Privacy Policy

Short version: we collect what we need to run your account and the site, we don't sell it, and you can delete your account yourself. The longer version below explains what Firearms Almanac (“we”, “us”) handles and why. It's general information about our practices, not legal advice.

You don't need an account to browse

Deals, the Manufacturer Index and the Dealer Finder work without signing in. A free account is only needed to save favorites and deal alerts, or to list a store. Accounts are free for shoppers and dealers.

Shopper accounts

If you create an account, we store:

• your email address and password (the password is stored only in scrambled, “hashed” form by our sign-in provider; we can't see it);
• an optional display name;
• the deals, products and manufacturers you save as favorites;
• your deal alerts (brand, keyword and/or maximum price) and whether each one is on or paused;
• your email preferences;
• when your account and these items were created or changed.

Your favorites, alerts and preferences are private to your account. Other visitors can't see them.

Dealer listings

If you list a store, we also store:

• your business name, Federal Firearms License (FFL) number, city, state and ZIP code, and an approximate map position based on the ZIP code;
• anything else you choose to add, such as street address, phone, website, public email, hours, transfer fees, services, a description and other notes;
• your listing's review status and any notes from our review, and when it was reviewed.

What's public: once we approve a listing, its business name, city and state, and whatever optional details you added are shown publicly on the Dealer Finder and your profile page, and may be indexed by search engines. Your FFL number is shown masked (for example 1-23-XXX-XX-XX-X2345) unless you choose to show it in full. Your login email and our review notes are never shown publicly. Pending, rejected and changes-requested listings aren't public.

FFL review: before approving a listing, we check the FFL number against public federal license records. “FFL-verified” on a listing means we did that check when we approved it; it isn't a guarantee that the license is still current.

Public ATF records, shopper reports and listing claims

Public ATF records: the Dealer Finder also shows “unclaimed” listings built from the ATF's public Federal Firearms Listings (business name, premises address, business phone and license type), limited to dealers and pawnbrokers likely to do transfers, with the license number masked. We try to leave out licenses that look home-based. If a listing shows your home or shouldn't be here, use “Request removal / report a problem” on it and we'll hide it.

Shopper reports: when a signed-in shopper suggests info for a listing (hours, website, fees, services, notes, and an optional note on how they know), we store it with their account and the date. Approved info is shown labeled “Reported by verified shoppers”; the shopper's name and email are never shown. Reports and removal requests store the message and, if given, a reply email.

Claim verification: when someone claims a listing we keep the claim details (name, role, the FFL number entered, login email, best time to call, any FFL copy uploaded to private storage only admins can open), the result of our phone check to the ATF-listed business number, and a log of every claim attempt, to prevent and investigate false claims.

Information collected automatically

Like nearly every website, our hosting provider automatically receives basic technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, the page you asked for and the time. Our sign-in provider keeps similar security records about sign-ins and account changes. This is used to deliver the site, keep it secure, prevent abuse and fix problems. We don't use it to build a profile of you.

To slow down spam and abuse, our sign-up, sign-in and save forms briefly use your IP address to limit how many requests come from one place. Those counters are kept only in temporary server memory and aren't saved to our database.

We use Vercel Web Analytics to see which pages people open, where visits come from, and rough details such as country, region and city, plus browser, operating system and device type. The page URL, route and filtered query parameters can be included with a page view. Vercel describes this as privacy-friendly: it stores anonymized data, it does not use cookies, and a visit is identified by a hash made from the request. That hash lasts one day and then resets, so visits aren't linked across days or other websites, and the session is discarded after 24 hours. Vercel says these records aren't tied to an individual, a customer or an IP address. We don't send account details with page views, and we don't use advertising trackers.

Cookies and browser storage

When you sign in, we set cookies that keep you signed in. They're strictly necessary for accounts to work and aren't used for advertising or tracking. Signing out removes them.

“Wrong photo?” reports are still saved only in your browser's local storage on your device and aren't sent to us. Clearing your browser's site data for firearmsalmanac.com removes them.

Vercel Web Analytics does not set a cookie for these page views. If we ever add affiliate links, or analytics that use cookies, we'll update this policy before that happens.

Emails

Right now we only send account emails: confirming your email address and resetting your password. Deal-alert emails and occasional site news aren't being sent yet. When they are, they'll follow the email preferences in your account, and each will include a way to stop them.

If you email us, we'll use your email address and message only to reply and to keep a record of the conversation.

Who stores and processes your information

We use a small number of service providers to run the site. They handle information on our behalf:

• Supabase: our database and sign-in system (accounts, favorites, alerts, dealer listings).
• Vercel: hosts the website, handles visits to it, and provides Web Analytics (the anonymized page-view counts described above).
• Resend: sends our account emails (confirmations and password resets) from the firearmsalmanac.com domain.

These providers may store and process information on servers in the United States or other countries. We don't sell or rent personal information, and we don't share it for targeted advertising. We may disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the site, our users or others from fraud or abuse.

How we protect it

Accounts use email confirmation, and the database only lets each signed-in person read and change their own account data. Only Firearms Almanac staff can review dealer listings. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a password you don't use anywhere else.

Deleting your account and your choices

• Delete it yourself: on your account page, “Delete my account” immediately and permanently deletes your login, profile, favorites, deal alerts and any dealer listing from our database.
• Backups: our database provider's free plan, which we use today, doesn't keep automatic daily backups, so deleted account data isn't kept in database backups. If we move to a plan with backups, deleted data could remain in those backups until they expire, and we'll update this page.
• What may remain: the providers' technical and security logs, which are kept for a limited time; emails you sent us; and copies of a public dealer listing that search engines or other sites may have saved.
• Change it: you can edit your display name, email preferences, favorites, alerts and (for dealers) your listing at any time.
• Ask us: depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete your personal information. Email us at the address below and we'll help. We may need to confirm the request comes from the account's email address.

Age

This site is intended for adults. You must be 18 or older to create an account, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, email us and we'll delete it.

Links to retailers and dealers

When you click through to a retailer or a dealer's website, you leave our site. Their own privacy policies apply there, and anything you buy or enter on their site is between you and them. In the future some retailer links may be affiliate links; see our Disclaimer.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle information, we'll update this page and the “Last updated” date above. If a change is significant, we'll also tell account holders by email or on the site before it takes effect.

Contact

Privacy questions or requests? Email firearmsalmanac@proton.me.