Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Underground Aquarium (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use our website, marketplace, and community features (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to this policy and to our Terms of Service.

Who can use the Service

Underground Aquarium is for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have, we will delete it.

Information we collect

Information you give us. When you create an account we collect your email, username, and password (passwords are stored in hashed form by our authentication provider). You may add profile details such as a display name, bio, location, and website. We also collect the content you create — listings and photos, tanks, reviews, club information, forum posts, and messages.

Transaction information.When you buy or sell, we collect order details such as the items, amounts, and the shipping address provided at checkout, plus a seller's ship-from address used to create shipping labels.

Payment information.Payments and payouts are handled by Stripe. We do not collect or store your full card number. Stripe may collect identity and bank details directly from sellers and clubs to enable payouts, under Stripe's own privacy policy.

Club information.If you join or run a club, contact details you provide (such as name, email, and phone) may be visible to that club's officers so they can manage membership.

Location information.To power features like “near me” events and store discovery, we convert addresses you provide into approximate coordinates using a geocoding service (OpenStreetMap's Nominatim).

Information collected automatically. Like most websites, we and our hosting providers automatically receive technical data such as your device and browser type, IP address, and basic usage logs, and we use cookies needed to keep you signed in.

How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• provide, operate, and improve the Service;
• process orders, enable payouts, and collect applicable fees;
• send transactional messages such as order updates and account notices;
• run community features like profiles, clubs, and events;
• keep the Service safe — detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms; and
• comply with legal obligations.

How we share information

Service providers.We share data with the providers that run our platform, only as needed to operate the Service: Supabase (database, accounts, and storage), Stripe (payments and payouts), Resend (email delivery), Vercel (hosting), and OpenStreetMap's Nominatim (geocoding).

Other users. Some information is public by design — your profile, listings, storefront, and community posts can be seen by others. To complete a sale, the information needed to fulfill the order (such as a shipping address) is shared with the seller.

Legal and safety. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users, the public, or Underground Aquarium.

Business transfers. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that deal.

We do not sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Cookies

We use cookies that are necessary to sign you in and keep your session active. We do not currently use advertising cookies. If we add analytics or other non-essential cookies in the future, we will update this policy and provide choices where required.

How long we keep information

We keep your information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service. We may retain certain records — such as completed orders and payout history — for longer when needed for legal, tax, accounting, or fraud-prevention purposes, even after a listing or account is removed.

Your choices and rights

You can review and update much of your information in your account settings, and you can request to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information by emailing us. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act — including the right to know what we collect, to delete it, to correct it, and not to be discriminated against for exercising your rights. We will verify and respond to requests as the law requires.

Security

We protect your information with measures such as encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls at the database level, and limiting who can reach your data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information and to respond appropriately if a problem occurs.

Third-party links

The Service may link to third-party sites and services we do not control. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, and we encourage you to review them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions or requests about your privacy? Email us at Chris.m.lewis2020@gmail.com.