Privacy Policy
Last updated October 2026
VelvetSearch is a mobile app and website operated by Evangelina Castorena, doing business as VelvetSearch, in California ("VelvetSearch," "we," "us"). This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.
The short version: Faces we detect in your photos are hidden on your phone before a search. We use your photos only to run your search, then delete them within about a minute. We don't sell your information. We don't show ads. Our emails don't track opens or clicks. Usage analytics are tied to your account ID, not your name or email.
1. What we collect
Information you give us
- Account details: your name, email address and password. Passwords are stored in hashed form by our authentication provider. We never see them.
- Profile photo: if you choose to add one.
- Photos you search with: see section 2.
- Your activity in the app: searches and search history, saved items and boards, price alerts, brand preferences, reports you submit about listings, and whether you confirm or reject a product match.
- Website forms: your email and answers when you join the waitlist, answer a survey, or contact us.
- Website visits: on our homepage, Google Analytics records which pages you view and what you click, your general location, and your device and browser type. It uses cookies to do this. You can block these cookies in your browser settings or use Google's opt-out add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Information collected automatically
- Usage data: which features you use, products you view, and retailer links you tap. This is linked to your account ID, not your name or email.
- Device information: device model, operating system, and app version.
Information from others
- Subscription status: whether you have an active Pro subscription, provided by Apple through our subscription provider. Apple handles all payments. We never receive your payment card details.
The app uses your camera only when you open it to take a photo, and your photo library only when you choose a photo from it.
2. How your photos are handled
When you search with a photo:
- Before the photo leaves your phone, the app looks for faces and hides the ones it finds by pixelating them. This happens on your phone. Face detection isn't perfect, so a face can be missed. You can see the photo on screen before you search, and if a face is still showing, choose a different photo.
- If you tap glasses or earrings to keep them visible, that part of the face is left clear.
- The photo, or the part you cropped it to, is sent to Google's Gemini API, which identifies the item in it.
- The photo is then uploaded to our storage and shared through a temporary link with our search providers, SerpAPI or SearchApi.io, which use Google Lens to find matching products.
- The photo is deleted from our storage about one minute after your search.
Only the copy with faces hidden ever leaves your phone. If faces can't be checked, the photo isn't sent. We do not keep your search photos, sell them, or use them to train AI models, and our AI providers do not use them to train their models. Your search history keeps the name of the item found, not your photo.
3. How we use your information
- To run the app: visual and text search, price comparison, saved items, price alerts, and search history.
- To manage your account and subscription.
- To send emails you've asked for, such as price drop emails and the weekly price digest, plus account emails like verification and password resets.
- To understand how the app is used so we can fix problems and improve it.
- To review reported listings and keep spam and broken links out of results.
- To prevent abuse and comply with the law.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising. VelvetSearch has no ads.
4. Who we share it with
We share information only with the service providers that run VelvetSearch, and only what each one needs:
| Provider | What it does for us |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Accounts, database, and file storage, including copies of product photos shown in our emails |
| Google (Gemini API) | Identifies items in your photos |
| SerpAPI and SearchApi.io, using Google Lens and Google Shopping | Find matching products and prices |
| PostHog | Usage analytics, linked to your account ID only |
| RevenueCat | Tracks subscription status |
| Apple | App Store downloads and subscription payments |
| Resend | Sends our emails, including account and price alert emails |
| Formspree | Receives website form submissions |
| Vercel | Hosts our website |
| Google Analytics | Homepage visit statistics |
We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect the rights and safety of our users or others, or as part of a sale or transfer of the business, in which case this policy would continue to apply to your information.
5. Links to retailers and affiliate links
When you tap a link to a retailer, you leave VelvetSearch and go to that retailer's site or app, where their privacy policy applies. Some of these links may be affiliate links. The retailer or affiliate network may use cookies or similar technology to record that you came from VelvetSearch. When a purchase earns a commission, we receive information such as the commission amount, not your name or payment details.
Commission never affects your results. Here's how we make money.
6. Emails
Account emails, such as email verification and password resets, are part of having an account.
If you have Pro and watch an item's price, we can also email you: a price drop email at 9 AM Pacific on days when something you watch drops in price, and a weekly price digest on Sundays. Both are optional. You can turn either one off in the app under Profile, then Notifications, or with the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of these emails.
Our emails don't contain tracking pixels or tracked links, so we don't record whether you open them or what you tap. Product photos in these emails load from our own storage. As with any image online, our storage provider receives a request when your mail app shows the photos.
7. How long we keep it
- Search photos: about one minute.
- Account data: for as long as your account is active.
- Price watches and price history: until you remove the watch or delete your account.
- Records of price emails we sent (which items were included and when): while your account is active, so we never send you the same email twice.
- Deleted accounts: you can delete your account in the app under Profile. Your profile photo is removed right away, and all other account data is permanently deleted 30 days after your request.
- Usage analytics: linked only to your account ID. After your account is deleted, that ID no longer connects to you, and the data may be kept in that form.
- Search result caches: results for a search phrase, not linked to you, are kept for 6 hours.
- Backups: our database provider may keep backups for a short period before they are overwritten.
8. Your choices and rights
You can view and update your information in the app, delete your search history, and delete your account at any time. You can also email us to ask for a copy of your data, a correction, or deletion.
California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to ask us to delete or correct it, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. We don't sell or share personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of. We won't treat you differently for using these rights.
Do Not Track: our website does not respond to Do Not Track browser signals. We don't track you across other websites.
9. Security
We use encryption in transit, access controls, and reputable providers to protect your information. No system is completely secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security.
10. Children
VelvetSearch is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
11. Where your information is processed
VelvetSearch is offered in the United States, and your information is processed and stored in the United States.
12. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For significant changes, we'll also let you know in the app or by email before they take effect.
13. Contact
Evangelina Castorena, doing business as VelvetSearch
hello@velvetsearch.com