Privacy Policy

1.Information you give us

Application and account information. When you introduce yourself, apply, or create an account, we collect:

• Your name, email address and password;
• Phone number, city and neighborhood;
• Social or professional profiles, and a photograph if you choose to provide one;
• The answers, interests and preferences you share during the introduction process;
• Your tier interest and membership preferences.

Payment information. When you place a deposit or pay dues, the payment is processed by Stripe. We receive:

• Confirmation that a payment succeeded, its amount, currency and date;
• The last four digits of the card and its brand;
• The name, email address, phone number and billing address you enter at checkout;
• A Stripe customer and payment identifier so we can match the payment to your record and issue refunds.

We do not receive or store your full card number, expiry date or security code. Those go directly to Stripe.

Communications and house activity. Messages you send us or other members through the portal, event RSVPs, studio bookings, guest registrations, and notes we keep about your membership.

2.Information collected automatically

When you visit the site we collect basic technical and usage data:

• IP address, browser and device type, operating system, and referring page;
• Pages viewed, time on page, and the links and buttons you click;
• Server and security logs, kept to operate and protect the site.

We also store a small amount of information in your own browser. See section 7.

3.How we use information

We use the information above to:

• Review applications and place memberships;
• Operate the house — programming, dinners, RSVPs, studio bookings, guests and member communication;
• Process deposits, dues and refunds, and keep accurate financial records;
• Send transactional messages such as deposit confirmations, application updates, billing notices and renewal reminders;
• Send updates, invitations and membership news if you have opted in;
• Understand how the site is used so we can improve it;
• Keep the house, its members and our systems secure, and investigate misuse;
• Meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations, and enforce our terms.

We do not use your information to make automated decisions that have a legal effect on you. Membership decisions are made by people.

4.How we share information

We share information with service providers who help us run the house, only as needed for them to do that work. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

We may also disclose information:

• To our accountants, auditors, insurers and legal advisors;
• If required by law, subpoena or legal process;
• To protect the rights, safety and property of the house, its members and staff;
• In connection with a reorganization, financing, or sale of the business, subject to this policy.

5.Membership information and the directory

Membership involves other people. Your first name, photograph and the profile details you choose to share may be visible to other members in the house and in the member directory.

You control what goes in your profile, and you can ask us to limit or remove it. Members are told, in the Terms of Use, that they may not scrape the directory or use member information for solicitation. We do not share the directory or member contact information outside the house.

6.Analytics and your choices

Our marketing pages use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-M2N1W4V0ME) to understand how people find and use the site — which pages are read, and where people begin and abandon the deposit flow. This uses cookies and similar identifiers.

The signed-in member portal does not load analytics.

You can opt out of analytics in any of these ways:

• Install Google’s Analytics opt-out browser add-on;
• Block or clear cookies in your browser settings;
• Use your browser’s tracking-protection or private-browsing mode.

We honour Global Privacy Control signals where our providers support them. We do not currently respond to the older Do Not Track header, which has no agreed standard.

7.Cookies and browser storage

We keep this deliberately small:

• Your session. When you sign in, an authentication token is stored in your browser so you stay signed in. Signing out clears it.
• Policy acceptance record. When you accept the Membership Policy before placing a deposit, we store a short record in your browser — the policy version, the tier and a timestamp — so we both have evidence of what you agreed to and when.
• Analytics cookies. Set by Google Analytics as described in section 6.
• Security and delivery. Cloudflare may set cookies necessary for security and performance.

We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not run third-party ad or social tracking pixels on this site.

8.Email and how to stop it

Transactional email — deposit confirmations, application updates, billing notices, renewal reminders and account security alerts — is part of the service. We send it through Resend, and we keep a log of what was sent, to whom and whether it delivered. You cannot unsubscribe from essential transactional messages while you hold an account or a deposit, though you can close your account.

Marketing and programming email — invitations, the calendar, house notes and news — is opt-in. Every one of those messages carries an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect promptly. You can also email hello@barkadahouse.com and ask us to stop.

9.How long we keep information

We keep application and membership records for as long as needed to operate the house and to meet legal, tax and accounting obligations, and then we delete or de-identify them.

In practice:

• Payment and refund records are retained as long as tax and accounting rules require, typically seven years;
• Membership agreements, cancellation notices and consent records are retained for the period set out in the Membership Policy;
• Declined or withdrawn applications are kept only as long as needed to administer the decision and handle any reapplication, then deleted on request;
• Analytics data is retained on our provider’s standard schedule.

10.Your choices and requests

Whatever state you live in, we will honour these requests as a matter of policy:

• Access — a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Correction — fix anything inaccurate or out of date;
• Deletion — delete your information, except what we must keep for legal, tax or accounting reasons, or to complete a transaction you asked for;
• Opt out of marketing email at any time;
• Withdraw an application at any time. Founding deposits are governed by the Membership Policy.

Email hello@barkadahouse.com. We may need to verify your identity before we act, and we will respond within the time applicable law requires and in any case without undue delay. We will not treat you differently for making a request.

If you are a resident of a state with a comprehensive privacy law, you may have additional rights, including the right to appeal a refusal. Ask us and we will tell you how.

11.Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your information: encryption in transit, hashed passwords, row-level access controls in our database, restricted administrative access, and a payment processor that keeps card data out of our systems entirely.

No system is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities as required by law.

12.Children

The site and the house are for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has given us information, email hello@barkadahouse.com and we will delete it.

13.Where information is processed

We operate in the United States, and our providers may process and store information in the United States and other countries. If you use the site from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

14.Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. When we do, we will change the effective date at the top of this page. If a change is material, we will give notice by email or a notice on the site before it takes effect.

15.Contact

Questions, requests, or anything about this policy:

Related documents: Terms of Use and the Membership, Renewal and Cancellation Policy.