Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

BabyName (“we”, “us”, or “our”) operates the website at babyname.ie (the “Service”). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect when you use BabyName, how we use it, and what rights you have. Because BabyName requires no account or login, the personal data we handle is minimal by design.

2. What We Collect

BabyName is built to collect as little data as possible. Specifically, we collect and store:

• Participant identifier — a randomly generated UUID assigned to your browser when you create or join a session. This is stored in your browser's localStorage and in an httpOnly cookie. It is not linked to your name, email, or any other identifying information.
• Session codes — a short 6-character code that identifies a swiping session shared between two participants.
• Swipe data — each name you swipe (like or skip), recorded against your participant UUID and session code.
• Derived matches — when both participants in a session like the same name, that match is stored and displayed to both parties.

We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, payment information, or any special category personal data. IP addresses may be read transiently in memory by our servers for security and rate-limiting purposes; they are not stored in our database.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To operate the baby-name matching service — pairing swipes across two participants and surfacing matches.
• To maintain your session across page loads and devices within the same session.
• To run automated maintenance jobs (see Data Retention below).
• With your consent only: to measure usage via Google Analytics and to serve relevant advertising via Google AdSense (see Cookies section).

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

4. Cookies & Similar Technologies

Essential cookies

We set one strictly necessary httpOnly cookie to persist your participant UUID across requests. This cookie is essential for the Service to function — without it your swipes cannot be matched to a session. Because it is strictly necessary, it does not require your consent under ePrivacy rules.

Analytics & advertising cookies (consent-gated)

We plan to use Google Analytics to understand aggregate usage patterns and Google AdSense to display relevant advertisements. These services use cookies and similar technologies to measure traffic and personalise ads. They will only be loaded after you explicitly accept via the cookie-consent banner that appears on your first visit. You may withdraw consent at any time using the “Cookie settings” link in the site footer, which clears your saved choice and shows the banner again. (Your choice is stored in your browser's local storage, so clearing your browser's site data also resets it.)

Google's privacy practices are described at policies.google.com/privacy.

5. Third-Party Processors

We use the following sub-processors to deliver the Service:

• Cloudflare, Inc. — hosts and serves the website globally via a CDN. Cloudflare may process request metadata (such as IP addresses) in accordance with their privacy policy.
• Supabase, Inc. — provides the PostgreSQL database where participant UUIDs, session codes, swipe records, and matches are stored. Data is stored in the EU (AWS eu-west-1 by default). See supabase.com/privacy.
• Google LLC — if you accept the cookie banner, Google Analytics and Google AdSense will be activated. Google may process your data in the United States under Standard Contractual Clauses.

6. Data Retention

We retain data only for as long as it is needed to deliver the Service:

• Sessions with no swipes are automatically deleted after 7 days by a daily cleanup job.
• Sessions that have been inactive (no new swipes) for 90 days are automatically deleted, including all associated swipe records and matches.

Because there is no user account, the participant UUID exists only in your browser's localStorage and in the httpOnly cookie. Clearing your browser data effectively deletes your local identity; the server-side records will then expire automatically per the schedule above.

7. Your Rights

EU / UK GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights regarding personal data we hold about you:

• Access — request a copy of data we hold about you.
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate data.
• Erasure — request deletion of your data. Because your identity is a random UUID with no name or email attached, erasure means clearing your localStorage and cookies; remaining server records expire automatically per the retention schedule above.
• Restriction — request that we restrict processing of your data.
• Portability — request your data in a portable format.
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent — withdraw any previously given consent (e.g. analytics cookies) at any time.

Our legal basis for processing swipe data and participant UUIDs is legitimate interest — the data is the minimum necessary to deliver the matching service you requested. For analytics and advertising cookies we rely on consent. The Erasure right above is self-service and requires no request to us; the Service does not offer a contact channel for the other rights listed.

California (CCPA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, and to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.

8. International Transfers

Our primary database is hosted in the EU. Cloudflare's CDN and Google's services may process data in the United States. Where personal data is transferred outside the EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place (including Standard Contractual Clauses where required by EU GDPR).

9. Children's Privacy

BabyName is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Material changes will be indicated by a prominent notice on the Service.