Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

When you use Synthesis Astrology, we may collect:

• Account information: email address and password when you create an account.
• Birth chart data: name, date of birth, time of birth, and birth location that you enter to generate charts.
• Referral source: how you found Synthesis (e.g. search engine, referral link) to help us understand where our users come from.
• Payment information: processed securely through Stripe. We never store your credit card details on our servers.
• Email preferences: your choices about which types of emails you wish to receive from us.
• Social media messages: if you contact us via Instagram Direct Messages, we collect the content of your messages, your Instagram username, and any birth data you voluntarily share in conversation. We use this to provide personalized astrology guidance.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To calculate and display your birth chart readings.
• To save your charts to your account for future access.
• To process payments for readings and subscriptions.
• To send transactional emails (chart delivery, purchase confirmations, password resets).
• To send promotional emails about your chart and readings, if you have opted in.
• To send personalized weekly chart emails to Pro subscribers who have opted in.
• To respond to your questions and provide astrology guidance via Instagram Direct Messages.
• To improve our services and fix bugs.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

You can manage your email preferences at any time from the Email Preferences page, or by clicking the unsubscribe link in any marketing email. Transactional emails (chart delivery, purchase confirmations, password resets) cannot be disabled as they are necessary for service operation.

3. AI-Generated Readings

Our birth chart readings are generated using AI language models. Your birth data is sent to the AI provider solely to produce your reading. We do not use your data to train AI models, and readings are not shared with other users.

4. Social Media Messaging

When you message our Instagram account (@synthesisastrology), we receive and process your messages through the Meta (Instagram) Messaging API. Here is how we handle this data:

• What we collect: your Instagram username, message content, and any birth data you choose to share (date, time, location of birth).
• How we use it: to provide personalized astrology responses, including transit interpretations and chart insights based on data you share.
• AI-assisted responses: our responses are generated with the help of AI language models. Your message content and any birth data you share may be sent to the AI provider to generate a relevant response. We do not send your Instagram username or profile information to the AI provider.
• Data retention: conversation history is stored to maintain context across messages. You can request deletion of your conversation data at any time by contacting us.
• No marketing use: we do not use your DM conversations for advertising, marketing, or any purpose other than providing the astrology guidance you requested.

5. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored on secure servers with encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS). Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text. Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processor.

6. Cookies & Analytics

We use browser local storage to maintain your login session and preferences. We use Umami, a privacy-focused, self-hosted analytics tool that does not use cookies, does not collect personal data, and does not track users across websites. No third-party tracking cookies are used on this site.

7. Your Rights

You can:

• Access and download your saved chart data at any time.
• Delete your account and all associated data by contacting us.
• Opt out of promotional and marketing emails via the Email Preferences page or by clicking unsubscribe in any email.
• Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.

8. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

We process your personal data on the following bases:

• Consent: when you create an account and provide birth data for chart calculation, and when you opt in to receive marketing emails. You may withdraw consent at any time by updating your email preferences or deleting your account.
• Contract performance: to deliver paid readings and subscriptions you have purchased.
• Legitimate interest: for service improvement, security monitoring, and fraud prevention.

9. Data Retention

We retain your account data and saved charts for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all personal data — including birth details, saved charts, and generated readings — is permanently removed within 30 days. Payment records may be retained longer as required by tax and accounting regulations.

10. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Stripe for payment processing.
• Brevo (primary) and SendGrid (fallback) for transactional and marketing emails.
• Google Gemini for AI-generated readings. Only chart data (planetary positions, aspects) is sent — not your name, email, or birth location.
• OpenCage / OpenStreetMap for converting your birth location into geographic coordinates needed for chart calculation.
• Meta (Instagram)for receiving and responding to Instagram Direct Messages through the Instagram Messaging API. Messages are transmitted through Meta's servers.
• Microsoft Clarity for understanding how visitors interact with the site. Clarity collects anonymized usage data and does not sell personal information.

Each service has its own privacy policy governing how they handle data.

11. Children's Privacy

Synthesis Astrology is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.

12. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know: you may request a copy of the personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months.
• Right to delete: you may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions.
• Right to opt out of sale: we do not sell your personal information to third parties.
• Non-discrimination: we will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at synthesisastrology@outlook.com. We will respond within 45 days.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.

14. Contact

Questions about this privacy policy? Email us at synthesisastrology@outlook.com.