Privacy Policy
Version 2026-10-29. Draft for legal review.
The short version
- We use what you paste, upload or record (text, links, screenshots, emails, PDFs, voicemails) only to run your check. We don't keep it afterwards.
- Checks run on our own computers. If our own system is unavailable, a check may be processed by an AI provider (Anthropic). We don't sell your information.
- We don't ask for your name. We keep a few records without names: that you accepted our terms, feedback you choose to send, and counts of how the Service is used.
- Don't upload passwords, card or bank numbers, or ID documents. Blur them out of screenshots.
- Wherever you live, you can ask what we hold about you, or ask us to delete it, at privacy@scamsnoop.me.
1. Who we are
Scam Snoop (scamsnoop.me) is operated by [Business name] (ABN [ABN]) of [Address], Western Australia, Australia ("we", "us"). We are responsible for your personal information under this policy. This policy explains how we handle personal information when you use the Scam Snoop website, web app and tools (the Service), wherever you are.
[If required once we have users in the EU or UK: our representative in the EU / UK is [name and contact].]
2. What we collect
| What | Examples | Why | How long we keep it |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you submit | Listing text, links, screenshots, photos, emails, PDFs, voicemail recordings, numbers you type in (such as an IMEI, VIN or price) | To run your check and show your result | Only while your check runs. We don't store it. |
| Other people's details inside it | A seller's name, profile, email address or phone number in something you share | Needed to assess it; used only for your check | Only while your check runs |
| Pages we open for you | Text and screenshots of a listing or shop page from a link you give us | To read the listing and compare prices | Only while your check runs |
| Links and phone numbers we look up | A web address or phone number from what you shared | To check domain age, blocklists and number reputation | Results are cached for up to 7 days to avoid repeat lookups. They aren't linked to you. |
| Technical information | IP address, browser type, device, time of use, error messages | To keep the Service working, secure and fair (for example, limiting how many checks one person can run) and to show your country | IP addresses are held in memory for up to an hour. Server logs are kept for up to 30 days. |
| Free-check count | A one-way scrambled code made from your IP address, and the times of your full checks | To give each visitor a fair number of free checks a day | 24 hours, then deleted |
| Terms acceptance record | A random ID stored in your browser, the terms version, the time, your country, and a one-way scrambled code made from your IP address | To show you accepted our terms | Up to 7 years |
| Feedback you send | Whether a result was right, what was wrong, any note you write, the result's score | To improve the Service | Up to 2 years |
| Usage counts | How many checks ran each day, by country, type and result | To run and improve the Service | Kept as totals only |
| Contact details | Your email and message, if you email us | To reply to you | Up to 2 years after our last contact |
We don't ask for your name to use the Service. Please don't submit passwords, card or bank account numbers, government ID or health information.
3. How we use it, and our legal reasons
We use personal information to:
- analyse what you submit and produce your result, price check, lookups and buying guide (to provide the Service you asked for);
- open links you give us, look up links and phone numbers, and compare prices with other sellers (to provide the Service you asked for);
- keep the Service secure, prevent misuse and fix problems (our legitimate interest in running a safe, fair service);
- improve the Service using feedback and totals (our legitimate interest); and
- meet our legal obligations.
If you are in the European Union or the United Kingdom, these are our legal bases under the GDPR and UK GDPR: performing a contract with you, our legitimate interests (balanced against your rights), and legal obligation. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for targeted (cross-context behavioural) advertising.
4. AI and automated results
4.1 The Service uses computer programs, including artificial intelligence, to analyse what you submit and produce scores, labels, warnings, price estimates and suggestions. These are made automatically, without a person reviewing them.
4.2 The AI normally runs on computers we control. If they are unavailable, a check may be sent to Anthropic's Claude service to process. Anthropic processes it under its commercial terms and doesn't use it to train its models.
4.3 The kinds of personal information these programs use are listed in section 2: what you submit, details of other people inside it, pages opened from your links, and limited technical information.
4.4 Results are general guidance about a listing, message or link. We don't use them to make decisions about you, such as decisions about credit, accounts, services or eligibility, and they have no legal or similarly significant effect on you. You decide what to do with them.
5. Who we share it with
We share personal information only with service providers who help us run the Service, and only as needed:
| Provider type | Examples | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and security | Digital Pacific [, Cloudflare] | Technical information and the content passing through the Service |
| AI processing (backup only) | Anthropic (Claude) | What you submit, when our own AI is unavailable |
| Link and domain checks | Domain registries (RDAP), Google Web Risk, VirusTotal, abuse.ch URLhaus | Web addresses from your submission. We look up existing reports and don't upload your files. |
| Phone number checks | IPQualityScore | Phone numbers from your submission |
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect someone's safety, or to help law enforcement investigate a scam where the law allows.
6. International transfers
We are based in Australia and our servers are in Australia. Some providers process information in other countries, including the United States. When we transfer personal information across borders, we take reasonable steps to protect it, including contract terms such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK's International Data Transfer Addendum where they apply, and we handle it consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles.
7. Security
We protect information with encryption in transit (https), access controls, limits on what we log, and by not storing what you check. No system is perfectly secure. If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm, we'll tell you and the relevant regulator as the law requires.
8. Cookies and browser storage
We don't use cookies for advertising or tracking. The Service stores a few small items in your browser: that you accepted our terms, a random ID for that acceptance, your country choice, and a copy of the page so it opens quickly and works as an app. You can clear them in your browser's settings at any time. Our hosting and security providers may set cookies needed to protect the Service.
9. Your rights
Wherever you live, you can:
- ask what personal information we hold about you and get a copy;
- ask us to correct it;
- ask us to delete it; and
- complain to us, and then to a regulator.
Because we don't ask for your name, we may need the random ID stored in your browser to find records linked to you.
Depending on where you live, you also have these rights:
- European Union and United Kingdom: to object to or restrict our use of your information, to data portability, and to complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office).
- Australia: rights under the Australian Privacy Principles, and to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
- New Zealand: rights under the Privacy Act 2020, and to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
- Canada: rights under PIPEDA or your provincial law, and to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
- California and other US states with privacy laws: to know, delete and correct, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (we don't sell or share it), without being treated differently for using these rights.
To use any of these rights, email privacy@scamsnoop.me. We'll respond within 30 days, or sooner if your local law requires it.
10. Children
The Service is meant for people 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect information from children. If you think a child has used the Service, contact us and we'll delete any records we can find.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. We'll show the date at the top, and significant changes will be highlighted in the Service.
12. Contact
Privacy Officer, [Business name], [Address], Western Australia, Australia. Email: privacy@scamsnoop.me.