Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 26, 2026

Our Commitment to Privacy

At CartPause, your privacy is paramount. We believe your shopping data is yours alone. This policy explains how we handle your information with the utmost care and respect.

Data Storage

On-Device Storage

Your paused items, savings data, and app preferences are stored locally on your device using Apple’s SwiftData framework. This is the canonical copy of your cart, the app works fully offline and reads from local storage first.

Backend Sync

To keep your cart in sync across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, we operate a private backend that holds a synchronized copy of your items. The backend is hosted on Vercel and uses Neon (a managed Postgres database) for items and user state, and Vercel Blob for product and favicon images. All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest by our providers.

Your synced data is accessible only to you, authenticated via Sign in with Apple. We never sell, share, or use this data for advertising. You can delete it at any time (see Your Rights below).

Information We Process

Sign in with Apple

CartPause requires Sign in with Apple to enable cross-device sync. When you sign in, Apple provides us with a stable, anonymous identifier (your Apple Sign In user ID) and, only on your first sign-in, and only if you choose to share it, your name. We do not receive your email address or your Apple ID password. We store the anonymous identifier and optional display name on our backend so we can recognize you across devices.

Product URL Processing

When you share a product link to CartPause via the Share Extension, the URL is sent to our backend to extract product details (name, price, and image). To handle the wide variety of e-commerce sites, we use a third-party scraping service (scrape.do) which receives the URL solely to fetch the page on our behalf. After extraction, the URL and product details are saved with your item on our backend so the link works across all your devices.

AI-Generated Reflection Prompts

To help you make calmer decisions, CartPause generates short reflection questions for each paused item (e.g. “Will you reach for this often?”). When the question is generated, we send the item name, price, and category to Anthropic via the Vercel AI Gateway. We do not send your name, your Apple Sign In identifier, or any other personal information to Anthropic. The generated question is cached on our backend for 24 hours so re-opening the same item does not repeat the request.

AI-Generated Hero Sentences

The opening line at the top of the Cart and Someday tabs is also AI-generated, based on your current item count, savings, and recent activity. We send these aggregate counts (no item names, no personal identifiers) to Anthropic via the Vercel AI Gateway. The result is cached on our backend.

Device Tokens for Sync

To deliver near-instant cross-device sync, CartPause registers each device’s Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) token with our backend. When you make a change on one device, our backend uses a silent push to wake your other devices so they can fetch the change immediately. APNs tokens are managed by Apple and contain no personal information.

Anonymous In-App Events

CartPause records a small set of anonymous app events (e.g. “item paused,” “item skipped,” app opens) to our own backend so we can understand which features are used. These events contain no item names, prices, URLs, or any other personally identifying information. We do not include any third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking SDKs inside the app.

Subscription Information

Subscriptions are managed entirely by Apple through the App Store. We do not collect or store your payment information or billing details. We only check your subscription status locally on your device using Apple’s StoreKit framework.

Notifications

Push notifications (pause expiration reminders) are scheduled locally on your device. They do not pass through our servers. Notification permissions are managed through your device’s Settings.

What We Don’t Collect

We do not collect:

  • Your email address or phone number
  • Your Apple ID password or payment information
  • Your IP address or location
  • Your browsing history outside CartPause
  • Behavioral profiles or shopping patterns for advertising

The only identifying data we hold is your Apple Sign In user identifier (anonymous to anyone but Apple), the optional display name you chose to share, and the items you save in CartPause.

What We Never Do

  • Sell your personal information to third parties
  • Share your shopping data with retailers or advertisers
  • Track your browsing activity across other websites or apps
  • Use your data for targeted advertising
  • Build user profiles or behavioral models

Your Rights

You have full control over your data:

  • Delete all items: Settings → Delete All Items inside the app. This removes every item from your device and from our backend immediately.
  • Sign out: Settings → Sign Out to disconnect this device from your CartPause account. Your items remain on our backend, so signing in again restores them; this device just stops syncing.
  • Delete the app: Removing CartPause from your device wipes the local copy. The backend copy remains until you also delete your account.
  • Full account deletion (recommended): Settings → Delete Account inside the app. This permanently removes your account, every paused / saved / skipped item, your device push tokens, and your cached AI sentences from our backend immediately. You'll be signed out automatically. If you can't access the app, email hello@cartpause.com from the Apple ID you used to sign in as a backup path.
  • Cancel subscription: Settings → Manage Subscription (handled through your Apple ID).

Website

The CartPause website (cartpause.com) uses Google Analytics to understand aggregate traffic patterns (e.g., page views and referral sources). Google Analytics may set cookies in your browser. No personally identifiable information is collected through our website. The website does not use advertising or retargeting scripts.

Children’s Privacy

CartPause is not intended for users under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, please contact us at:

Contact us