Shareth policies

Privacy Policy

How Shareth handles account data, public content, security logs, and privacy-minded analytics.

Effective August 25, 2026 · Last updated October 25, 2026

Public-text moderation evaluation

When enabled, Shareth sends the title and body of eligible public text posts, quotes, and replies to OpenAI’s moderation service to help staff assess safety signals. Protected content, link-only shares that have not been publicly posted, account details, IP addresses, and report messages are not included in these requests. Public text can itself contain personal information; avoid publishing information you do not want shared publicly.

This operates in evaluation mode. Model flags do not automatically allow, restrict, remove, or change content or accounts. Staff review the text and context before making moderation decisions. Shareth retains category signals, confidence scores, model and timing information, a text fingerprint, and staff review notes for assessment history and accountability, without duplicating the submitted text in assessment records. Edits and visibility changes make earlier assessments historical; a request already sent to the provider cannot be recalled. OpenAI processes submitted text under its API data controls.

1. Scope and contact

This Privacy Policy explains how Shareth collects, uses, discloses, and retains information when you use our websites, short links, QR codes, pastes, profiles, APIs, and related services. The owner of Shareth is the controller of personal information described here unless another arrangement is stated.

Privacy questions and rights requests can be sent through the contact form. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.

2. Information you provide

We collect account details such as your name, @handle, email address, password credential (stored as a secure hash), preferences, people you follow, and communications with us. We also process content and interactions you choose to create, including destination URLs, titles, pastes, profile details, QR labels, custom aliases, likes, saves, replies, reports, private feed choices, and API-token metadata.

You may choose Google to sign in to your Shareth account. Shareth receives basic identity information, including a provider identifier, name, and verified email address, to authenticate you and connect sign-in methods to the same account. Shareth does not request access to Gmail, Drive, or contacts. Google processing during sign-in is governed by its own privacy policy. Your Shareth username, profile photo, and email choices remain under your control.

Do not submit sensitive personal information that is unnecessary for the Service. API-token secrets are shown once; we store a one-way hash rather than the complete token.

3. Information collected when the Service is used

When you use the contact form, we store your name, reply email, subject, message, selected topic, request time, IP address, approximate country when available, and browser details. An extension problem report may also include the installed extension version. These messages are private to administrators and are used to respond to requests and prevent abuse. We keep them while needed for support, safety, or legal obligations.

We receive technical and usage information needed to deliver and secure the Service, such as request time, requested resource, device category, approximate country, general referrer domain, browser class, status, and security signals. When available, we retain the approximate country detected at account signup with the account, and the approximate country and IP address from which a share was created with that share for moderation and administration. Our infrastructure and reverse-proxy logs may temporarily contain IP addresses, user-agent strings, and request details for reliability, debugging, and abuse prevention.

For product analytics, Shareth derives a rotating, one-way visitor key from limited request signals. Raw IP addresses and complete user-agent strings are not stored in the analytics-event table. A derived visitor key is not intended to identify a person, but we still protect it as usage data. We also keep aggregate daily counts of feed impressions, intentional post opens, and broad homepage actions such as choosing a creation mode or following a sign-up or Discover link. Ad delivery reports also keep daily counts of page opportunities, suppression reasons, attempted requests, filled or unfilled slots, and visible filled slots. Random, signed placement receipts expire after 20 minutes and prevent duplicate counts; they contain no visitor or account identity. These aggregate counts do not contain an account ID, IP address, cookie identifier, visitor key, or the content entered into a form.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

  • provide, route, render, and manage shares, profiles, QR codes, accounts, and APIs;
  • shape a signed-in member’s For You feed using people and topics they follow, topics connected to posts they have liked, saved, replied to, or created, private choices such as ‘Not interested,’ and what is fresh or popular across Shareth;
  • authenticate users, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce policies, and protect the Service;
  • calculate privacy-minded analytics and understand product performance;
  • send required account verification and requested password resets separately from optional messages; send opted-in unread replies and quotes, and personalized weekly digests based on followed people and topics, fresh public posts, and meaningful public engagement;
  • respond to support, legal, privacy, and safety requests; and
  • comply with law, resolve disputes, and establish or defend legal claims.

5. Legal bases

Where data-protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on performance of our contract to provide requested features; legitimate interests in operating, securing, improving, and understanding the Service; consent where requested for optional communications or similar processing; and compliance with legal obligations. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests, but we may have compelling reasons to continue.

6. URL sharing, public posting, and protected content

New signed-in accounts default to Public in Discover. You can choose Link only as your default in Settings and change visibility for each new share. Public in Discover shows your username, share title, and related public metadata; public shares may be indexed, copied, embedded, or reshared. Signed-out shares are Link only and are not listed in Discover. Link only is not access protection: anyone who obtains an unprotected share’s URL can open it. Protected shares are not listed in Discover. Public posting remains subject to safety checks. Password-protected or signed-in-only content remains subject to recipient behavior and security risks. Removing a post does not erase copies already made by others.

Adding a share to your public profile is separate from posting it in Discover. Profile links expose their labels, descriptions, and linked destinations to profile visitors, but do not place those shares in site-wide discovery. Suggestions shown in your own profile builder are based on your active, unprotected links.

7. When we disclose information

We disclose information to vendors that help host, secure, deliver, monitor, and support Shareth, including server infrastructure, Cloudflare, database and email-delivery components. They may process information only for their contracted purpose and under appropriate safeguards.

We may also disclose information when required by law; to protect users, the public, Shareth, or others; with your direction; or in connection with a financing, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets subject to appropriate confidentiality. Selected public pages may use Google AdSense. Google and other advertising vendors may receive technical information, including your IP address, browser information, and cookie identifiers, to serve and measure ads, prevent fraud, and, where permitted and subject to your choices, personalize advertising. Their processing is governed by their own privacy policies.

8. Cookies and local storage

When you follow an optional-email link, we may set a first-party attribution cookie lasting up to 24 hours to count subsequent participation such as replying, liking, saving, following, or posting. We honor supported Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track signals for this measurement. We do not add invisible email-open tracking pixels.

Shareth uses essential cookies or comparable storage for sign-in, session security, preferences, and request integrity. Blocking essential cookies may prevent account features from working.

Third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to Shareth or other websites. Google advertising cookies enable Google and its partners to personalize ads using those visits. Where required, consent must be obtained before advertising cookies or identifiers are used. You can use the advertising consent message to manage or withdraw your choices, Google Ads Settings to opt out of Google personalized advertising, and the advertising industry opt-out service for participating third-party vendors.

9. Retention

We keep account and content data while your account or share remains active and as needed to provide the Service. Read in-app notifications are scheduled for deletion after 30 days. Optional email delivery records, linked content identifiers, and deduplicated click or participation records are scheduled for deletion after 90 days. We keep preferences, recipient cooldowns, and content-free notification delivery markers while needed to honor email choices and prevent repeated messages; account deletion removes recipient-linked email state and pending optional jobs. Aggregate email counts contain no recipient IDs and are scheduled for deletion after one year. Delivery components may retain their own operational logs under their retention policies. Raw analytics events are scheduled for deletion after 45 days. Aggregate feed, homepage, and ad delivery measurements are scheduled for deletion after 90 days; expired ad placement receipts are scheduled for deletion during hourly maintenance; other aggregated daily analytics may be retained longer because they are less granular and support historical reporting. Security and proxy logs are retained for a limited period appropriate to operational needs.

Shares in Trash retain their content, settings, and analytics until you restore or permanently delete them. Permanent deletion removes the stored text or destination and its history, QR settings, access credentials, and visit analytics. Reserved URLs, relational identifiers, aggregate feed measurements, and security or abuse records may be retained. Deleted information may remain temporarily in backups or be retained when reasonably necessary for fraud prevention, legal compliance, disputes, or enforcement. When no longer needed, it is deleted or de-identified.

10. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information, including credential hashing, restricted database access, scoped tokens, transport encryption, and security monitoring. No system is perfectly secure. Use a unique password, keep tokens private, and report suspected compromise through the contact form.

11. Your choices and rights

You can post or remove shares from Discover, follow or unfollow profiles and topics, change a topic attached to your own post, change profile content, notification preferences, and tokens from the dashboard. Replies and quotes are off until enabled. The existing weekly-summary preference controls weekly personalized digests. Every optional email provides category and all-optional unsubscribe links that work without signing in, plus a settings link. Unsubscribing does not stop verification or requested password-reset emails. We record delivery outcomes, reasons for skipped messages, recent digest item identifiers, and aggregate category-level unsubscribe, click, and participation counts to evaluate whether these emails are useful. We do not store rendered optional emails in Shareth’s delivery records. Settings also provides a machine-readable account export and permanent account deletion. You may contact us to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or an objection where applicable.

Residents of the EEA, United Kingdom, California, and other regions may have additional statutory rights. California residents may request information about collection, deletion, correction, and non-discrimination. You may also have the right to opt out of personal information being sold or shared for cross-context behavioral advertising. Use the advertising privacy message where available, a supported Global Privacy Control signal, or use the contact form to exercise applicable rights. Authorized-agent requests must include legally sufficient authorization.

12. International processing

Shareth and its providers may process information in countries other than your own. Where required, we use recognized safeguards for international transfers. Local authorities may have lawful access rights in the destination country.

13. Children

Shareth is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided information in violation of applicable law, use the contact form so we can investigate and delete it as appropriate.

14. Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track

Shareth does not load its AdSense script when a request includes a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track opt-out signal. Where applicable law requires us to recognize a browser-based opt-out signal such as Global Privacy Control, we will treat the signal as an opt-out for the browser or account to the extent relevant. There is no uniform industry response to older Do Not Track signals.

15. Changes

We may update this Policy as the Service and law change. We will post the revised date and provide additional notice for material changes when appropriate. Continued use after an update is subject to the revised Policy, but we will seek consent if law requires it.

Shareth browser extension

The extension helps you bring a page or selected text to Shareth and discover recommendations with Surprise Me. When you choose to share, it reads the page address and title, or the text you selected and its source address, and brings those details into a Shareth review form. Nothing is posted or created until you submit that form. It does not collect a general browsing history or send Shareth the content of unrelated pages.

Sign-in takes place on Shareth using your normal website session. The extension does not read passwords, session-cookie values, or other sites’ cookies, and does not ask for an API token. Shareth can return your public username, profile photo, and the feedback state for the post shown in the extension. Likes are public; saves and Not interested choices are personal. These account actions are stored by Shareth under the same rules as website actions.

During Surprise Me, optional website access lets the toolbar follow the one discovery tab as you navigate. The extension checks that tab’s address locally to keep controls relevant; it does not send the intervening browsing addresses to Shareth. Temporary local state includes the current recommendation, recent recommendation identifiers and timestamps, session topic, and tab association. This state stays in the browser session, and recommendations older than 24 hours are ignored. Closing the browser clears this session storage. Closing discovery clears the active session; one last discovery can remain locally for up to 24 hours so you can reopen it. Appearance and Prepare next surprise preferences remain on your device until changed, cleared, or the extension is uninstalled. Reviewed posting drafts can be recovered for up to 30 minutes after an edit, using that Shareth tab’s session storage. Completing or discarding the draft, or closing the tab, clears that draft recovery.

Prepare next surprise is on by default. It asks Shareth to choose a recommendation in advance and may ask your browser to download the next external page’s HTML before you open it. That publisher can receive your IP address and normal request information, subject to your browser’s privacy settings. The prefetch does not render the page, run its scripts, or load its images, audio, or video. You can turn preparation off in the extension’s Options without losing ordinary discovery.

Shareth receives the recommendation requests and the sharing or feedback actions you choose. Optional discovery measurement records aggregate counts, such as selections, opens, saves, and choosing another surprise; these counts do not contain account identifiers or an individual browsing trail. We honor supported Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals for this optional measurement. Normal security and infrastructure logs still apply as described above. There are no ads or third-party analytics inside the extension or its posting review form. Website advertising, Google sign-in, embedded media, and the publishers you visit have the separate behavior described in this policy or their own policies.

The Discovery metrics option is on by default and can be turned off in the extension’s Options. It estimates active viewing time for the recommended site and records only whether you clicked or used a wheel or touch gesture to scroll. Timing pauses in background tabs, when the page loses focus, and after a minute without those interactions, and is capped at two minutes. Temporary counters stay in browser-session storage; Shareth receives a broad time bucket and a yes/no interaction flag tied to the recommended post, without an account identifier. We do not collect click targets, scroll positions, keystrokes, page content or the addresses you follow. Daily totals for each post help Surprise me and ranked Discover recommendations and are scheduled for deletion after 90 days. A separate total of confirmed Surprise me visits stays with each post. Temporary hashed selection tokens prevent duplicate visit counts and expire after 30 minutes; these tokens do not identify visitors. This measurement also respects supported Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control signals. Normal connection information and short-lived hashed abuse-limit records still apply.

You can end discovery from the toolbar, revoke website access in your browser’s extension settings, turn off preparation or Discovery metrics, or uninstall the extension. Guests can discover and create unlisted links without an account. Use the contact form for questions about extension data.

YouTube videos

Shareth uses YouTube API Services through the standard embedded player. On eligible link-post pages, Shareth shows a local loading panel and automatically loads YouTube’s privacy-enhanced player as the page initializes in your browser. This contacts YouTube and Google before you press Play, even if you never watch the video. Autoplay is on by default unless you have turned it off. You can change it using the Autoplay switch beside “Watch on YouTube,” and Shareth remembers your choice in this browser. When enabled, Shareth requests playback when you open a video post or turn the switch on, whether you use a direct link, browse Shareth or use Surprise me. This works for guests and signed-in users. Browser playback restrictions may still require pressing Play. Playback waits until the page is visible and focused. Prepared recommendations and feed cards do not autoplay. The player API script loads only for a playback request; no video playback data is sent to Shareth. Feed thumbnails, when available, are served from Shareth’s cache; feeds do not load YouTube players or provider scripts. Without JavaScript, the player does not load and the post title links to the original destination. Other Shareth features, such as Google sign-in or advertising, have separate privacy behavior described above.

Loading the player connects your browser to YouTube and Google using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. Google receives information such as your IP address, browser information, Shareth’s origin as the HTTP referrer, and the requested video. The player may use cookies or local storage and send playback information under Google’s policies. Privacy-enhanced mode reduces personalization; it is not anonymous. Shareth does not collect video playback history, position, completion, or Google identifiers from the player. You may also open the video using the post title’s destination link, where YouTube’s usual policies apply.