Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Host Anyway (“we,” “us,” “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use hostanyway.com (the “Site”) and any related calculators, printables, email communications, and the events you create or respond to (the “Events” feature — where a host shares a link and guests add their order, votes, or potluck items).

Our approach is to ask for as little as possible: we collect only what a feature needs, use it only for the purpose we describe here, and keep it only as long as we need it.

1. Who we are

Host Anyway is a brand operated by InSync Solutions LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company. For most of the Site, InSync Solutions LLC is the data controller for the personal data we collect. Contact us at hello@hostanyway.com.

The Events feature works a little differently. When you host an event, you decide what to ask your guests and why — so for the information your guests submit to your event, the host is the controller and Host Anyway acts as a service provider (a processor) that stores and organizes that information on the host’s behalf. We do not use guests’ event information for our own purposes: no marketing to guests, no profiling, and we never sell or share it. (More on hosts’ responsibilities is in our Terms of Service.)

2. Information we collect

You give it to us directly

• Email address. When you sign up for our newsletter, request a printable, or contact us. If you opt into the newsletter, we also tag your signup with which calculator you came from and whether your party includes kids — only so the emails we send stay relevant to the kind of hosting you do. Nothing more.
• Calculator inputs. The choices you make in our calculators (theme, guest count, dietary preferences, item picks). These are stored anonymously — never tied to your name or email — to help us improve the calculators.
• Feedback you send us. If you use our feedback form (or email us), we receive your message and — only if you choose to add them — your name and email, plus which page you came from. We use it only to read your note, reply if you left an email, and improve Host Anyway. It never adds you to a marketing list.

Events you host or join

If you host an event, we collect the details you enter: the event name, date and time, location, an optional access passcode (stored only as a secure one-way hash — never in plain text), and the party plan you set up (the proteins, drinks, board items, and quantities). When you create an event, your browser also generates a small random ID that we store with your event. We use it only to count repeat hosts in aggregate — to see that several events came from the same browser, without knowing whose. It isn’t tied to your name or email, isn’t used to build a profile, and is never shared or sold. It’s deleted when the event is deleted, and you can clear it yourself anytime by clearing your browser’s site data for hostanyway.com. If you choose to save your events to an account, we collect your email address and use it only to send you a one-time, six-digit sign-in code — there is no password.

If you respond to someone’s event as a guest, we collect: your name and the names of any additional people you add to your party; your email address, which we use only so you can return and edit your own response later from any device and so your host doesn’t get a duplicate order — we never add you to a marketing list; your response itself (whether you’re attending, your food order, any drink or board “votes,” and any potluck items you offer to bring); and an optional free-text note to the host. To say you’re coming (or just grazing) we ask for an email so the response stays yours to edit; if you only need to let the host know you can’t make it, you can do that without one. Your device also stores a small random token so it remembers your response and keeps your votes anonymous. You never create a password or log in to respond.

What other guests can see. Your response is private to the host. The one exception is the potluck list: when you claim an item to bring, your first name is shown to the event’s other guests so two people don’t bring the same thing. Your email and the rest of your response are never shown to other guests. Drink and board “votes” are tallied anonymously — tied only to a random device token, not to your name or email.

Event links. An event page is reachable by anyone who has its link. If a host hasn’t set a passcode, anyone with the link can see the event’s details and add a response — so share your link with the people you mean to invite.

Sensitive and health information. We deliberately do not collect health or allergy information through the Events feature — the form asks you to tell your host directly instead. We do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by California and other state privacy laws (such as precise geolocation, racial or ethnic origin, or biometric data).

Collected automatically

• Standard log data. IP address, user agent, referrer, and timestamps, collected by our hosting and analytics providers.
• Click events. When you click an outbound link to Amazon or another partner, we record the click (partner, product ID, source page) so we can measure which calculators send traffic where. We do not record your identity.
• Cookies. We set only strictly-necessary cookies — for example, security, abuse prevention, and remembering an event passcode you’ve entered. We use no advertising, marketing, or cross-site tracking cookies. Our analytics (Vercel Web Analytics) is cookieless and records no personal identifiers.

3. How we use your information

• To run the events you create or respond to — building the host’s shopping list, grill cook-sheet, and guest summary, and letting you view and edit your own response.
• To send event-related email on a host’s behalf — a guest’s confirmation with their edit link, and event reminders if the host turns them on. These contain only event details and never include Host Anyway marketing.
• To send you newsletters about new calculators and hosting tips — only if you opt in by checking the optional box, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
• To deliver printables and other things you request (we email the printable you ask for).
• To operate, secure, and improve the Site and our calculators.
• To measure how our calculators perform and which partners convert (anonymous, aggregated analytics only).
• To detect and prevent abuse, spam, and bot activity (rate limiting and fraud checks).
• To comply with legal obligations.

We collect, use, and keep personal information only as reasonably necessary for the purposes described here, in line with what you’d reasonably expect from the feature you’re using.

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information for money. We share it only with service providers who help us operate the Site, under contracts requiring them to protect it and use it only on our instructions:

• Hosting: Vercel Inc. (United States) — serves the Site and runs serverless code.
• Database & storage: Supabase Inc. (United States) — stores newsletter signups, click events, anonymous calculator usage, and event data (host setup + guest responses).
• Email: Resend, Inc. (United States) — sends transactional, event, and marketing email.
• Bot protection: Cloudflare, Inc. (United States) — checks that form submissions come from real people (Turnstile).
• Rate limiting: Upstash Inc. (United States) — IP-based rate limiting for form submissions and abuse prevention.
• Error monitoring: Functional Software, Inc. d/b/a Sentry (United States) — captures errors for debugging.
• Analytics: Vercel Analytics (United States) — privacy-friendly and cookieless; it records aggregate usage with no personal identifiers and no cross-site tracking.
• Affiliate partners: when you click an outbound link, that partner (e.g., Amazon, Walmart) receives standard referral information governed by their own privacy policy.

Event data. If you respond to an event, your response is shared with that event’s host — that’s the purpose of the feature. Guests’ responses are never shown to other guests, except a claimer’s first name on the potluck list as described above. We never use guests’ event information for advertising, and we never sell or share it.

We may also share information when required by law (lawful subpoena, court order) or to protect the rights, property, or safety of users, ourselves, or others.

5. Where your data goes

Host Anyway is operated from the United States. Our service providers process data in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States. Our processors maintain Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent safeguards for users in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland.

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you (including categories and specific pieces)
• Correct inaccurate data
• Delete your data (right to erasure)
• Receive a copy of your data in a portable format
• Object to or restrict certain processing (including marketing email)
• Opt out of any “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information
• Withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior processing

If you responded to an event, you don’t need an account to manage your data: the edit link in your confirmation lets you view, change, or delete your own response at any time, from any device. To exercise any other right, email hello@hostanyway.com from the address associated with your information. We respond within 45 days, and may extend by another 45 days with notice when a request is complex. We also honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals: when your browser sends one, we treat it as an opt-out of any sale or sharing and strip affiliate tracking from outbound links. For guest event data, we may direct your request to the host who controls that event, or act on the host’s behalf. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, and other state-law-protected residents have additional specific rights — these are honored on the same request, and we don’t discriminate against you for exercising them.

7. How long we keep it

• Events and responses: deleted automatically about 7 days after the event date (or about 7 days after creation for an event that never got a date or any responses). A host may choose to keep an event longer. Deleting an event deletes all of its guest responses, votes, and potluck claims, and the random host ID stored with it; any counts we derived from that ID are kept only in aggregate.
• Newsletter signups: until you unsubscribe, then a minimal record of unsubscription is retained for compliance (suppression list).
• Anonymous calculator usage: 12 months, then aggregated and the raw rows deleted.
• Click events (affiliate): 12 months, then aggregated.
• Messages you send us: feedback and support correspondence is kept as long as we need it to handle your request and for our records, then deleted.
• Server logs: 30 days unless retained longer for security investigation.

8. Children

The Site is a general-audience service intended for adults, and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from anyone under 16, and we do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16. The Events feature never invites a child to submit their own information; a host may enter a headcount or names that include children for catering purposes, and the host is responsible for any such information they provide. If you are a parent or guardian who believes a child has provided us information directly, please contact us and we will delete it.

9. Cookies

We use only the strictly-necessary cookies required to operate the Site — for example, security, abuse prevention, and remembering an event passcode you’ve entered. We do not use advertising, marketing, or cross-site tracking cookies, and our analytics (Vercel Web Analytics) is cookieless. Because nothing beyond strictly-necessary cookies is ever set, there are no optional cookies to turn on or off; a brief notice on the Site explains this.

10. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards (HTTPS everywhere, encrypted databases, hashed passcodes, rate limiting, bot protection) to protect your information. No method of online transmission or storage is 100% secure; we will notify you and applicable regulators in the event of a breach affecting your personal data, as required by law.

A note on safety: a real Host Anyway event link never asks you for an email password or login to view it. We only ever ask a guest for the optional email described above, on the event page itself. If a message claiming to be an invitation asks you to enter your email password or a login code to open it, it’s not from us — don’t enter anything, and check with the host directly.

11. Changes to this policy

We will post material changes here with a new effective date. If you’ve given us your email (for example, a newsletter signup or a host account), we will notify you by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect.

12. Contact

InSync Solutions LLC d/b/a Host Anyway. Email hello@hostanyway.com with any privacy question or request.