Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

1. What we collect

When you create an account we collect your name, email address, and profile photo via Clerk, our authentication provider. When you use Favely we store the lists, items, and annotations you create, as well as activity data such as follows, circle memberships, and item statuses.

2. How we use it

We use your data solely to operate Favely: to show you your lists, power circle-based recommendations, and send transactional emails (invite notifications, circle digests). We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

3. Third-party services

Favely uses the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policy:

  • Clerk — authentication and session management
  • MongoDB Atlas — database hosting
  • Upstash Redis — caching
  • TMDB, iTunes — item metadata enrichment (read-only)

3a. Google APIs

Favely uses Google APIs (Google Places and Google Books) to help you search for and discover places and books.

Data Accessed

When you search for places or books, we access Google's public search results, including place names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and book metadata (titles, authors, descriptions, thumbnails). We do not access your Google account data, location history, or any personal information from your Google account.

Data Usage

We use Google API data solely to display search results to you within Favely. You may save these results to your lists as items for curation. We store the metadata you choose to save (place/book title, description, thumbnail) in our database, but don't use this data for any other purpose, including advertising or profiling.

Data Sharing

Google API data is never shared with third parties beyond Google itself (as part of your API request). We do not sell, rent, or share this data with marketing partners, advertisers, or other external services.

Data Storage & Protection

Google API search results are not stored; only the metadata you explicitly save to your lists is stored in our MongoDB database, encrypted in transit and at rest. We do not retain raw search queries or API responses.

Data Retention & Deletion

Saved place and book metadata is retained as long as you keep it in your lists. You may delete individual items at any time, or request complete deletion of your account and all associated data by emailing us. We will process the request within 30 days.

4. Data retention

Your data is retained as long as your account is active. You may request deletion of your account and all associated data by emailing us. We will process the request within 30 days.

5. Cookies

We use cookies only for authentication (set by Clerk) and for session continuity. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

6. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at info@favely.net.