Privacy Policy — theStick

The short versionWe collect the minimum data needed to run theStick. We do not sell your personal data or share it with advertisers.

1. Who We Are

theStick, LLC operates the theStick app and website. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share information about you when you use our Service.

Questions? support@thestick.golf

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly:

NameUsed to identify you in rounds and on your profile.

EmailAccount authentication and notifications.

PhoneOptional. For payment coordination between players.

Venmo handleOptional. To make settling bets easier.

Profile photoOptional. Stored in secure cloud storage.

GHIN numberOptional. Used to fetch your USGA Handicap Index.

Golf scoresHole-by-hole data you enter during rounds.

Bet settingsGame types, bet amounts, and wager outcomes, including spectator Live Bets placed via a live-watch link.

Notification preferencesWhich push notification types you have on or off, set in the Notifications section.

Friend visibility settingYour Friends → Privacy setting (Full, Limited, or None), including any per-follower overrides — controls which followers can be notified about your birdies, achievements, and other highlights.

Collected automatically:

Device infoBrowser and device type for compatibility and debugging.

IP addressLogged for security and abuse prevention.

Usage dataFeatures accessed, errors, session timing.

Push tokensDevice token stored if you enable push notifications.

Watch historyWhich live-watch links you have viewed, so we can show you notifications for rounds you followed as a spectator.

Local storageRound data cached on your device for offline use.

From third parties:

GHIN / USGAHandicap index and club name when you link your GHIN number.

3. How We Use Your Information

Create and maintain your account
Display your name, handicap, and stats to you and your playing partners
Calculate and display golf scores, game results, and ledger totals
Send push and email notifications you have opted into — round activity, friends’ moments, milestones, Live Bets, league updates, and referrals
Notify you about rounds you have watched live, in addition to rounds you played in
Respect your Friends → Privacy visibility setting when deciding which of your followers can be notified about your highlights
Process referral rewards and track subscription status
Provide customer support
Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
Improve the Service through anonymized usage analytics

We do not use your data for advertising, sell it to data brokers, or share it with third parties for their own marketing.

4. How We Share Your Information

With players in your rounds. Your name, handicap, and scores are visible to other players in rounds you participate in, and to anyone viewing a round via a live-watch link you share.

With your league. If you belong to a league, your name and results are visible to the rest of the league’s roster, including game-date, groupings, standings, and Pick’em notifications sent to the whole roster.

With spectators. Anyone watching your round live can propose or accept Live Bets about your play; the outcome (who won/lost a bet) is visible to other spectators of that round.

With service providers under strict data processing agreements:

SupabaseDatabase, authentication, and file storage.

VercelApplication hosting and deployment infrastructure.

USGA/GHINHandicap lookup when you link your GHIN number.

For legal reasons if required by law, court order, or to protect rights, property, or safety.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account information and round data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 30 days, except where required by law.

6. Your Rights & Choices

You may have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you
Correct inaccurate information (editable in My Profile)
Delete your account and associated personal data
Opt out of push and email notifications, by type, from the Notifications section (account menu → Notifications)
Control which followers can be notified about your highlights via Friends → Privacy (Full, Limited, or None, with per-follower overrides)
Export your data — contact us to request

To exercise any right, email support@thestick.golf with subject line “Privacy Request.” We respond within 30 days.

California residents have additional rights under CCPA, including the right to know what categories of personal information we collect. We do not sell personal information.

7. Cookies & Local Storage

theStick uses browser local storage to cache round data for offline use and performance. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Our authentication system uses a secure HTTP-only cookie to maintain your session.

8. Push Notifications

If you grant permission, we’ll send notifications for the categories you have enabled: round activity (invites, results, birdies, new watchers), friends’ moments, your milestones, Live Bets, league updates, and referrals. Each category can be turned on or off independently from the Notifications section (account menu → Notifications), and you can revoke browser/device permission entirely at any time in your device settings.

Notifications about your birdies, achievements, and highlights are only sent to followers you have set to Full visibility under Friends → Privacy — followers set to Limited or None will not be notified about these.

Some notifications are limited to paid members and trial users (e.g. money-owed alerts, achievement unlocks, milestone nudges) — free watcher accounts do not receive these regardless of toggle state.

9. Security

We use industry-standard security measures including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), row-level security in our database, and secure file storage with access controls. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately.

10. Children's Privacy

theStick is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us at support@thestick.golf.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email or in-app notice at least 7 days before changes take effect.

12. Contact

Privacy questions or requests:

theStick, LLC
support@thestick.golf — subject: “Privacy Request”