Privacy Policy

Effective: January 1, 2025 · Last updated: April 7, 2026

1. Who We Are

GunUpdate ("we," "us," "our") operates gunupdate.com — an AI-powered platform that helps firearm owners find compatible accessories. We are an informational and affiliate service. We do not sell, manufacture, or distribute firearms or ammunition.

2. Information We Collect

Account data: Email address. Name is auto-derived from your email. If you sign up with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile photo from Google.

Uploaded images: Photos you upload for firearm identification. These are processed by our AI system and automatically deleted after 30 days.

User content: Reviews, builds, comments, and arsenal data you voluntarily create.

Usage data: Pages visited, features used, referral source (UTM parameters), browser type, device type. We do NOT collect precise geolocation.

Cookies: We use session cookies (Redis-backed) to keep you logged in. If configured, we may use analytics cookies (Google Analytics) and advertising cookies (Facebook Pixel, Google Ads). You can disable non-essential cookies via your browser settings.

3. How We Use Your Information

Service delivery: Identify your firearm, show compatible accessories, manage your arsenal and builds, process store integrations.

Communications: Welcome emails, price drop alerts (opt-in only), service announcements. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time.

Improvement: Analyze popular products, improve AI accuracy, understand user behavior to build better features.

Advertising: If configured, we use UTM tracking and ad pixels to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. We do NOT sell your data to advertisers.

4. Data Sharing

We do NOT sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only with:

Service providers: Stripe (payments), Mailgun (email), Google (OAuth, Analytics), hosting providers. These providers process data on our behalf under contractual obligations.

Affiliate partners: When you click an affiliate link, the retailer (Brownells, MidwayUSA, etc.) receives a referral code. They do not receive your GunUpdate account information.

Public content: Reviews, builds, and comments you publish are visible to all users and may appear on partner store widgets.

Legal requirements: We may disclose data if required by law or to protect our rights.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security: encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), hashed passwords (bcrypt), IP address hashing for analytics, rate-limited API access, and regular backups. No system is 100% secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your data.

6. Data Retention

Account data: retained while your account is active. Scan images: deleted after 30 days. Analytics data: aggregated and anonymized after 12 months. You can request deletion at any time via the contact form.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to: access your data, correct inaccuracies, delete your account, export your data, opt out of marketing emails, and withdraw consent for non-essential cookies. To exercise these rights, contact us at our contact page.

8. Children

GunUpdate is not intended for users under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.

9. International Users

Our servers are located in the United States. By using GunUpdate, you consent to the transfer of your data to the US. For EU/EEA users: we process data under legitimate interest (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)) for service delivery and consent for marketing.

10. B2B Stores

If you integrate our widget, we process compatibility checks on behalf of your customers. We do not access your store's customer database. Widget usage data is aggregated in your dashboard.

11. Changes

We may update this policy. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact

Questions about privacy? Contact us