Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 29, 2026

Zip's Mailbox Club is a small, family-run business. We make personalized letters for kids, and that means parents trust us with information about their children. We take that seriously. Here's the plain-English version of what we collect and what we do with it.

What we collect

• From you (the grown-up): the contact information needed for the form you use, such as your name, email, mailing address or optional phone number. The instant first-letter preview requires your email, not a phone number or mailing address.
• Instant letter preview: we save the adult email and the separately chosen email-marketing permission. When available, we save a fixed campaign label to understand which campaign led to a preview request. We also record whether the preview displays and whether you click its link to continue toward membership, to understand where the preview is useful or confusing. These records stay in our own system; they do not include the child's name, age or letter text. The child's first name and age are used only in your browser memory to display an opening excerpt; the preview does not send them to our server, CRM or analytics, and does not save them in browser storage. This page has no third-party analytics or advertising pixels. Reloading the page clears its personalized display.
• About your child: the grown-up who controls the account provides the child's first name, birthday, interests, favorites, and the notes or replies the family chooses to share. If your family mails Zip a child's letter or drawing, we treat it as part of the family account and use it only to create and personalize the service.
• Payments: when payment checkout is active, payments are handled by Stripe. Your card number does not touch our systems, and we do not place child profiles in Stripe payment metadata.
• Website basics: we use Google Analytics on public pages to understand site traffic. Analytics is not loaded in the parent portal, owner HQ, or paid-gift setup page.

Ask about Zip assistant

The optional website chat is for grown-ups asking general club questions. Quick-question buttons use reviewed answers in your browser. Typed questions and the previous answer topics may be sent through our server to OpenAI to find relevant reviewed answers. Please do not enter names, addresses, birthdays, payment details or other private family information. Use the parent portal or contact us for individual account help.

The assistant cannot access family accounts, process payments, change memberships or send messages on your behalf. We do not save chat transcripts in our customer database or send the question text to our analytics. Chat text stays in page memory until you clear it or reload. Our server requests that OpenAI not store Responses for later retrieval; provider security and abuse-monitoring retention may still apply. Hosting providers process requests to operate and protect the service.

What we do with it

• Write and mail your child's personalized letters and surprises.
• Send you service emails (welcome, shipping notes, sign-in links, membership updates).
• Prepare a requested sample and save the grown-up as a prospective member.
• For the instant preview, send a request confirmation; send optional news and membership reminders only if you checked the email permission box. That box does not authorize calls or texts. No membership, mailed sample or charge is created by a preview.
• If you check the separate contact-permission box, follow up about the sample and membership by email, call, or text. You can opt out at any time, and we stop prospect follow-up when you sign up or opt out.

What we never do

• We never sell or rent your information - or your child's - to anyone.
• We never share your child's details with third parties, except the services that make the club run (secure database hosting, payment processing, email delivery).
• We do not email, text, or give account access directly to children. Digital and account communications go to the parent or guardian; the personalized postal mail is the product the grown-up requested.
• Photos or videos you send are only ever reshared publicly if you explicitly checked the photo-sharing box (you can change your mind anytime by emailing us).

Where it lives

Family account data is stored with Supabase and protected by row-level access rules. A signed-in parent can access only the children linked to that account. Authorized Zip staff can access the information needed to write, mail, support, and operate the service. When checkout is active, payment records live with Stripe. Our website and server functions run on Vercel, and service emails are delivered through our email providers.

How we protect it

• Parent access uses private invitation links or emailed sign-in links; we do not store parent passwords. Founding-family invitation links are disabled after contact setup.
• Private portal and API responses are marked not to be cached, and gift and member codes are treated as private one-time credentials.
• Administrative database keys stay on protected server systems and are not included in the website.
• We limit the information sent to payment, analytics, and email providers to what each service needs.

Your choices

• See or update: sign in to the parent portal to view and update key family details. Email us for a copy, correction, or anything the portal does not show.
• Stop marketing: use the unsubscribe option in an email, reply STOP to a text, or email zip@zipsmailboxclub.com. Service messages needed to run an active membership are separate.
• Delete: email zip@zipsmailboxclub.com and we'll delete or de-identify your family's information after verifying the request, except for limited records we must keep for legal, accounting, fraud-prevention, or dispute purposes.

How long we keep it

We keep family information while the membership is active and for as long as reasonably needed to deliver mail, support the account, resolve problems, and meet legal obligations. Prospect contact records are kept only while reasonably needed for the requested sample, limited follow-up, opt-out enforcement, and recordkeeping. When information is no longer needed, we delete or de-identify it. We may ask for enough information to verify that an access, correction, or deletion request comes from the child's parent, guardian, or authorized account holder.

Children's privacy

Our letters are for kids, but our website, app, and accounts are for grown-ups. Children do not create accounts or submit information to us online on their own. A parent or guardian controls the account and chooses what to share, including any mailed reply or drawing. If you believe a child submitted personal information online without a grown-up's involvement, email us so we can investigate and remove it.

Questions

Email zip@zipsmailboxclub.com - a real human (the founder) reads every message.

← Back to the Mailbox