PokeChase — Privacy Policy

Overview

This policy covers the pokechase.ca website ("the Site") and the PokeChase Card Scanner mobile and desktop app ("the App"), together "PokeChase". It explains what data we collect, why we collect it, and who else is involved. We do not sell your personal data, and we only collect what the features you use actually require.

1. Information you give us

• Account: your email address and a password (stored only as a secure hash). An account is optional — you can browse the Site and scan cards in the App without one.
• Buying & selling: listings you create, offers, orders, and the shipping address you provide so purchases can be delivered. When you buy, the seller receives your name, shipping address, and any phone number or email you enter with it, to fulfil your order.
• Messages: messages you send to other users or to us through the contact form.
• Giveaways & challenges: your entries and, if you win, the details needed to deliver your prize.
• Store finance (optional): if you use the App's sales and expense tracking while signed in, your ledger — sales, expenses, equity entries, and any receipt photos you attach — syncs to your account so it can follow you across devices.

2. Information collected automatically

• Site analytics: the Site uses Google Analytics to understand page views and traffic.
• App analytics: the Android version of the App uses Google Analytics for Firebase, and the Windows version uses Google Analytics, to collect anonymous usage statistics (e.g. which features are used and which cards are scanned) and crash reports. This data is identified by a random app-instance ID, not by your name or email. The iOS version of the App currently contains no analytics. No version of the App uses advertising trackers.
• Cookies: the Site uses cookies to keep you signed in, to protect forms, and to count free scans for visitors who aren't signed in (a counter that lives for up to a year). It does not use third-party advertising cookies.
• Agreement records: when you create an account or accept the user agreement, we record the date, your IP address, and your browser/device identification string as proof of acceptance. These are erased if you delete your account.
• Device identifier: streak challenges in the App use a random device identifier solely to prevent duplicate entries. It is not used for tracking or advertising.

3. Card scanning & camera

The App uses your camera only to identify Pokémon cards. Recognition runs on your device using locally downloaded AI models — scan images are not uploaded for identification, and you can deny camera access and pick images from your photo library instead.

Two notes: photos you attach to a listing are uploaded so the listing can be displayed (photos for eBay-only listings are transferred to eBay's image service), and if you use the scanner on the Site, identification also runs in your browser — only a numeric fingerprint of the card, never the photo itself, is sent to our server, and it is not retained.

4. Payments

Payments are processed by Stripe. Your card number goes directly to Stripe and never touches our servers — we receive only a confirmation of payment and the details needed to fulfil your order. See Stripe's privacy policy.

5. eBay integration (optional)

If you connect your eBay account to list cards through PokeChase, eBay grants us an access token that we store encrypted and use only to create and manage your listings and orders on your behalf. You can disconnect at any time from your eBay account settings. Some versions of the App show eBay listings as sponsored suggestions; tapping one simply opens eBay via an affiliate link — no personal data is shared with eBay for this.

6. Third-party services

PokeChase relies on these services, each with its own privacy policy. Aside from what is described above, they receive only non-personal data such as card identifiers:

• Stripe — payment processing
• eBay — optional listing integration and sponsored listings
• Google Analytics / Firebase — Site and App usage statistics
• Microsoft Azure — hosting and file storage
• Brevo — delivery of account and order emails (confirmations, password resets, sale/offer/auction notifications)
• Hugging Face & GitHub — one-time AI model downloads in the App
• TCGdex, Pokémon TCG API & PriceCharting — card images and market prices

7. Retention & deletion

We keep your data while your account is active. You can delete your account and personal data at any time from your account settings in the App or at pokechase.ca/account/delete. Your listings end and your personal details, photos, inventory, and saved addresses are erased. A few things survive in reduced form: transaction records we are legally required to keep for tax and accounting purposes (anonymized — your name and address are removed; only province and country are kept for tax reporting); photos attached to a dispute you were part of, which stay with the dispute record; and messages you sent, which remain visible to their recipients attributed to "[deleted]" (feedback ratings you left also remain; your written comments are erased).

8. Children's privacy

PokeChase is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. The App's scanner can be used without an account and without providing any personal data.

9. Changes & contact

We may update this policy from time to time; changes are reflected in the "Last updated" date above. Questions? Reach us through the contact page.