Privacy Policy — The Shoe Nerds

Last updated: July 24, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how The Shoe Nerds ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you visit theshoenerds.com (the "Site") or create an account and use our community features.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

Account registration: username, email address, and password when you sign up.
Profile information: optional bio, location, and avatar you add to your profile.
Community content: posts, comments, shoe reviews, and shoe rotation data you create.
Email consent: whether you opted in to marketing emails, and the timestamp of that consent.
Contact: if you email us, we collect your name and email to respond.

Strava data (if you connect your Strava account)

If you authorize The Shoe Nerds to connect to your Strava account, we collect:

Your Strava athlete ID and display name
Your Strava gear (shoes) and their associated mileage
Your activity history (distance, date, gear used) to track shoe mileage

Your Strava data is only displayed to you.We do not share your individual Strava activity data with other users. We may display anonymized, aggregated community statistics (e.g., "average miles before retirement") that cannot be traced back to you. You can disconnect Strava at any time from your account settings, which will stop future data syncing.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, we automatically collect:

Pages visited and time spent
Your approximate geographic location (country/region only)
Device type, browser type, and operating system
Referring URLs
IP address

This is collected through Vercel Analytics to help us understand how the Site is used and improve our content.

Push notifications (if you enable them)

If you turn on push notifications — for example, after installing The Shoe Nerds to your home screen — your browser or device creates a push "subscription" that we store so we can send you notifications. This subscription consists of:

A unique endpoint URL provided by your browser or device's push service
Public encryption keys used to deliver the notification securely to your device
Your browser/device type (so you can manage notifications per device)

Push notifications are delivered through the push service operated by your browser or operating system vendor (for example, Apple, Google, or Mozilla). Notification content is encrypted in transit. You can turn push notifications off at any time from Settings → Notifications, or in your browser or device settings. We automatically delete subscriptions that your device reports as no longer valid.

2. How We Use Your Information

To create and manage your account
To display your profile, posts, reviews, and rotation data
To send transactional emails (confirmations, password resets, account notifications)
To send marketing emails, if you opted in
To send push notifications to your devices, if you enabled them
To power the shoe rotation tracker via Strava activity data
To understand how visitors use the Site and improve content
To operate the points and status tier system
To comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not share your data with third parties beyond the service providers listed below.

3. Cookies

Authentication cookies — Supabase (our database and auth provider) sets session cookies to keep you logged in.

Analytics cookies — Vercel Analytics may use cookies or similar technologies to track visits.

Affiliate cookies — When you click a buy link, the retailer (e.g., Amazon) may set a cookie to track purchases for commission attribution. We do not control these cookies.

4. Affiliate Disclosure

The Shoe Nerds participates in affiliate marketing programs. We may earn a commission when you click a link to a retailer and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Amazon Associates — We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Affiliate relationships do not influence our reviews, ratings, or recommendations.

5. Third-Party Services

Supabase— database and authentication provider. Your account data is stored in Supabase's hosted PostgreSQL database. See supabase.com/privacy.
Resend — transactional and marketing email delivery. See resend.com/privacy.
Strava — if you connect your account. See strava.com/legal/privacy.
Vercel — hosting and analytics. See vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.
Browser & device push services — if you enable push notifications, delivery relies on the push service run by your browser/OS vendor (e.g., Apple, Google, Mozilla).
Cloudflare R2 — image storage for avatars and uploads. See cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.
Amazon Associates — affiliate program. See amazon.com/privacy.
Stripe (future) — payment processing for the marketplace. See stripe.com/privacy.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

Community content (posts, reviews) you delete is removed from public view immediately. Strava activity data is deleted when you disconnect Strava or delete your account.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Access: You can view and edit your profile information in your account settings.
Export: You can request a copy of your data by emailing us.
Deletion: You can delete your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us. We will process deletion within 30 days.
Marketing emails: Unsubscribe from any marketing email or update preferences in your account settings.
Push notifications: Turn push notifications on or off per device in Settings → Notifications, or in your browser/device settings.
Strava disconnect: Disconnect Strava at any time from profile settings.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at theshoenerds@gmail.com.

California residents (CCPA)

We do not sell personal information as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act. California residents may contact us to exercise rights to know, delete, or opt out under the CCPA.

European residents (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, you have rights under GDPR including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and the right to object to processing. Our legal bases for processing are: contract performance (account operation), legitimate interests (analytics, security), and consent (marketing emails). To exercise GDPR rights, contact us at theshoenerds@gmail.com.

8. Children's Privacy

The Site requires users to be at least 13 years old (16 in the EU). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under these ages. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our data practices change. Material changes will be communicated by email or by a notice on the Site. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

10. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy:
The Shoe Nerds
Email: theshoenerds@gmail.com
Website: theshoenerds.com