Privacy Policy

1. Who operates Podtega

Podtega is operated by Podtega LLC ("Podtega," "we," "us," or "our"), a limited liability company formed in Washington, United States. This Privacy Policy applies to the Podtega website, admin application, client portal, and platform console (collectively, the "Service").

2. Scope of this policy

This policy covers information collected through the Service, including our public website, operator (vending business) accounts, property-manager portal accounts, and the underlying platform console. It does not cover third-party websites or services we link to or that our customers integrate with independently.

3. Information customers provide

When you create a Podtega account, we collect the information you provide directly, such as your business name, your name, email address, and password. If you contact us for support, we collect whatever information you choose to include in that communication.

4. Account and contact information

We maintain account records for each operator business and each individual user connected to that account, including names, email addresses, roles/permissions, and login activity, so we can operate accounts securely and route the right information to the right people.

5. Vending sales and transaction data

Podtega syncs and stores vending sales and transaction data from the vending platform(s) our customers connect (for example, order totals, timestamps, product identifiers, and payment status). This data belongs to the operator and is used to power the reporting, analytics, inventory, and profit-share features of the Service.

6. Machine and location information

We store information about the vending machines, locations, and properties an operator manages through Podtega, including device identifiers, addresses, and configuration such as fee schedules and planograms.

7. Property-manager and prospect contact information

Podtega's Scout and Proposals tools let operators research and store contact information for property managers and prospective vending locations (for example, names, titles, emails, and phone numbers gathered from public sources or entered manually). Operators are responsible for having a lawful basis to collect and use this information for their own business development.

8. Receipts, photographs, documents, and uploaded files

Operators may upload receipts, warehouse photographs, proposal documents, and other files to the Service (for example, for receipt scanning into inventory or warehouse stock counts). These files are stored to provide the feature they were uploaded for and are treated as part of the operator's customer data.

9. AI prompts, inputs, and outputs

Certain Podtega Intelligence features send data to AI providers to generate output. Examples include drafting monthly report commentary, researching a prospective vending location, or reading a receipt or warehouse photo. The prompts and inputs sent to those providers, and the outputs returned, are stored as part of the relevant record (a report, proposal, or inventory entry) so the feature keeps working and the result stays reviewable by the operator. Podtega does not use customer business data to train public or shared AI models.

10. Device information, logs, and cookies

We collect standard technical information needed to operate the Service, such as browser type, IP address, and access timestamps. Podtega sets exactly one cookie of its own, proposal_auth_*, which is strictly essential: it remembers that you entered the correct password to view a password-protected proposal link, so you are not asked again on the same device. We do not use advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies of any kind, so there is no cookie-preference banner on this site. Signed-in sessions in the Podtega admin and portal applications are stored in your browser's local storage, not in a cookie. If that changes, we will update this policy and add a consent mechanism before any non-essential cookie is set.

11. Billing information processed by payment providers

Podtega uses Stripe to process subscription payments. Podtega does not store your full payment card number. Stripe collects and processes billing and payment information directly under its own privacy policy.

12. Why Podtega uses each category of information

We use the information described above to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service you signed up for
• Authenticate accounts and enforce account permissions
• Process subscription billing and communicate about your account
• Generate the reports, analytics, and Intelligence features you request
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Provide customer support
• Comply with legal obligations

13. Service providers and subprocessors

We use a limited set of third-party service providers to operate the Service: Vercel (hosting), Supabase (database and authentication), Stripe (payment processing), Resend (email delivery), Google (AI-assisted features via Google Gemini), and Google Places and OpenStreetMap Nominatim (location lookups). These providers process data on our behalf and only as needed to provide their service to us.

14. When information may be disclosed

We may disclose information:

• To the service providers described above, so they can perform services for us
• If required by law, subpoena, or other legal process
• To protect the rights, property, or safety of Podtega, our customers, or others
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of business assets, subject to this policy or a successor policy
• With your consent, or at your direction

Podtega does not sell customer data. We use it only to provide, secure, support, and improve the Service as described in this Privacy Policy.

15. Customer-data ownership

As between Podtega and the operator, the operator owns its customer data, including sales data, property and prospect information, uploaded files, and generated reports. Podtega is granted only the limited rights necessary to process that data to provide the Service (see our Terms of Service).

16. Data retention and deletion

Podtega retains customer data for as long as an account remains active, and afterward for as long as needed to provide the Service, unless the operator requests deletion sooner. We currently retain customer data indefinitely after a subscription ends, until the account owner submits a request through our Account Data Request form.

17. Account data copy and closure requests

Operators can request a full copy of their business's data, or close their account and delete its data, by submitting a request through our Account Data Request page or by emailing hello@podtega.com. We take steps to verify the identity of the requester before acting on a request, and we will not automatically provide a copy of, or delete, data from an unverified submission.

18. Security practices

We use technical and organizational measures designed to protect customer data, including encryption of data in transit, role-based access controls, and restricted service-level database access. No method of storing or transmitting data is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe you've found a security vulnerability affecting Podtega, email hello@podtega.com and give us a reasonable amount of time to investigate before disclosing it publicly.

19. Privacy rights that may apply based on location

Depending on where you live, applicable law may give you rights to request a copy of, or deletion of, personal information we hold about you. Podtega account holders can exercise these rights through our Account Data Request form; anyone else can reach us at hello@podtega.com. We aim to honor valid requests consistent with applicable law; this policy does not represent a claim of compliance with any specific privacy statute.

If your information is part of a Podtega customer's account, for example you are a staff member that operator added as a user (see Section 4), or a property-manager or prospect contact an operator entered through Scout or Proposals (see Section 7), that operator controls the account and the information in it, not Podtega, and none of it is made public. Your employer or the business that added your information can correct or delete it directly at any time; Podtega does not restrict or withhold that ability.

20. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Service after a change becomes effective means you accept the updated policy.

21. Privacy contact information

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices can be sent to hello@podtega.com.