Privacy Policy

1. Data we collect

Account data: your email address, your name, and an optional bio. Your password is handled by our authentication provider and we never see it in plain text.

Content you publish: startup listings (name, tagline, description, website URL, and logo image) and the votes you cast on listings.

Technical data: like most websites, our infrastructure keeps short lived logs (such as IP address, browser type, and request times) for security and debugging.

2. How we use your data

We use your data to run the platform: creating and securing your account, publishing your listings, counting votes on the leaderboard, sending transactional emails (such as a welcome email and a listing confirmation), and keeping the service safe from abuse.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for advertising.

3. AI processing

When you publish a listing, the text you wrote is sent to an AI model (OpenAI) to generate a short summary and niche tags. The discovery chatbot also uses an AI model to answer visitor questions, drawing only on published listings.

We only send the content needed for these features, never your password or private account details.

4. Cookies

We use two kinds of cookies. Authentication session cookies (set by Supabase) keep you signed in. A single locale preference cookie named "locale" remembers whether you chose English or Arabic, and is stored for one year.

We do not use advertising cookies or third party trackers. If we add analytics in the future, we will choose a privacy friendly option and update this policy.

5. Service providers

We rely on a small number of processors to run Machroui: Supabase for the database, authentication, and file storage; OpenAI for AI summaries and the discovery chat; and an SMTP email provider for transactional emails.

Each provider only receives the data it needs to perform its role. If we later add privacy friendly analytics or payments through Stripe, we will list them here.

6. Where your data is stored

Our providers may store and process data in countries other than your own. When data crosses borders, it remains protected by our providers' contractual and technical safeguards.

7. How long we keep data

We keep your account data and content for as long as your account exists. Technical logs are kept only briefly. Routine backups may hold copies of deleted data for a limited time before they are rotated out.

8. Account deletion

You can delete your account yourself at any time from your account settings (Dashboard, then Account). Deletion is permanent: your profile, your listings, your votes, and your uploaded logos are all removed.

9. Your rights

You can access and correct your data directly from your dashboard, and you can delete it entirely by deleting your account. If you need help exercising any of these rights, or want a copy of the data we hold about you, contact us and we will assist.

10. Security

All traffic is encrypted in transit, passwords are hashed by our authentication provider, and database access is restricted with row level security so users can only modify their own data. No system is perfectly secure, but we follow current best practices and keep our dependencies up to date.

11. Children

Machroui is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the platform evolves, for example if we add payments or analytics. We will update the date at the top of this page and, for material changes, notify you by email or through the site.

13. Contact

For any privacy question or request, email us at support@machroui.com.