Privacy Policy

GiftBeacon is a product of iPal Media LLC. iPal Media LLC (“we,” “our,” or “us”), operating as GiftBeacon, runs an SMS-based AI gift concierge service. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and protect it, and your rights with respect to that information. By using the GiftBeacon service, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to provide personalized gift recommendations and proactive reminders. We do not collect information through a website form or account registration — your phone number is your identity with GiftBeacon.

Information you provide

• Phone number — your primary identifier; collected when you first text GiftBeacon.
• Names of people in your life — names of friends, family members, or colleagues you mention when seeking gift ideas.
• Interests and preferences — hobbies, tastes, and interests you share about recipients.
• Birthdays and important dates — dates you provide so we can send proactive reminders.
• Gift preferences and budget ranges — information you share to refine recommendations.
• Purchase and gift history — records of gifts purchased or selected through GiftBeacon, so we can make better suggestions in the future.

Information we do NOT collect

• We do not store the raw text of your SMS messages. Each message is processed, structured data is extracted, and the message content is discarded.
• We do not collect financial account details (credit card numbers, bank accounts).
• We do not collect location data or device identifiers beyond your phone number.

2. How We Use Your Information

• Personalized gift recommendations — we use names, interests, and past gift history to surface gift ideas tailored to each person in your life.
• Proactive reminders — we use birthdays and important dates to text you before an occasion, so you never miss it.
• Service improvement — aggregated, anonymized data helps us improve the quality of recommendations and the service overall.
• Affiliate link delivery — when we recommend products, links may contain affiliate identifiers that allow us to earn a commission if you make a purchase. No personal data is shared with affiliate partners as part of this process.
• Customer support — we may use your information to respond to requests, questions, or data deletion inquiries.

3. Data Storage and Security

We take data security seriously. Your structured personal data is encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM, one of the strongest encryption standards available. This means that even in the unlikely event of unauthorized access to our database, your information remains unreadable without the encryption keys, which are stored separately using strict access controls.

Key security practices we follow:

• All data in transit is protected with TLS 1.2 or higher.
• Structured data is encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM.
• Raw SMS content is processed in memory and never written to persistent storage.
• Access to production data is limited to authorized personnel only.
• We apply data minimization principles — we store only what is necessary to serve you.

4. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. Ever.

We work with a limited set of service providers who help us operate GiftBeacon:

Twilio (SMS Provider)

GiftBeacon uses Twilio to send and receive SMS messages. Twilio processes your phone number and message content solely to route messages between you and our service. Twilio's privacy practices are governed by Twilio's Privacy Policy.

Anthropic (AI Provider)

We use Anthropic's AI models to process and understand your messages and generate gift recommendations. Message content is transmitted to Anthropic's API for inference. Anthropic does not store inputs or outputs for model training by default. Anthropic's privacy practices are governed by Anthropic's Privacy Policy.

Affiliate Partners

When you click a product link in our recommendations, affiliate tracking may record that a click occurred. Affiliate partners receive only anonymous click data — they do not receive your name, phone number, or any other personal information.

Legal Disclosures

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government authority, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of iPal Media LLC, our users, or the public.

5. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active, meaning as long as you have not requested deletion and have not opted out of the service.

• Structured data (names, interests, dates, gift history) is retained until you request deletion.
• Upon a deletion request, all personal data is removed within 30 days.
• Anonymized, aggregated statistics (e.g., total number of users in a region) may be retained indefinitely as they cannot be linked back to you.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you by emailing privacy@ipalmedia.com.
• Correction — if any information we hold is inaccurate, you can correct it by texting GiftBeacon directly (e.g., “Update Sarah's birthday to March 20”).
• Deletion — you may request complete deletion of your data at any time. See our Data Deletion page for instructions.
• Opt-out of SMS — text STOP at any time to stop receiving messages. You can resume by texting START.
• Opt-out of proactive messages — text “no reminders” and we will stop sending proactive birthday and holiday alerts.

California residents may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know, the right to delete, and the right to opt out of sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information. To exercise your CCPA rights, contact privacy@ipalmedia.com.

7. Children's Privacy

GiftBeacon is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us at privacy@ipalmedia.com.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by SMS (if you are an active user) and update the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of GiftBeacon after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns, contact us at: