Privacy policy

Gazelle Search (“Gazelle”, “we”) provides product search for online stores. This policy explains what we collect when a merchant uses Gazelle, including through our WordPress plugin and Shopify app, and when a shopper searches a store that uses Gazelle. Questions: support@gazellesearch.com.

Roles

For shopper data, the merchant decides to use Gazelle on their store and is the controller; Gazelle processes that data on the merchant's behalf to provide search and search analytics. For merchant account data, Gazelle is the controller.

Data we collect from merchants

• Account details: name, email address, and a password stored only as a salted hash.
• Store details: store domain and, for the Shopify app, the access token Shopify issues at install.
• Catalog data: products, variants, prices, stock, images, categories and fields you choose to sync.
• Settings you create: synonyms, rules, banners and appearance options.

Data we collect from shoppers

• The search text, the number of results and how fast the search was answered.
• Which result was clicked and in which position, and add-to-cart and order events credited to search, with order value and currency.
• Device type (mobile or desktop) and a random session identifier.

We don't collect shoppers' names, email addresses, postal addresses or payment details, and we don't build profiles of shoppers across stores. Search text is stored as typed, so if a shopper types personal details into a search box, that text is stored with the store's search analytics.

Cookies and browser storage

• gz_sid: a random session identifier, kept in a first-party session cookie on the store's domain.
• gz_lq: the shopper's last search in this visit, kept in a first-party session cookie so an order can be credited to it.
• Recent searches and recently viewed products stay in the shopper's own browser storage and are never sent to us as a list.

Session cookies end when the browser session ends. We use no third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

Why we use it

• To answer searches and show results, filters and recommendations.
• To show the merchant search analytics, including revenue from search.
• To run, secure and support the service, and to bill paid plans.

We don't sell data, and we don't use one merchant's data to benefit another.

Retention and deletion

• Catalog data is replaced on every sync and deleted when a store is removed.
• Search events are kept for 13 months so year-over-year reports work, then deleted automatically.
• Shopify stores: when a store uninstalls the app, we stop processing its data, and when Shopify sends the shop redaction request (48 hours after uninstall) we delete the store's catalog, settings and analytics. We respond to Shopify's customer data and redaction requests; because we don't store shopper identities, there's usually no customer-specific data to return or delete.
• Merchants can ask us to delete their account and all store data at any time by email.

Where data is processed

Gazelle runs on servers we operate through our hosting provider. Data is sent over HTTPS. Access is limited to the people who need it to operate the service.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your data, or to object to its processing. Merchants can exercise these rights by emailing us. Shoppers should contact the store they shopped at; we'll help the store respond.

Changes

We'll update this page when our practices change, and change the date at the top.