Privacy Policy

This policy explains what StainWise collects, what happens to a photo you upload, and who else is involved in processing it. We have written it to describe what the application actually does rather than what a generic template might say.

What happens to photos you upload

This is the part most people want to know, so we will be specific.

1. When you choose or capture a photo, it is read inside your browser and converted into a text encoding of the image (a base64 data URI). It is not placed in a public file store or given a shareable link.
2. That encoded image is sent to the StainWise analysis endpoint over an encrypted connection, together with any fabric type you selected.
3. Our server forwards the image to Google Gemini, a third-party AI service, which performs the visual analysis. This means your photo is transmitted to and processed by Google as part of providing the identification. Google's handling of that data is governed by its own terms and privacy commitments for its AI services, not by StainWise.
4. The result — the likely stain type, confidence level, analysis notes and suggested cleaning steps — is saved to your StainWise account history so you can return to it.
5. The complete uploaded image is not stored in the StainWise database. The saved record contains a truncated fragment of the encoded image string (roughly the first hundred characters), which is a technical artefact and cannot be reconstructed or viewed as a picture. StainWise does not keep stain photos in any file or object storage bucket.

Because no complete image is retained on our side, there is no image retention period to disclose. What is retained is the textual analysis result linked to your account, described below.

Information we collect

• Account information. If you sign in to use the identification tool, our authentication provider handles your credentials and gives StainWise an account identifier. We do not store your password.
• Analysis history. For each analysis: the identified stain type, confidence level, analysis notes, suggested cleaning steps, status, the truncated image fragment described above, and timestamps — associated with your account identifier.
• Messages you send us. If you use the contact form, we store the name, email address, category, subject and message so we can respond.
• Analytics and advertising data. Collected by the third-party services described below, and only with your consent for optional categories.

Reading the guides requires no account. You can browse every stain, fabric and laundry article without signing in and without submitting any personal information.

Cookies and similar technologies

We group cookies into three categories:

• Strictly necessary — needed for security, sign-in sessions and core functionality. Also used to remember your cookie choice so we do not ask on every visit.
• Analytics — Google Analytics 4, used to understand which guides people find useful and where the site is failing them.
• Advertising — Google AdSense and its partners, described below.

Analytics and advertising storage are set to denied by default before any Google tag loads. Nothing in those categories is set until you opt in through the cookie banner. You can change your decision at any time:

You can also clear or block cookies in your browser settings, though blocking strictly necessary cookies may prevent sign-in from working.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to measure aggregate usage — pages viewed, approximate location at country or region level, device and browser type, and referring source. We use this to decide which guides to write next. We do not use it to identify you personally, and it only runs if you have consented to analytics cookies.

Advertising and Google AdSense

StainWise displays advertising through Google AdSense to keep the guides free. Some things worth knowing:

• Google and its partners may use cookies or device identifiers to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites.
• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to StainWise and other sites on the internet.
• You can opt out of personalised advertising through Google Ads Settings, and review third-party options at aboutads.info.
• If you decline advertising cookies, we signal that to Google and you may still see ads, but they should not be personalised using this category of storage.

Third-party services we rely on

• Google (Gemini AI) — performs the image analysis. Uploaded stain photos are transmitted to Google for this purpose.
• Google Analytics 4 — aggregate usage measurement, consent-gated.
• Google AdSense — advertising, consent-gated.
• Our hosting and authentication platform — runs the application, stores the database records described above and handles sign-in.

How we use information

• To identify stains and produce cleaning guidance you asked for.
• To show your own analysis history back to you.
• To respond to messages you send us.
• To understand which content is useful and improve it.
• To display advertising that funds the site.
• To maintain security and investigate abuse.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your stain photos to build advertising profiles.

Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete the personal information we hold, to withdraw consent, and to object to certain processing. You can exercise these rights as follows:

• Withdraw cookie consent — use the cookie settings button above or the Cookie Settings link in the footer. This takes effect immediately.
• Access or delete your analysis history — send a request through the contact form choosing the “Privacy question or data request” category. To be transparent: StainWise does not currently offer a self-service delete button for history records, so deletion is handled manually on request. We are working on making this self-service.
• Delete a contact message — ask us and we will remove it.

Analysis records and contact messages are kept until you ask us to delete them or until they are no longer needed for the purposes above.

Children

StainWise is intended for general household use by adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided information, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and access to stored records is restricted. No system is perfectly secure, so please avoid submitting sensitive personal details through the contact form.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle data — particularly anything about photo handling or AI processing — we will update this page and revise the date at the top. Material changes to photo handling will be described explicitly rather than quietly reworded.

Contact

Privacy questions and data requests can be sent through our contact form using the privacy category. See also our Terms of Use and About StainWise.