Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 31, 2025

1. Overview

Rately (“we”, “our”, or “us”) operates the Rately platform, accessible at rately.io. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our service.

By using Rately, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our service.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your email address, name (optional), and authentication credentials. Account authentication is handled by Clerk, Inc. We do not store passwords directly.

Restaurant Information

Restaurant owners provide: restaurant name, city, cuisine type, Google Maps URL, highlight options, signature dishes, ambiance tags, thank-you message, and discount codes. This information is used to power the customer review experience.

Customer Review Data

When customers use your restaurant's QR code, we collect: star rating (1–5), selected highlight tags, optional written feedback, and the AI-generated review text. For customers rating 4–5 stars, this data is used to generate a Google review suggestion. For customers rating 1–3 stars, feedback is stored privately in your dashboard.

Usage & Technical Data

We collect QR code scan counts, page views, and session timing to provide analytics. For fraud prevention and rate limiting, we collect a one-way hashed (SHA-256) version of visitor IP addresses — the raw IP is never stored.

Billing Information

Payment processing is handled entirely by Paddle (our Merchant of Record). We never see, store, or process your credit card details. We only store your Paddle subscription ID and current plan status.

3. How We Use Your Information

  • Provide, operate, and maintain the Rately platform
  • Generate AI-assisted review text using OpenAI's API on behalf of restaurant owners
  • Display analytics and feedback data to restaurant owners in their dashboard
  • Process payments and manage subscriptions via Paddle
  • Send transactional emails (receipt, plan changes) via Resend
  • Prevent abuse, spam, and fraudulent activity
  • Improve the service through aggregated, anonymized usage data

We do not sell your data. We do not share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate Rately. Each has its own privacy policy:

ServicePurposeData shared
ClerkAuthenticationEmail, name, OAuth tokens
SupabaseDatabase hostingAll user & restaurant data
OpenAIAI review generationRating, highlights, restaurant context
PaddlePayment processingEmail, billing info
ResendTransactional emailEmail address
VercelHosting & CDNRequest logs, IP addresses

5. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you cancel your subscription:

  • Your dashboard goes read-only but data is preserved for 90 days
  • After 90 days of inactivity, anonymized analytics are retained; personally identifiable data is deleted
  • You may request immediate deletion by emailing privacy@rately.io

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

  • Access: Request a copy of your personal data
  • Correction: Update incorrect or incomplete data (available in Settings)
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your account and data
  • Portability: Request an export of your data in a machine-readable format
  • Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@rately.io. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Cookies

Rately uses strictly necessary cookies for authentication session management (via Clerk). We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies. We do not use Google Analytics or similar tracking tools.

8. Children's Privacy

Rately is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us at privacy@rately.io.

9. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including TLS encryption in transit, row-level security on our Supabase database, environment variable isolation, and hashed IP addresses. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email and/or a notice on our website. Your continued use of Rately after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

For privacy-related questions or requests:

Rately

Email: privacy@rately.io

Website: rately.io