Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Japan Hacks Guide ("we", "our", "us") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our website at japanhacksguide.com and related services.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account information: Email address, password (hashed), display name
• Social login data: Name and email from Google or Apple when you use social login
• Payment information: Processed securely by Stripe and PayPal. We do not store your credit card numbers
• Trip preferences: Destinations, interests, budgets, and prompts you enter into our planners

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, features used, time spent
• Device information: Browser type, operating system, screen size
• Cookies: Essential cookies for authentication and preferences; analytics cookies with your consent (see Section 6)
• IP address: For security, fraud prevention, and approximate location

3. How We Use Your Information

• Provide and improve our trip planning services
• Generate personalized AI itineraries based on your preferences
• Process payments and manage subscriptions
• Send account-related emails (registration confirmation, password reset, subscription updates)
• Send marketing emails (travel tips, new features) — only with your consent, and you can unsubscribe anytime
• Analyze usage patterns to improve our product
• Prevent fraud and ensure security

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with:

• Payment processors: Stripe and PayPal, to process transactions
• Authentication providers: Google and Apple, when you use social login
• Analytics services: Google Analytics (anonymized data, with your consent)
• AI service providers: OpenAI, to generate itineraries (your prompts are sent to the API but not used for AI training)
• Legal requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights

5. Data Retention

• Account data: Retained while your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of account deletion request
• Generated itineraries: Stored as long as your account exists. Deleted with your account
• Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by tax law
• Analytics data: Aggregated and anonymized after 26 months

6. Cookies

We use the following types of cookies:

You can manage cookie preferences through the cookie banner shown on your first visit, or through your browser settings.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Rectification: Correct inaccurate data
• Deletion: Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time
• Withdraw consent: For cookies and optional data processing

To exercise these rights, contact support@japanhacksguide.com. We respond within 30 days.

8. International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed in Japan, the United States (cloud services, AI processing), and the European Economic Area. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international transfers.

9. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Hashed passwords (never stored in plain text)
• Payment data handled exclusively by PCI-compliant processors
• Regular security reviews

10. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of material changes via email or in-app notification.

12. Contact

For privacy-related questions or requests:
support@japanhacksguide.com