Privacy policy

Accounts. If you create an account we store your name, email address, and a securely hashed password, plus the favorites and reviews you choose to add.

Newsletter. If you subscribe to Founder Fridays we store your email address encrypted at rest. We only email you after you click the confirmation link (double opt-in), and every email carries a working one-click unsubscribe.

Brand submissions. If you apply, nominate, claim a brand, or send a sponsor enquiry, we keep what you submit so we can review and reply.

Usage. We count page views, outbound clicks, and search terms in aggregate to understand what people are looking for. These counters are not tied to you - no user id, no IP address, and search logs are deleted after 90 days.

We do not sell or rent your data. We do not run third-party advertising trackers. We use one strictly necessary cookie to keep you signed in - nothing else.

Email is delivered by Resend. Error reports (which may include your IP address, but never your password) go to Sentry so we can fix crashes. The site is hosted on Replit infrastructure. Each provider only receives what it needs to do its job.

By The Founder is a directory of brands. Where a brand has not supplied its own images, we may display a logo, product photo, or founder photo sourced from the brand's own public website or public social profiles, shown only to promote the brand and credited to it. We believe this is fair promotion, but we always respect a brand's wishes over our own.

If you are a founder or an authorised representative and you want a photo, a logo, or your whole brand removed, email hello@bythefounder.com. We honour genuine takedown requests promptly - usually within a few business days - and you do not need an account or a claimed profile to ask.

Unsubscribe from any email with one click. Delete reviews and favorites from your dashboard at any time. To delete your account or any personal data entirely, email hello@bythefounder.com - we action removal requests promptly and confirm when done.

If this policy changes in a way that matters, we will update the date above and, for subscribers, say so in the newsletter.