Privacy Policy

Scratch Canvas sells functional cat scratchers designed like home decor at www.thescratchcanvas.com. For any privacy question, or any question about information we hold about you, email hello@thescratchcanvas.com or call (612) 405-3737.

We do not offer customer accounts, and browsing the site does not require giving us any personal information. We receive information from you in three situations:

One more detail worth knowing: if you add products to the shopping cart, that list is stored in your own browser on your device. It is not sent to us unless you proceed to checkout.

Payments are handled by Stripe on Stripe-hosted checkout pages. You enter your card or other payment details with Stripe, and our website application does not receive or store your full card number. Through Stripe we can see order and payment records, such as who placed an order, what was ordered, the amount, the payment status, and refund information, and we use those records to fulfill orders, process refunds, and keep our business accounts. Stripe processes your information under its own privacy policy, available at stripe.com/privacy.

• Processing, preparing, and shipping your order
• Sending tracking information for your shipment
• Handling returns, refunds, and product issues
• Answering your questions and providing support
• Reading the feedback you choose to send us, so we can improve our products and guidance
• After a Scratch Canvas set is delivered, sending one short note to ask how the introduction is going, and later one invitation to review it
• Preventing and resolving payment or delivery problems
• Keeping the business, tax, and accounting records we need to operate
• Operating the website and understanding aggregate visits and site performance
• When you allow Google Analytics, understanding more detailed website usage, such as which pages are visited and how visitors arrive

We do not send marketing emails or newsletters, and we do not use your order or support information for advertising. The check-in note and the review invitation are about the order you placed. We send each one no more than once, and if you ask us not to send them, we won't. If you bought from us in person at a market, we contact you only if you message us first.

Sending us a review, a photo, or a video is always optional, and nothing about your order or the help we give depends on it.

• Reviews: we publish a review on our website only after you tell us we may, by email or in the feedback form. We publish it with the rating you gave and the name you chose, or with no name if you asked us to keep you anonymous. We include your cat's name only if you clearly agree to it being shown, for example by putting it in the name you chose. Reviews are published in customers' own words. We do not select reviews based on whether they are positive or negative.
• Photos and videos: the feedback form only asks whether you have a photo. If you do, you send it to us separately, by email or text, and we never post or publish a photo or video you send us unless you agree. Before sharing, we ask you separately and tell you where it would appear and how it would be credited. Saying yes to sharing your written feedback is not permission to share a photo. We may crop or trim it, and we do not otherwise alter it.
• Taking it down: if you later want your review, photo, or video removed, email us and we will remove it from our website and delete our own social media posts of it. We cannot recall copies other people have already saved or shared.
• What we keep: your message or form response and the permission you gave, with our business records, so we can show what you agreed to.

We use Google Analytics, when it is enabled on the site, to understand general website usage, such as which pages are visited and how visitors arrive. Google Analytics is optional. It loads only after you choose Allow analytics in the notice at the bottom of the page, and choosing Continue without analytics does not limit your ability to browse or buy. You can change your choice at any time with the Google Analytics preferences link in the footer.

If you allow Google Analytics, we also measure shopping activity on the site so we can see which products interest visitors and where shopping gets confusing: which product lists and product pages are viewed, which products are selected from a list, items added to or removed from the shopping cart, views of the cart itself, and starting checkout, meaning the moment you choose Checkout in the cart to continue to payment. These measurements describe the product, such as its name, catalog identifier, price, and quantity, together with the ordinary device, referrer, and usage information Google Analytics already collects. We do not intentionally send Google Analytics the contents of checkout forms or your contact details through these measurements, and completed purchases are not currently measured in Google Analytics.

When you allow Google Analytics, it collects information using cookies and similar identifiers, and may collect things like the pages you view, how long you stay, your approximate location, and your browser and device type, as described in Google's documentation.

We do not intentionally send Google Analytics your name, email address, shipping address, payment information, or anything else you enter at checkout. Google processes analytics information under its own terms and privacy practices. You can read Google's explanation at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services, which also describes the controls Google offers.

We do not use Google Analytics advertising features, remarketing, or ads personalization.

We also use Cloudflare Web Analytics to understand aggregate visits and site performance, such as which pages are visited and how quickly they load. It runs independently of Google Analytics: it is not part of the optional choice described above, and it is unaffected by whether you allow or decline Google Analytics. Cloudflare states that Web Analytics does not collect or use visitors' personal data and does not use cookies or localStorage to collect usage metrics. You can read Cloudflare's own explanation at Cloudflare Web Analytics.

Scratch Canvas does not use cookies for its own features, and you do not need an account to browse or buy. Three things on your device are worth knowing about. First, the shopping cart described above lives in your browser's own storage and stays on your device. Second, when you make a choice about Google Analytics, we save that preference in your browser's storage so we can respect it on your next visit. Third, if you allow Google Analytics, it sets its own cookies to recognize repeat visits, as described in the analytics section; if you later change your choice to Continue without analytics, we also ask your browser to remove the Google Analytics cookies we can identify, which are the ones whose names begin with _ga. Stripe's checkout pages use Stripe's own cookies and technology, described in Stripe's privacy policy. Cloudflare Web Analytics, described above, does not use cookies or localStorage to collect usage metrics.

A small number of service providers process information so the store can work:

Stripe

Hosts checkout and processes payments, including your payment details and the contact and shipping information you enter at checkout.

Delivery carriers

We share your name, shipping address, and package details with the carrier that delivers your order, currently USPS or UPS depending on the package and destination.

Pirate Ship

Used to create our shipping labels and, when enabled, send shipment tracking emails. It receives your name, shipping address, and package details, and your email address if we add it for tracking emails.

Google Forms and Google Sheets

Host our optional feedback form and store its responses in a Google Sheet we use privately. Google processes this information under its own privacy policy.

Netlify

Hosts the website. Like most web infrastructure, its servers process technical information such as your IP address and the pages you request in order to deliver the site.

Google Analytics

Provides website usage measurement when you allow Google Analytics, as described in the analytics section above.

Cloudflare

Provides aggregate visit and site-performance measurement through Cloudflare Web Analytics, separate from Google Analytics and unaffected by your Google Analytics choice, as described in the Cloudflare Web Analytics section above.

We share information with these providers because running the store requires it, and we may also disclose information if we reasonably believe the law requires us to.

We keep order and customer information for as long as we reasonably need it to fulfill orders, provide support, handle returns and refunds, keep required business, tax, and accounting records, and address fraud, security, or legal matters. When we no longer need information for those purposes, we do not have a reason to keep it.

You can contact us to ask what information we hold about you or request that we correct or delete it. We may need to verify your request, and we may keep information that we reasonably need for legitimate business or legal purposes, such as completed order and tax records. Email hello@thescratchcanvas.com and we will respond as quickly as we reasonably can.

Our store is intended for adults making purchases, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

As the website and our services change, we will update this policy to match what we actually do, and we will change the date at the top of this page when we do. Questions are always welcome at hello@thescratchcanvas.com.