Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Cardel (“we”, “our”, or “us”) collects, uses, and protects personal information when you visit cardel.io, create a Cardel account, or use Cardel to build, run, or visit a creator site on Cardel.

2. Information we collect

• Account information: email address, verification status, display name, profile image, authentication method (for example Google or password), and account timestamps.
• Site & membership data: which sites you own or join, your role on those sites, and settings you configure as a site owner or admin.
• Billing information (Cardel SaaS subscriptions for workspaces): plan selection, billing interval (monthly or yearly), and payment status processed by our payment provider (Stripe Checkout and Customer Portal). You enter card details only on Stripe. Cardel never receives or stores your payment card number, CVV, or other full card details; Stripe handles that on Stripe's systems.
• Shop and order information: when a site owner connects Stripe for Shop sales, Cardel processes order records and related buyer contact details (including name, email, and messages from on-site request forms) so admin users can fulfill sales. Card payments for Shop items are processed by Stripe on the owner's connected account; Cardel may receive limited payment metadata (for example Checkout session identifiers and an application fee amount). Buyers enter card details only on Stripe. Cardel never receives or stores payment card numbers, CVVs, or other full card details.
• Scheduling and calendar information: when a site owner or Admin connects Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, Cardel uses that connection so the site's public booking page can show open times. For a connected Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, Cardel accesses the calendars the Admin selects: it reads them for busy times, and it may write booking events when a guest books. Access tokens stay encrypted and stored with that workspace. Cardel does not use this Google or Outlook calendar data for advertising, and does not share calendar event details with other sites, advertisers, or the public. An Admin can disconnect Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar at any time. Guests see only open slots, not the Admin's event titles or other calendar details. Site owners sign in on Google or Microsoft to connect a calendar. Readers who book may share a name, email, and the details of that request.
• Usage & technical data: IP address, browser type, device signals, pages viewed, approximate location derived from IP, cookies or similar technologies needed for sessions and security, and diagnostic logs. On public cardel.io pages we also use Google Analytics for pages viewed, referrer, browser, and approximate location. Visitors outside the US are asked first. In the US those visits are measured without that question. Creator sites are not measured with that tag.
• Communications: messages you send to Cardel support, and transactional emails we send (verification, password reset, billing notices).
• Content you submit on sites: posts, comments, chat messages, and similar content stored so creator sites can function. Site owners may also process audience lists they manage in their admin tools.
• Cardel Forum: when you post, comment, like, or show a display name and avatar on the Cardel Forum, Cardel stores that so the discussion space can function.
• Connected AI agents: when you connect an AI agent you choose (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Grok, Muse, or Gemini) to build or edit a site, Cardel stores that connection: the agent's name and sign-in return address, which sites it can edit, when it was connected and last used, and sign-in tokens, which are stored only in hashed form. Photos you upload through a one-time upload link are stored with that site. When you or the agent give Cardel a link to a photo, Cardel downloads that photo from the link.
• Admin AI Assistant: questions and replies in the Admin AI chat, the Documentation and screen details used to answer them, and that site's monthly usage.

3. How we use information

• Provide, secure, and improve the Cardel platform and creator sites.
• Authenticate users and enforce roles (platform and site).
• Send essential account and security messages.
• Process Cardel SaaS subscriptions and entitlements, and facilitate Shop checkout and order records when a site owner uses Stripe Connect (including a platform application fee on eligible sales).
• Provide public scheduling when a site owner enables it, including reading busy times from the calendars an Admin selects and writing booking events when a guest books. Cardel does not use connected Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar data for advertising.
• Operate Community on creator sites and the Forum on cardel.io, including showing your posts, comments, and likes to other readers.
• Let an AI agent you connect read and save site setup on the sites you allow, and let the Admin AI Assistant answer questions in the Admin AI chat.
• Prevent abuse, spam, and unauthorized access.
• Comply with law and respond to lawful requests where required. We may disclose personal data to law enforcement or legal entities in response to valid, lawful requests (e.g., subpoenas or court orders).

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your content to train third-party foundation models.

4. Service providers

We use infrastructure and product vendors that process data on our behalf, including hosting (Vercel), databases (Neon), caching and jobs (Upstash), email delivery (Amazon SES and/or Resend), authentication with Google when you choose Google sign-in, analytics with Google Analytics on public cardel.io pages (outside the US only after the visitor accepts, and in the US without that question), and payments (Stripe) for Cardel SaaS billing and for Shop payments through Stripe Connect when a site owner connects an account, and Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook Calendar when a site owner connects a calendar, and an AI model provider (currently OpenAI) for the Admin AI Assistant. These providers process data under their own terms and solely as needed to run Cardel.

An AI agent you connect to build or edit a site is different. You choose it, and its provider (for example Anthropic, OpenAI, Cursor, xAI, Meta, or Google) is not Cardel's service provider. At your direction, Cardel sends that agent the site setup it asks for: the site name and address, setup steps and choices, page copy, page, item, and channel names, the site's Terms and Privacy Policy, and Cardel Documentation. Cardel does not send audience lists, subscriber email addresses, messages, orders, or payment details through that connection. What you share in that agent's chat is handled under its provider's terms and privacy policy, including whether it is used to train models.

6. How we protect information

We use technical and organizational measures to protect personal information and Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar data against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Traffic between your browser and Cardel uses HTTPS. Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar access and refresh tokens are encrypted at rest and stored with the workspace that connected them. Those tokens are used only on Cardel's servers to talk to Google or Microsoft for Scheduling. They are not placed in the browser or used for advertising.

Access to a connected calendar is limited to Admins on that workspace and to Cardel systems that run Scheduling. Calendar data stays on that workspace. Guests see only open slots.

If an Admin disconnects a calendar, Cardel deletes the stored tokens and cached busy times for that connection, and requests that Google or Microsoft revoke those tokens. We keep this data only while the connection is needed to provide Scheduling, plus a limited time in backups.

We use Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar data only to provide Scheduling. We do not sell it, use it for ads, or use it to train AI models.

7. Site owners and readers

If you operate a site, you may collect information from your readers (for example comments or audience emails, Shop orders, and purchase or booking request forms) through tools Cardel provides. You may also connect Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar so public scheduling can respect busy times. Cardel reads the calendars you select for busy times and may write booking events. Tokens stay encrypted with your workspace. Guests see only open slots. You can disconnect the calendar in Scheduling. You are responsible for that connection and for the appointments you accept. You are responsible for that processing under applicable law and for any notices you owe your audience. Cardel hosts that data as your processor/service provider for those features. For Shop card payments, Stripe also processes payment data for your connected account under Stripe's terms.

If you are a reader on a creator's Cardel-hosted site, the site owner may also set expectations for that community. Cardel still processes platform account and infrastructure data as described here.

The Cardel Forum on cardel.io is different. Cardel runs that forum as the platform, not as a processor for a creator site. Posts and comments there are public to other readers. Authors can delete their own posts. Cardel may also remove content that violates the Terms of Service.

8. Retention

We retain account and site data while your account or site is active and for a reasonable period afterward for backups, security, dispute resolution, and legal obligations. You may request deletion of your Cardel account as described below; some records may remain in backups for a limited time.

9. Your choices

• Update profile details from your account settings when signed in.
• Manage your own Forum and Community posts, comments, and replies on Cardel when you are signed in as the author.
• Disconnect a Google or Outlook calendar from Scheduling at any time.
• Disconnect an AI agent in Settings on cardel.io at any time. Changing or resetting your password also disconnects it. Signing out does not.
• Request access, correction, or deletion by contacting us.
• Opt out of non-essential marketing email from Cardel (transactional mail may still be required).

10. Children

Cardel is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps.

11. International users

Cardel is operated from the United States. If you access Cardel from elsewhere, you understand your information may be processed in the U.S. and other countries where our providers operate.

12. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy as Cardel evolves. We will post the revised policy here with an updated date. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance where permitted by law.

13. Contact

Privacy questions about Cardel may be sent to support@cardel.io.