Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Sparkle Care is a peer support community for family caregivers. We operate at sparkle-care.polsia.app and can be reached at sparkle-care@polsia.app.

We are not a healthcare provider. Nothing on our platform constitutes medical, legal, or professional advice. If you or someone you care for is in crisis, please contact 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or call 911.

Information We Collect

When you create an account

We collect your email address and the password you choose. Optionally, you may provide your name, caregiving situation, location, and a short bio. This information is visible only to members of your Sparkle Circle.

When you join a Sparkle Circle

Messages you post within your Circle are stored and visible to your Circle members. We do not share Circle content with anyone outside your Circle.

When you fill out intake questions

Questions like "What's your biggest caregiving challenge?" are collected to help match you with compatible Circle members. This data is associated with your account.

When you sign up through a form or event page

If you RSVP for a Circle session or download a guide, we collect your email address and any information you voluntarily provide. We may also capture how you heard about us (UTM parameters, referral source).

Automatically collected information

When you visit our site, we may collect basic browser and device information for security and analytics purposes. This data is anonymous and aggregated where possible.

How We Store and Protect Your Data

Your personal data is stored in a Neon PostgreSQL database hosted on Render, using industry-standard encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest. Access to our production database is restricted to authorized personnel and protected by strong access controls.

We retain your data only as long as you have an active account or as required by law. When you delete your account, we delete your personal data within a reasonable timeframe, subject to legal retention obligations.

We use bcrypt to hash passwords before storage. We do not store plaintext passwords.

Third-Party Services We Use

• Stripe (stripe.com) processes all subscription payments. We do not store your payment card details. Stripe's privacy policy applies to payment data.
• Polsia Analytics helps us understand site traffic in a privacy-respecting way. Data is anonymized where possible.
• Gumroad handles digital product purchases (such as the Caregiver Burnout Recovery Toolkit). Gumroad's privacy policy applies to those transactions.
• Meta (Facebook) pixel may be used to measure the effectiveness of our marketing. You can opt out via your Meta account settings.

We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. Here's what we use:

• Essential cookies: Required for authentication and security (e.g., keeping you signed in). These cannot be disabled without affecting site functionality.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our site. Data is aggregated and anonymized where possible.
• Marketing pixels: Meta Pixel may set cookies to measure ad performance. You can control this via your browser or Meta account settings.

When you first visit our site, you'll see a cookie consent banner asking you to accept or dismiss non-essential cookies. Your preference is stored in a cookie that persists for one year, so you won't be asked again.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access your data: Contact us at any time to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct your data: You can update your profile information at any time through your account settings.
• Delete your data: You can delete your account at any time. We'll remove your personal information within a reasonable timeframe.
• Object to processing: Contact us if you have concerns about how we use your data.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at sparkle-care@polsia.app with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We'll respond within 30 days.

CCPA Rights (California Residents)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information we collect, why we collect it, and with whom we share it.

You also have the right to request deletion of your personal information and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

To exercise your CCPA rights, contact us at sparkle-care@polsia.app.

Data Retention

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your personal data within 90 days, except where retention is required by law (for example, financial records which may be retained for up to 7 years for tax purposes).

Anonymized, aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely for historical analysis.

Contact Us About Privacy

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, we're here to help.