1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Pattern Pony ("Pattern Pony," "we," "us," or "our"), operated by Pattern Pony LLC, a Texas limited liability company, collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information when you use our websites, applications, and services (the "Platform"). This Policy is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms of Service. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms of Service.

Pattern Pony is currently offered to users in the United States only.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

Information you provide:

Account and contact information — first and last name, display name/username, email address, birth year, and ZIP code. During signup, you enter a complete birth date so the Platform can check age eligibility; the current application stores the resulting birth year rather than the complete birth date.
Authentication data — login credentials, which are processed by our authentication provider; Pattern Pony does not have access to your plaintext password.
Subscription and transaction information — subscription plan, billing status, transaction history, and billing address. Full payment-card details are collected and processed by Stripe, not stored by Pattern Pony. We may receive limited payment metadata, such as payment-method type, card brand and last four digits where applicable, invoice information, and transaction status.
User Content — Patterns and related drawings, instructions, legends, titles, tags, descriptions, show and template information, profile images, show logos, and other content you create or upload.
Verification documents — if you request a verified creator badge, the credential details, proof link, notes, PDF, or image you submit for review. These materials are stored privately and reviewed by the Pattern Pony team. Submit only information needed to demonstrate the relevant license, credential, or organizational affiliation. Do not submit Social Security numbers, financial-account information, or other unnecessary highly sensitive information.
Support communications — messages you send through our support form or by email.

Information collected automatically:

Device and usage data — IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, pages viewed, features used, timestamps, referring pages, and similar log data.
Security and diagnostic data — error reports, security event logs, and performance data.
Cookie and similar-technology data — as described in our Cookie Policy.
Inferred or derived usage data — such as feature-usage summaries and aggregate statistics derived from your activity.

Information from third parties:

Information from our Third-Party Services, such as payment status from our payment processor or authentication events from our authentication provider.

What we do not collect: Pattern Pony does not collect information about your horse as a separate data category — we do not maintain horse profiles, veterinary records, horse health information, or horse ownership records. Patterns may depict equestrian activities, but they are User Content, not horse data.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal information to:

create and manage Accounts and authenticate users;
provide, maintain, and improve the Platform and Services;
process Subscription payments and manage billing through our payment processor;
display Published Patterns and creator attribution in the Marketplace;
respond to support requests and communicate with you about the Services, including service announcements and policy updates;
review verified-creator requests;
personalize the experience and operate features such as search, ranking, recommendations, and featured content;
perform analytics and understand how the Platform is used;
protect the security and integrity of the Platform, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our Terms and Policies;
moderate content and operate the Marketplace;
develop and improve products and features where permitted by our Terms and applicable law; and
comply with legal obligations.

4. Private and Published Patterns

Private Patterns are not visible to other ordinary Members. They are, however, stored and processed on our systems, and authorized Pattern Pony personnel and service providers may access them as necessary to operate, support, secure, improve, and moderate the Platform, to enforce our agreements, and to comply with law.

Published Patterns — and the display name, username, profile image, and attribution associated with them — are visible to other Members in the Marketplace. Saving and forking features may allow other Members to retain copies of Published Patterns in their own libraries, with attribution preserved, even if you later unpublish.

5. How We Disclose Information

We disclose personal information to:

Infrastructure and authentication providers — Supabase for database, file-storage, and authentication services, and Vercel for hosting and performance measurement;
Payment processors — Stripe, which handles payment and billing information under its own privacy policy;
Monitoring and analytics providers — Vercel Speed Insights, Sentry, and internal usage measurements stored through our infrastructure providers;
Email and communications providers — Resend and Google services used to send, receive, and maintain service and support communications;
Other service providers — vendors that process information on our behalf under contractual protections where appropriate;
Professional advisers — lawyers, accountants, and similar advisers where reasonably necessary;
Authorities and legal recipients — where required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of Pattern Pony, our Members, or others;
Business-transaction counterparties — in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, in which case personal information may be transferred to a successor or acquirer;
Other Members — limited to what you choose to make visible, such as Published Patterns and associated attribution; and
Others at your direction — for example, when you share a public show-book link.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

6. Data Retention

Pattern Pony currently retains Account Information and verification records for the life of the service, including after an Account is closed, unless we delete the information in response to a verified request, no longer need it, or applicable law requires a different result. We may retain particular records longer where reasonably needed to comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, maintain security and moderation history, document policy acceptance, and enforce our agreements.

User Content may be retained and used after deletion or Account closure as permitted by the continuing licenses in the Terms of Service. Content other Members previously saved or forked may also remain in their libraries. Backups and archives may persist after deletion until they are overwritten or deleted on our or our providers' standard cycles. Restoring a backup may temporarily restore information that was previously deleted, in which case we will take reasonable steps to delete it again from active systems where required.

7. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information, and we rely on reputable infrastructure providers. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of any information. You are responsible for keeping your credentials confidential.

8. Your Choices and Rights

Account information — you can review and update profile information in your Account settings.
Communications — you can opt out of non-essential emails using the unsubscribe link or your settings; we may still send transactional and legal notices.
Cookies — see the Cookie Policy for cookie controls.
Account closure — you may request cancellation and Account closure by emailing memberships@patternpony.com. Closing an Account does not by itself require deletion of every associated record or User Content, as described in Section 6 and the Terms of Service.
Access and deletion — you may request access to your personal information, or request deletion of personal information, by contacting legal@patternpony.com. We honor requests that apply under applicable law, subject to verification of your identity and to the retention described in Section 6, including transaction, policy-acceptance, licensed-content, backup, legal, security, and moderation records.
State privacy rights — depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state privacy laws (such as rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of personal information, and to appeal a decision). We honor rights that apply to us under applicable law. [COUNSEL REVIEW: Verify which state privacy laws currently apply based on thresholds and user volume before listing specific statutes.]

9. Children

The Platform is intended for users 13 and older and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly permit children under 13 to create Accounts or provide personal information. If you believe a child under 13 has used the Platform or provided personal information, contact legal@patternpony.com. We may request information needed to investigate and will suspend or terminate an ineligible Account and take appropriate steps regarding the child's information. Users between 13 and 17 may use the Platform only with authorization and supervision from a parent or legal guardian who accepts responsibility as described in the Terms of Service.

10. Processing Location

Pattern Pony is operated from the United States, and information is processed and stored in the United States (including by service providers that may process data in other locations). The Platform is currently offered to U.S. users only.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. For material changes, we will provide reasonable advance notice as appropriate or required by law. The "Last Updated" date shows the current version. Your continued use of the Platform after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by law.

12. Contact Us

Privacy questions and requests: legal@patternpony.com General contact: support@patternpony.com Mailing address: [BUSINESS MAILING ADDRESS]