Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

KinderScouts ("we," "us," "our") operates the website www.kinderscouts.com — a directory of licensed childcare providers in the United States. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use our site.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide

• Account information: email address and password when you create an account.
• Inquiry forms: your name, email, phone number, and message when you contact a childcare provider through our site.
• Provider claims: email address and license number when claiming a provider profile.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data: pages visited, searches performed, and interactions with the site, collected via PostHog analytics.
• Device information: browser type, operating system, and screen size.
• Location data: approximate geolocation when you use the "near me" search feature (only with your explicit permission via your browser).
• Local storage: saved provider favorites are stored in your browser's local storage. If you have an account, favorites are also synced to our database.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To deliver and improve the KinderScouts service — search, filtering, provider profiles, and favorites.
• To forward your inquiries to childcare providers and send you a confirmation email.
• To authenticate provider accounts and manage provider dashboards.
• To analyze usage patterns and improve site performance and content.
• To prevent abuse, including rate-limiting inquiry submissions.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Supabase — authentication and database hosting.
• Vercel — website hosting, edge delivery, and analytics.
• PostHog — product analytics (pageviews, search events, feature usage).
• Resend — transactional email delivery (inquiry confirmations, provider notifications).
• Mapbox — map display on listing pages.
• Cloudflare — DNS and security.

Each of these services has its own privacy policy. We recommend reviewing them if you have concerns about how your data is processed by these providers.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

We use cookies for authentication sessions and analytics. We also use your browser's local storage to save your favorite providers. You can clear local storage and cookies through your browser settings at any time.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in these limited cases:

• Provider inquiries: when you submit an inquiry, your name, email, phone number, and message are sent to the childcare provider you contacted.
• Service providers: the third-party services listed above process data on our behalf to operate the site.
• Legal requirements: if required by law, regulation, or legal process.

7. Data Retention

We retain account information for as long as your account is active. Inquiry data is retained for up to 12 months. Analytics data is retained according to PostHog's default retention settings. You can request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, 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.
• Opt out of analytics tracking.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@kinderscouts.com.

9. Children's Privacy

KinderScouts is a service for parents and childcare providers. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

11. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at hello@kinderscouts.com.