other processors confirm payment status.
- Social login providers: If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from that provider, subject to your consent.
- Analytics providers: We may receive aggregated demographic and behavioral data.
2. How We Use Your Information
- Provide, operate, and improve the Shopping Ads Platform, including cashback tracking, price comparison, deal alerts, and ad campaign delivery.
- Process transactions, credit cashback earnings, and process withdrawal requests.
- Send transactional emails: account confirmation, password resets, cashback credits, deal alerts, withdrawal confirmations, and campaign status updates.
- Send promotional communications where permitted by law and your preferences.
- Operate our sponsored advertising auction ad system to match brand campaigns to relevant shoppers.
- Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service.
- Comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, and legal process.
- Analyze usage patterns to personalize product recommendations, deal feeds, and cashback opportunities.
- Maintain records required for tax, accounting, and regulatory compliance.
3. Sharing Your Information
We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing. We share information as follows:
- Affiliate & retail partners: We pass anonymized click IDs to affiliate networks to enable cashback tracking. These partners may recognize your browser via cookies they set independently.
- Payment processors: We share necessary payment information with Stripe, PayPal, Square, and/or crypto payment processors to complete transactions.
- Service providers: Cloud hosting, email delivery (SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark), analytics, fraud prevention, and customer support providers who process data only on our behalf under data processing agreements.
- Brand advertisers: We share aggregated, non-personally-identifiable campaign performance data (impressions, clicks, CTR) with brands running ads on the Platform. We do not share individual user identities with advertisers.
- Legal & safety: We may disclose information to law enforcement, government agencies, or other parties when required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of users or the public.
- Business transfers: If is acquired, merged, or undergoes a business transfer, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
4. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
| Type | Purpose | Can Be Disabled? |
|---|
| Essential Cookies | Session management, login, security, CSRF protection | No — required for the Platform to function |
| Performance Cookies | Page load analytics, error monitoring | Yes — via browser settings |
| Affiliate Tracking Cookies | Track clicks to retailers to attribute cashback earnings | Partially — disabling may prevent cashback crediting |
| Preference Cookies | Remember your account type, display preferences, UI state | Yes — some features may be affected |
| Advertising Cookies | Serve relevant sponsored campaigns via our advertising system | Yes — ads may become less relevant |
You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling affiliate tracking cookies may prevent accurate cashback crediting for your purchases.
5. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., legal holds, fraud prevention records, unprocessed cashback balances).
- Portability: Receive your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Opt-out of marketing: Unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time via the unsubscribe link or your account settings.
- Restrict processing: Request that we limit certain uses of your data.
To exercise these rights, email or use the Contact page. We will respond within 45 days.
6. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)
If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) provides you with additional rights. This section supplements the rest of this Privacy Policy.
6.1 Categories of Personal Information Collected (Last 12 Months)
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|
| Identifiers | Name, email, IP address, account ID, device ID | Account management, fraud prevention, service delivery |
| Commercial Information | Cashback earnings, transaction history, campaign purchases | Cashback crediting, billing, analytics |
| Internet / Electronic Activity | Browsing on our Platform, search queries, ad clicks, pages viewed | Product recommendations, ad targeting, analytics |
| Geolocation Data | Approximate location derived from IP address | Relevant deals and local circulars |
| Inferences | Shopping preferences, category interests, cashback tier | Personalized recommendations and offers |
| Financial Information | Payment method type, transaction amounts (not raw card data) | Payment processing, cashback calculations |
6.2 Your CCPA/CPRA Rights
- Right to Know: You may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, our business purposes, and the categories of third parties we share it with.
- Right to Delete: You may request deletion of personal information we hold, subject to exceptions permitted by law.
- Right to Correct: You may request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: Shopping Ads does not sell your personal information. We do share click and impression data with advertising partners for campaign measurement—you may opt out by contacting us.
- Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: We do not use sensitive personal information beyond what is necessary to provide our services.
- Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights. However, certain features (like cashback tracking) may require affiliate cookies to function.
6.3 Submitting a CCPA Request
To submit a CCPA request: email with subject line "CCPA Privacy Request" and include your full name, email address associated with your account, and the specific right you wish to exercise. We will verify your identity before processing the request and respond within 45 calendar days (extendable by an additional 45 days with notice).
You may also designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf by providing written authorization.
7. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures including TLS/HTTPS encryption for data in transit, bcrypt password hashing, row-level access controls, regular security audits, and PCI-compliant payment processing via our payment partners. Despite these measures, no system is completely secure. We encourage you to use a strong, unique password and to notify us immediately at if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
In the event of a data breach affecting your rights, we will notify you as required by California law (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.82) and other applicable regulations.
8. Children's Privacy
Shopping Ads is not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately at and we will delete it promptly.
9. Affiliate Disclosure
Shopping Ads participates in affiliate marketing programs. When you click a retail link on our Platform and make a qualifying purchase, Shopping Ads may earn a referral commission from the retailer at no additional cost to you. A portion of this commission is shared with you as cash back. This affiliate relationship does not influence our product rankings, price comparisons, or Smart Buy Scores, which are determined algorithmically based on objective signals.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email (to the address on file) and/or by posting a prominent notice on our Platform at least 30 days before the changes take effect. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page reflects the date of the most recent update. Your continued use of Shopping Ads after the effective date constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact Us
For privacy questions, requests, or concerns, contact us at:
