Privacy Policy
Short version: we collect only what we need to compute your map and run your account, we do not sell your data, and you can ask us to delete it at any time.
Who is responsible for your data
Astaela is operated from Switzerland, and the operator of Astaela is the data controller. For any privacy question or request, contact support@astaela.com.
What we collect, and why
- Birth details (date, time and place of birth), used only to compute your astrocartography map. With an account, they are saved to your profile so your map follows you across devices.
- Email and password, to create and secure your account and to contact you about it.
- Optional gender and age, collected at signup to help us understand who uses Astaela.
- Payment information, handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card details; Stripe processes the payment and shares only a confirmation and limited transaction data with us.
- Usage analytics and ad measurement. We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how the site is used, and advertising tools from Google, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), Pinterest and TikTok to measure our ads and reach similar people. These run by default when the site loads; you can opt out as described under Cookies below. If you type your email to sign up, these tools may receive a hashed (scrambled, irreversible) copy of it to match you to an account — never your raw email.
- Place lookups. The town name you type is sent to the Photon / OpenStreetMap geocoding service to find its coordinates.
- Personal reading requests (if you ask for one): the birth details and free-text question you submit. A person on our team reads them only to write and deliver your reading — never for advertising — and we delete them on request.
Why we are allowed to use it
Under the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), and the privacy laws that apply where you live, we rely on these grounds:
- To perform our contract with you: providing the map, your account and your purchase.
- Our legitimate interest: measuring and improving the service and our advertising through analytics, which run by default; you can opt out at any time (see Cookies).
- Our legitimate interests: keeping the service secure and improving it, balanced against your rights.
Where your data is stored
Account data, your profile and birth details are stored with Supabase (our database and authentication provider, in its EU region). The site is hosted on Vercel. Payments run through Stripe. Analytics and advertising run through Google, Meta, Pinterest and TikTok. Some of these providers are based in or transfer data to the United States, and do so under recognised safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.
How long we keep it
We keep your account and birth data for as long as your account is active. If you ask us to delete your account, we remove your personal data promptly, except anything we must keep for legal or accounting reasons (for example, proof of a purchase). Analytics data is retained for a limited period, in line with our Google Analytics settings.
Your rights
You can ask to access your data, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to how we use it, receive a copy to take elsewhere, and withdraw consent at any time. To exercise any of these, email support@astaela.com and we will respond within a reasonable time.
If you are a resident of the United States (for example, in California), you can ask what personal information we hold about you and request its deletion, and we do not sell or share your personal information. If you are ever unhappy with how we handle a request, you can also contact the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), our home regulator.
Cookies
Astaela uses essential storage to run the site, plus analytics and advertising cookies from Google, Meta, Pinterest and TikTok that load when the site loads. We do not show a cookie banner. You can opt out at any time: use your browser's privacy settings or a tracker blocker, install the Google Analytics opt-out, and turn off ad personalisation in your Google, Meta, Pinterest and TikTok account settings.
Children
Astaela is not intended for anyone under 16. Please do not use it or provide birth details if you are under 16.
Contact
Privacy questions or requests: support@astaela.com.