Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

SitterMatch (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates the SitterMatch website at sittermatch.net and the SitterMatch mobile application. SitterMatch is a private trust network that helps adults coordinate childcare within their existing social circles.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly to us when you create an account or use our service:

• Account information: name, email address, password (stored hashed), and optionally a phone number
• Age verification: date of birth (to confirm you are 18 or older)
• Role and preferences: whether you use SitterMatch as a parent, sitter, or both; notification preferences; feed visibility settings
• Calendar data: time blocks you create (availability or childcare requests) and matches you participate in
• Messages: pre-set messages sent between matched users
• Social data: friend connections and feed reactions
• Device identifiers: push notification tokens when you grant notification permission on the mobile app
• Consent records: timestamps of when you accepted our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and safety disclaimer

We also collect limited technical data automatically: IP addresses (used for rate limiting), and crash/diagnostic reports (used to fix bugs). We do not use third-party advertising or cross-app tracking.

3. How We Use Your Information

• Operate and improve the SitterMatch service
• Match parents with sitters within your friend network
• Send transactional notifications (match requests, messages, reminders)
• Verify your age and enforce our 18+ requirement
• Prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access
• Respond to reports and enforce our Terms of Service
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not serve advertisements. We do not use your data to build profiles for advertising networks.

4. Information Sharing

We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With other SitterMatch users: your name, profile details, and availability are visible to your friends and matched users as needed to operate the service
• Service providers: we use Resend for transactional email, Upstash for rate limiting, and Vercel for hosting — each bound by data processing agreements
• Legal requirements: when required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of our users
• Business transfers: if SitterMatch is acquired or merges with another company, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction

5. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. When you delete your account, we begin a 14-day grace period, after which your account and all associated data (matches, messages, friendships, time blocks) are permanently deleted. Your email address is held on a suppression list for 30 days after deletion to prevent accidental re-signup during the grace period.

6. Your Rights and Choices

• Access and correction: you can view and update your profile information at any time from the Profile section
• Notification preferences: you can opt out of any notification category from Profile settings; all notifications are transactional and can be disabled
• Account deletion: you can permanently delete your account from Profile → Delete Account on the app or website
• Data requests: to request a copy of your data or ask questions about how we handle it, contact us at privacy@sittermatch.net

7. Security

We use industry-standard security measures: passwords are hashed with bcrypt, tokens are stored as SHA-256 hashes, all traffic is encrypted with HTTPS/TLS, and our database is not publicly accessible. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children

SitterMatch is for adults (18+) who are arranging childcare. It is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, contact us immediately at privacy@sittermatch.net and we will delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email and require you to re-accept the updated policy before continuing to use SitterMatch. The effective date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at privacy@sittermatch.net.