Privacy Policy

MatchCut helps people find a barber who fits their hair, style, and budget. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and what you can do about it. We've tried to keep it short and in plain language.

Who we are

MatchCut (“MatchCut,” “we,” “us”) is an early-stage startup based in Austin, Texas, run by its founding team. This policy covers joinmatchcut.com, the MatchCut web app, and emails we send. If MatchCut becomes a registered company, that company will take over this policy and we'll update this page.

What we collect

When you join the waitlist

• Your email address (required).
• Your ZIP code, if you choose to share it.
• The date and time you signed up.

When you take the matching questionnaire

Your answers (hair type, the styles you like, budget, and how far you'll travel) are used to rank barbers for you. Right now they are stored only in your browser for that session and are not sent to us. If we start saving answers to an account, we will update this policy first.

Your location

• Current location: only if you tap “Use my current location” and allow it. Your device's coordinates are used in your browser to measure distance to barbers. They are not sent to our servers or stored.
• ZIP code: if you enter a ZIP instead, we look up its approximate coordinates using a public service, Zippopotam.us, which receives the ZIP code along with standard request details such as your IP address.

If you're a barber

Barbers create a profile with details such as name, shop, general location, prices, specialties, a booking link, and portfolio photos. This information is meant to be public: it's shown to clients who match with you. During our preview, profiles and photos are kept on your device. Once accounts launch, they will be stored on our servers so clients can see them.

If you enter an academy code, we record which academy you belong to and that you're a student.

Accounts and payments (once they launch)

• Accounts: your name, email, and sign-in details, handled by our sign-in provider, Clerk. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile photo from Google.
• Payments: barber subscriptions are paid through Stripe. Stripe collects your payment details; we never see or store your full card number. We receive your plan and billing status, and Stripe may share basic card details such as the brand and last four digits.

When you tap “Book”

Booking happens on the barber's own booking site, not on MatchCut. Book links pass through our server so we can send you to the right place. We may record that a click happened (which barber, and when) so we can show barbers how many clients MatchCut sends them. The booking site you land on has its own privacy policy.

Automatically

Like most websites, our hosting provider keeps basic server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested, and timestamps) for security and to keep the service running. We don't use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics. The app uses your browser's storage (session storage and IndexedDB) to remember your answers and photos as you go; that storage is required for the app to work and stays on your device.

How we use it

• To match clients with barbers and show barber profiles.
• To email waitlist members about MatchCut's launch and updates. Every email includes a way to unsubscribe.
• To decide where to launch next. ZIP codes tell us where demand is.
• To run accounts and subscriptions, once they launch.
• To keep MatchCut secure and prevent abuse.

What we don't do

• We don't sell your personal information.
• We don't share it for targeted advertising.
• We don't sell or store your precise location.

Who we share it with

We share information only with services that help us run MatchCut, and only what they need:

• Supabase: database (stores the waitlist).
• Vercel: website hosting.
• Zoho: email.
• Zippopotam.us: ZIP code lookup.
• Clerk and Stripe: sign-in and payments, once those launch.

We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect someone's safety, or as part of a business change such as forming a company, a merger, or a sale. If that happens, this policy will still apply to information collected under it.

How long we keep it

• Waitlist entries: until you ask us to remove you, or until we no longer need them to tell you about MatchCut.
• Questionnaire answers: cleared when you close the browser tab.
• Barber preview photos: kept on your device until you remove them or clear your browser data.
• Account and billing records: for as long as your account is open, plus any period the law requires for financial records.

Your choices

You can ask us to show you, correct, or delete the information we have about you, or to take you off the waitlist. Email hello@joinmatchcut.com and we'll respond within 45 days. We won't treat you differently for asking. You can also stop location sharing at any time in your browser settings.

Kids and teens

MatchCut is not for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. People aged 13 to 17 may use MatchCut only with a parent's or guardian's permission. If you believe a child under 13 has given us information, email us and we'll delete it.

Security

We use reasonable safeguards, including encrypted connections and database access rules, to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, so we can't guarantee it, but we'll tell you if a breach affects your information, as the law requires.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If the change is significant, we'll also let you know by email before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions or requests: hello@joinmatchcut.com