Privacy Policy

GDPR & CCPA Compliant · Last Updated: October 20, 2026 · Controller: Gig Earnings Guide (gigearningsguide.com)

At Gig Earnings Guide ("we", "us", "our"), we respect your privacy. We are committed to protecting the personal data of our visitors, customers, and gig workers. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, how we handle it, and your privacy rights under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), and global privacy frameworks.

Key Privacy Summary:
  • We never sell, rent, or trade your personal information.
  • We never see, capture, or store your full credit card number or CVV. Paddle.com (Merchant of Record) handles all payment security.
  • We only collect your name and email to deliver your digital access keys, updates, and customer support.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the minimum personal data needed to run our website and fulfill digital purchases:

  • Order & Delivery Information: When you purchase or activate a guide, we receive your name, email address, order timestamp, and the product purchased.
  • Payment Transaction Data: Handled securely by our Merchant of Record, Paddle.com. We receive transaction verification tokens (Price ID, Transaction ID, currency, and fulfillment status). We never store raw payment card data.
  • Device & Browser Analytics: Standard server logs, IP addresses (anonymized for geolocation verification to calculate sales tax), browser type, and operating system.
  • Local Storage (Browser): We store your active license key, reading progress, and language preference in your browser's local storage (localStorage) so you can access the web reader without logging in repeatedly.

2. How We Use Your Information

We process your personal information based on our legitimate business interests and to fulfill our contract with you:

  • To generate your digital license keys right away and unlock your access to the web reader.
  • To show your license key and download links after purchase (Paddle sends the payment receipt by email).
  • To deactivate access when an order is refunded or charged back.
  • To reply to income-audit requests you submit, and to send marketing emails only if you opted in.
  • To verify and resolve customer support inquiries or refund requests.
  • To protect against fraud, malicious bot attacks, and copyright piracy.

3. Paddle.com as Merchant of Record

Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com. Paddle.com is the Merchant of Record for all our orders. Paddle provides customer service inquiries regarding billing and handles returns.

Paddle acts as an independent Data Controller for billing purposes. You can review Paddle’s Privacy Policy at paddle.com/legal/privacy.

4. Third-Party Service Providers

We share only necessary information with trusted third-party service providers who help us run our site:

  • Paddle.com: Payment gateway, billing, and global tax compliance (Merchant of Record).
  • Cloudflare / Vercel: Web hosting, content delivery network (CDN), DDoS mitigation, and firewall security.
  • Upstash (Redis database, via Vercel): Stores your license record: a hashed license key, the Paddle transaction ID and customer ID, and its refund/revocation status.
  • FormSubmit (formsubmit.co): Delivers the free income-audit form (email, state, apps, hours, income range and your marketing choice) to our inbox.
  • Formspree: Contact form message transmission (if you submit a message via our contact form).

5. Cookies and Web Storage

We do not use invasive third-party tracking cookies or ad retargeting networks. We use essential, functional browser storage (localStorage) only to remember:

  • Your Pro License Key (so you remain authenticated in the Web Reader).
  • Your preferred reading chapter, font size, and dark mode preferences.
  • Your preferred language setting.
  • Your cookie consent choice (stored for 12 months, then we ask again).

On your first visit a consent banner lets you choose between Necessary only, Accept all or individual categories (Analytics, Marketing). Analytics and marketing cookies stay off unless you opt in, and browsers sending a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal are treated as “Necessary only”. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time via Cookie settings in the footer of every page.

All fonts and icons are served from our own servers, so no font or icon provider (such as Google Fonts) receives your IP address. Secure checkout is handled by Paddle, which may set its own strictly necessary cookies during payment.

6. Your Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Depending on where you live, you have rights under the law over your personal information:

  • Right of Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to Rectification: You can ask us to update or correct inaccurate email details.
  • Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may ask us to delete your email and license record from our customer registry, as long as no mandatory tax retention period applies.
  • Right to Opt-Out: You can unsubscribe from book update notifications at any time with one click.
  • Non-Discrimination: We will never discriminate against you for exercising any of your legal privacy rights.

7. Data Security & Retention

We use 256-bit TLS/SSL encryption, strict Content Security Policies (CSP), input sanitization, and server-level access isolation. These measures are in place to prevent unauthorized access to, interception of, or disclosure of your data. We keep purchase records only as long as needed to provide service and support, and to comply with statutory accounting requirements.

8. Contact Our Privacy Team

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or want to exercise your data protection rights, please contact us at:

Email: gigearningsguide@gmail.com