Privacy Policy

Who we are

StartupOwl is a content and resource website for entrepreneurs. We publish guides, reviews, and tools to help people start, fund, and grow their businesses. Our website is at startupowl.com. You can reach us at [email protected].

What we collect

We collect as little as possible. Here is what we do collect:

• Your email address, if you subscribe to the newsletter. We use it to send you what you signed up for. We don't sell or rent it to anyone.
• Standard analytics data — pages visited, time on page, referring URL, browser and device type. This is aggregated and doesn't identify you.
• Cookies for basic site functionality and analytics. You can disable them in your browser settings; some parts of the site may not work if you do.

How we use your data

• Sending newsletters to people who signed up
• Understanding how people use the site so we can improve it
• Diagnosing technical problems

We don't use your data for ad targeting and we don't sell personal information.

Affiliate attribution and fraud detection

We capture the HTTP Referer header server-side on first page load for the purpose of affiliate attribution and fraud detection. This is a legitimate interest under GDPR Article 6(1)(f). We store a session identifier in a strictly-necessary cookie that expires after 30 minutes of inactivity. We hash the user's IP address daily with a rotating salt to create a pseudonymous fraud-detection identifier. None of these are used for advertising or profiling. Retention is 90 days.

Third-party services

We rely on several third-party services to operate the site. Each one may process some of your data under its own privacy policy. Here is who they are, grouped by what they do.

Analytics and session recording

• PostHog (product analytics). Collects pages visited, time on page, browser type, device type, and general location derived from IP address. IP addresses are not stored in full. PostHog privacy policy.
• Microsoft Clarity (session replay and heatmaps). Records mouse movements, clicks, scrolls, and page content to help us understand how visitors interact with the site. Personal input fields are masked by default. Microsoft privacy statement.

Tag management

• Google Tag Manager. Loads analytics scripts conditionally based on your cookie consent preferences. GTM itself does not collect personal data, but it triggers the analytics services listed above. Google privacy policy.

Email delivery

• Resend. Sends our newsletter and transactional emails (like template downloads). Resend processes your email address and email content on our behalf. Resend privacy policy.

Database and authentication

• Supabase. Stores newsletter subscriptions, contact form submissions, and any account data. May process your email address, IP address, and any information you submit through forms on the site. Supabase privacy policy.

Hosting and deployment

• Vercel. Serves the website and processes server-side requests. Vercel may log your IP address, request URL, and user agent as part of normal server operations. Vercel privacy policy.

CDN, DNS, and security

• Cloudflare. Proxies all traffic to the site, providing DDoS protection, a web application firewall, and geo-detection used to determine whether to show a cookie consent banner. Cloudflare may process your IP address, request headers, and approximate geographic location. Cloudflare privacy policy.

Some pages contain affiliate links to third-party products and services. Clicking those links may allow the destination site to set its own cookies or track your visit. We do not control what those third parties collect. See our affiliate disclosure for more detail on how affiliate links work.

Data retention

We keep newsletter subscriber data for as long as you stay subscribed. When you unsubscribe, your email is removed from active lists. Analytics data is kept only in aggregated form.

Your rights

You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time using the link in any email we send. If you want to access, correct, or delete any personal data we hold about you, email us at [email protected] and we will respond within 30 days.

Data breach notification

If we become aware of a security breach that affects your personal data, we will notify affected users by email within 72 hours of confirming the breach. We will also post a notice on this website. Our notification will describe what data was involved, what steps we are taking to address the breach, and what you can do to protect yourself.

Children

StartupOwl is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Using the site after changes are posted means you accept them.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Write to us at [email protected].

StartupOwl
1021 E Lincolnway, Unit #1645
Cheyenne, WY 82001