What we collect
When you use WatchSnipe, we store the following data:
- Messaging-platform user ID and username — to identify your account and deliver alerts
- Watchlist entries — the watch preferences you add (brand, model, price range, condition, notes)
- Alert history and click-throughs — records of which listings matched your watchlist, when alerts were sent, and whether tracked alert links were opened
- Website analytics — landing-page visits, referral/source parameters, an anonymous visitor cookie, hashed network identifier, browser user agent, and public price-check queries and outcomes
- Feature requests and feedback — text you submit via /feedback
- Checkout email address — if you subscribe, the email you enter on the payment page (used for receipts and account communication; see below)
What we do not collect
- Messages unrelated to bot workflows
- Location data, contacts, or phone numbers
- Third-party ad tracking or resale of usage data
- Raw IP addresses in website analytics events
- Payment card details (handled entirely by our payment processor)
How data is used
- Match evaluation — Your watchlist entries are compared against watch-for-sale listings scraped from public marketplaces (r/Watchexchange). Listing text, watch preferences, notes, and original request text may be sent to a third-party AI provider to parse preferences, extract structured listing data, and evaluate matches.
- Alert delivery — When a match is found, we send you a message with listing details.
- Click tracking — If you open a tracked alert link, we record the click so we can measure product engagement, debug delivery problems, and prevent abuse.
- Website analytics — We record landing-page visits and price-check lookup activity so we can understand traffic sources, whether visitors use the lookup, and whether the lookup returns useful results.
- Receipts and account email — If you subscribe, the email address you enter at checkout is used for payment receipts, account-related notices (for example a failed renewal), and occasional product updates. You can opt out of product updates at any time, and every such email includes an unsubscribe link.
- Service improvement — Aggregate, anonymized metrics (match rates, brand detection accuracy) help us improve the matching pipeline.
Third-party services
We rely on a small number of standard third-party providers to operate the service:
| Service category | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| AI provider | Listing analysis, wishlist parsing, and match evaluation | Listing title/body text plus the watch preferences, notes, and free-text requests needed to evaluate a match |
| Messaging platform | Bot delivery and alert messages | Your messaging-platform user ID and the alert text we send you |
| Payment processor | Subscription billing | Card details handled by the processor; we receive subscription status and the email address you enter at checkout |
| Cloud infrastructure | Server hosting and encrypted storage | Operational access restricted to the service operator |
AI processing is used only to operate WatchSnipe features such as Quick Add, listing extraction, and match evaluation. We do not sell your watchlist or click data, and we do not use third-party ad tracking. Specific vendors are not disclosed publicly for security reasons; if you have a regulatory or contractual need to know, contact the administrator.
Data storage and security
- Data is stored in an encrypted database hosted in a US data center
- Server access is restricted to SSH key authentication only (no password login, no root access)
- Firewall rules limit access to necessary ports only
- Daily encrypted backups are retained for 7 days
Data retention
- Active accounts — Data is retained while your account is active
- Inactive accounts — If you stop using the bot, your data remains until you request deletion
- Deleted data — When you request deletion, all personal data (account, watchlist, alerts, click events, feedback) is permanently removed within 7 days
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Access your data — Use /list to see your watchlist, /alerts for alert history
- Delete your data — Contact the admin to request full account deletion
- Export your data — Contact the admin for a data export
- Correct your data — Edit or remove watchlist entries at any time
Contact
For privacy questions, data requests, or to exercise your rights, contact the bot administrator through the messaging platform.
Changes
We may update this policy as the service evolves. Significant changes will be communicated via bot message to active users.