Privacy Policy

The Pickle Nest ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and platform at thepicklenest.com. Please read this policy carefully. By using The Pickle Nest, you agree to the practices described here.

**Account information.** When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, username, and optionally your location, bio, skill level, DUPR rating, and social handles (Discord, WhatsApp, Instagram).

**Usage data.** We collect information about how you interact with the platform, events you RSVP to, clubs you join, courts you save, gear guides you view, searches you perform, and messages you send.

**Gear click data.** When you click an affiliate link through our gear discovery features, we log the product ID, timestamp, and your user ID (if signed in) to measure platform performance. This data is stored on our servers and not shared with affiliate partners beyond what is required to attribute commissions.

**Device & technical data.** We automatically collect your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referrer URL, and pages visited.

**Communications.** If you contact us via email or in-app messaging, we retain those communications.

We use the information we collect to: • Provide, maintain, and improve the platform • Match you with nearby players, games, and courts • Send notifications about events, messages, and activity • Track gear affiliate clicks for commission attribution • Analyze platform usage and improve features • Detect and prevent fraud or abuse • Communicate with you about your account or our services • Comply with legal obligations

The Pickle Nest participates in affiliate marketing programs. When you click a gear link on our platform (in Best Of guides, gear comparison pages, or gear recommendations), we may earn a commission from the retailer at no additional cost to you. We clearly label affiliate content and only recommend products we believe provide value to our users. We do not accept payment to rank products, our editorial picks are independent.

We use Google Analytics (property ID: G-K1WWHTLPV5) to understand how visitors use the platform. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit the site, what pages they visit, and what other sites they used prior to arriving. Google's ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics is governed by the Google Analytics Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We also use functional cookies to maintain your session, remember your preferences (such as dismissed banners and saved items), and enable core functionality. These are first-party cookies stored in your browser's localStorage and sessionStorage.

We use the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies: • **Clerk (clerk.com):** Authentication and account management. Clerk handles your password and authentication credentials. We never store passwords. • **Supabase / PostgreSQL:** Database hosting. Your profile and activity data is stored in a managed PostgreSQL instance. • **Vercel:** Platform hosting and edge delivery. • **Google Analytics:** Usage analytics (see Section 5).

**Public profile data.** Your display name, username, skill level, location (city only), and bio are visible to other users. Your profile page is publicly accessible.

**Event & club data.** When you RSVP to an event or join a club, your name and username are visible to other event/club members and organizers.

**No sale of personal data.** We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

**Service providers.** We share data with service providers listed in Section 6 only as necessary to operate the platform.

**Legal requirements.** We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect the rights or safety of The Pickle Nest or our users, or investigate fraud.

We retain your account data for as long as your account remains active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or business purposes (e.g., billing records required by tax law are retained for 7 years). Anonymized, aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely.

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights: • **Access:** Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. • **Correction:** Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data. • **Deletion:** Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten"). • **Portability:** Request a machine-readable export of your data. • **Opt-out of marketing:** Unsubscribe from marketing emails using the link in any email. • **California residents (CCPA):** You have the right to know what personal information is collected, the right to delete, and the right to opt-out of sale (we do not sell personal data). • **EU/UK residents (GDPR):** You have rights to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing, and data portability.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@thepicklenest.com.

The Pickle Nest is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@thepicklenest.com.

We implement commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. These include HTTPS encryption, database access controls, and authentication via Clerk. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

The Pickle Nest is operated in the United States. If you are accessing the platform from outside the US, your information may be transferred to and processed in the US, where data protection laws may differ from your country. By using The Pickle Nest, you consent to this transfer.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page with a new effective date, and where required by law, by sending you an email notification. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at:

**Email:** privacy@thepicklenest.com **Platform:** thepicklenest.com/contact