THE BEARDSMITH WEBSITE & APP

Privacy Policy

Effective September 20, 2026

This policy explains how The Beardsmith handles information on thebeardsmith.com, in its iPhone app, and through the customer submission service at thebeardsmith.com/community/. The Beardsmith operates these services; Built by Magnus develops and maintains them for the shop. External booking, shopping, and social platforms have their own privacy practices.

Website visits, cookies, and embedded services

The main website includes Google Analytics and Meta Pixel to understand visits and measure marketing performance. These services can receive information such as the page visited, referring page, browser and device information, network address, and cookie or similar identifiers. Meta may associate website activity with information it holds about you. These website integrations are separate from the native app, which does not include those analytics or advertising SDKs.

The website also loads Google Fonts and an embedded Google Map. Loading these resources sends browser requests to Google, including network and request information. Our GoDaddy hosting provider processes website requests and may add its own performance monitoring. The private moderation desk uses a necessary session cookie to keep authorized moderators signed in.

Provider information and controls: Google's use of information from partner sites, Google Analytics browser opt-out, Meta Privacy Policy, and GoDaddy Privacy Policy.

You can manage or clear cookies in your browser and use your browser's tracking protections. These controls may affect embedded content and do not stop every network request or hosting log. Private browsing alone does not prevent third-party data collection. This website currently does not provide an on-site cookie preference manager. Contact the shop with privacy questions or requests.

Your private Saved Looks

Your app profile, saved haircut and beard photos, grooming details, favorites, routines, product cabinet, and appointment notes are stored on your device. They are not automatically uploaded to The Beardsmith. Your device or iCloud backup settings may include app data in Apple-managed backups.

Export Saved Looks creates a file containing saved-look photos, favorites, and grooming details. It does not include your profile, routines, products, appointment notes, or website submission receipts. You choose where to store or share that file. Protect it like any other personal photo collection.

Optional device permissions

Camera and photo access let you select or take a picture for a saved look or an explicit selfie submission. Notifications support reminders you enable. Optional location permission supports an on-device shop arrival zone; the app does not send your location to our submission service. You can change these permissions in iPhone Settings. Calendar access is used only when you choose to add an appointment.

Reviews and selfies you choose to submit

Submitting is optional and separate from your private Saved Looks. A submission sends your chosen display name, selected barber, review or caption, optional review rating, and a selfie only when you explicitly select one. We also store a submission identifier, permission text and version, submission time, moderation status, and a protected receipt verifier.

We use this information to review submissions, publish approved entries on our website, and allow status checks and withdrawal. The form does not collect your email, phone number, Vagaro account, or appointment history. Do not include private contact details in your text.

Submissions are for adults 18 and older. Submit only your own photo, with no other person pictured. Photos are resized and re-encoded before storage to remove embedded metadata. Originals are not retained by this service.

Permission and publication

Nothing is published until you give publication permission and the shop approves the submission. Approved display names, barber names, text, ratings, and photos become public on thebeardsmith.com. The showcase contains selected customer testimonials and selfies, not a complete or independently verified review feed.

Submission permission covers this website only, not social media, advertising, or other websites. No discount or reward depends on submitting a review, its rating, or a selfie.

Remove your submission

Open After Your Visit, then Your Submissions in the app, and choose Withdraw. You can withdraw before or after approval. Withdrawal removes the entry from this service and makes its photo unavailable through the service.

Your receipt is stored securely on that device and is not included in Saved Looks exports. If you lose access to it, call (208) 283-2761 for removal help. We may ask enough information to locate the entry and verify your request. Copies already saved by visitors, search engines, or external services cannot be recalled.

Retention and security

To prevent repeat abuse, the app creates a random installation identifier in your device Keychain and sends it with submissions. The server stores a keyed hash, not the original identifier. It is linked to your submissions for moderation, not advertising tracking. A moderator can block that installation and hide all of its entries. Block records remain until a moderator removes the block; withdrawing a submission does not remove a block. Contact the shop to appeal or request privacy assistance.

Every public entry has a Report action. Reports record the entry, selected concern, time, and a daily keyed network-address hash for spam prevention. Resolved reports are removed after 90 days. Open reports remain until reviewed. Hide this submitter uses a necessary browser cookie, lasting up to one year, to hide entries from the same app installation on that browser. Show hidden submitters again clears those choices. Older entries without an installation identifier can be hidden individually. Hiding does not delete entries or remove them for other visitors.

Pending submissions expire after 30 days and rejected submissions after 7 days, with cleanup performed on the next service request. Approved entries remain until withdrawn or removed by the shop. Moderation audit events are retained for up to 90 days and do not include submission text or photos.

Submissions travel over HTTPS. Unapproved photos and the submission database are stored outside the public website folder. Authorized shop moderators can review them, and authorized technical maintainers may access them when necessary to operate or support the service.

Abuse prevention uses a keyed hash of the requesting network address, with rate-limit records expiring within a day. The hosting provider separately processes request logs and backups according to its own retention practices; removal from the active service does not promise immediate erasure from those backups.

Tracking, service providers, and external links

The native app does not include advertising tracking or analytics SDKs, and we do not sell app submission information. Our hosting provider processes submission data to run the service. The moderator desk uses a necessary sign-in session cookie.

Booking and account management happen through Vagaro, not inside our submission service. Links to Vagaro, Apple services, Instagram, shopping providers, and other websites are governed by those providers' policies. We do not receive your Vagaro password or payment information through the app. Provider retention periods and controls may differ from the submission retention rules above.

Contact and changes

For privacy questions, access or correction requests, removal requests, or concerns about a photo, contact The Beardsmith at (208) 283-2761 or 3302 W. Overland Rd., Boise, Idaho 83705. See Support for help with the app. Policy changes will be published here with an updated effective date.