2026 Q4 (October–December) Tea Club open · Join before November 16

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 21, 2026

This policy describes how MyTeaPal LLC (“MyTeaPal”, “we”, “us”) collects and uses personal information for:

  • the MyTeaPal website (myteapal.com)
  • the MyTeaPal app for iPhone and Android (App Store and Google Play)
  • MyTeaPal Club, the tea subscription billed on the website and used in the app

MyTeaPal LLC is a North Carolina limited liability company. Questions and privacy requests: hello@myteapal.com.

The app is a tea companion: a private library of teas and teaware, brew logs and a brewing timer, statistics, and a community (friends, a feed, Daily Tea, and Club). You can browse some public community surfaces as a guest without an account. Saving a library, posting, and Club membership require an account. One Firebase account is shared across the app and the website.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not create an account.

Information we collect

Account

When you register we collect name, email address, password, handle (MyTeaPal ID), and optional profile photo and bio. We store preferences you set in the app (units, language, water type, review and infusion templates, streak counters). Email verification and password reset go through Firebase Auth.

Personal library (app)

Your teas, teaware, vendors, ingredients, saved brewing styles, collections, quantities, ratings, notes, steeping notes, photos, and related metadata live in your account. Brew logs (infusions, leaf weight, water, teaware used, tags, reviews) are private unless you choose to publish a post from a log. Club members can export tea, teaware, and log data as CSV from the app, and may use extra library features (collections, multiple photos, editing a log’s date).

Community

Posts, photos, comments, likes, friend requests, friends lists, and block lists. A post can be private (only you), TeaPals (friends), Daily Tea (a public community surface, including to guests and on the website), or linked to a Club tea (shown with that tea on the website). Author name and avatar on a post are a snapshot from when it was written. Other members can find your profile by searching your exact handle.

Club and checkout (website, used by the app)

Plan, shipping address, phone when a carrier requires it, and payment processed by Stripe. We do not store full card numbers. Club membership also unlocks some app features described above.

Marketing email

Emails captured on Club coupon forms, plus unsubscribe state. Creating an app account can also add you to our email list (Brevo); you can unsubscribe from those messages.

Device permissions (app, optional)

The app asks only when you use the feature:

  • Camera and photo library — pictures of tea or teaware, and post images.
  • Contacts — to invite people from your address book. Matching happens on your device. We do not upload your address book to our servers.
  • Notifications — an optional local daily brewing reminder. The reminder time and on/off state are stored on the device. We use your timezone to schedule it.
  • Microphone — the system prompt exists because the timer plays audio; we do not record your voice.

You can refuse any of these; the rest of the app still works.

Diagnostics and usage

App crashes and non-fatal errors go to Firebase Crashlytics (we attach your user id after you sign in so we can debug). Website errors go to Sentry. Both the app and website send Firebase Analytics / GA4 events (for example sign-in, and whether you allowed contacts during onboarding). The website also uses Vercel Analytics. We may see device and browser type, app version, OS, coarse location from IP, screens or pages viewed, and similar diagnostics. The brewing timer may keep the screen awake while it runs; that stays on the device.

Guest use still hits our servers for public Daily Tea and similar reads; we do not create a full account until you register.

How we use it

We use this information to run the app, website, and Club: keep your library and brew logs, operate the timer and statistics, fan posts out to friends’ feeds, show Daily Tea and Club-tea posts, process Club subscriptions and ship boxes, send transactional email (security, tracking), send marketing email you can unsubscribe from, moderate community surfaces, diagnose crashes, and understand how the product is used so we can improve it. Remote Config is used for things like Club whitelist membership and minimum app version.

Processors we use

We share personal information with companies that help us operate, only as needed for their role:

  • Google Firebase — authentication, Firestore, Storage, Cloud Functions, Analytics (GA4), Crashlytics, and Remote Config. Firebase privacy
  • Stripe — Club checkout, subscriptions, and the billing portal. Stripe privacy
  • Brevo — transactional and marketing email. Deleting your user document removes the linked Brevo contact. Brevo privacy
  • Vercel — website hosting and analytics. Vercel privacy
  • Sentry — website error monitoring. Sentry privacy
  • Tidio — optional on-site chat when that widget is enabled. Tidio privacy
  • Apple and Google — if you download the app from the App Store or Google Play, those stores process install and account data under their own policies.
  • Carriers and customs brokers — name, shipping address, phone, and parcel details so we can deliver Club boxes (including fulfillment from China and EU routing via the Netherlands).

We do not sell personal information.

Cookies and on-device storage

The website asks before anything beyond strictly necessary storage runs. Necessary covers what keeps you signed in (Firebase Auth) and remembers that you dismissed the coupon offer — this can't be turned off. Analytics (Firebase Analytics / GA4) and Chat & Support (Tidio, when enabled) only load after you opt in. Vercel Analytics is cookieless and runs regardless of your choice. Change your choice any time from the "Cookie preferences" link in the site footer. The app stores local preferences (for example reminder time, units) with the OS. The site does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Retention and deletion

We keep account and library data while your account is open, and billing and shipping records as long as tax, accounting, or dispute rules require. If you unsubscribe from marketing email, we keep the address on a suppression list so we do not email you again.

You can delete your account in the app settings. That removes Firebase Auth access to the account. Posts you already made public, shared with friends, or linked to Club teas may remain as they appeared (name and avatar frozen at the time). If you need a library export before deleting, use the app’s export while you still have Club access, or email us.

Your choices

In the app you can edit profile, change password, manage friends and blocks, set post visibility, turn the daily reminder off, and delete the account. On the website you can manage Club billing through Stripe’s portal. Unsubscribe from marketing email via the link in those messages. To request access or deletion of personal information, email hello@myteapal.com. We will respond to a verifiable request as required by applicable law, including for California residents.

International transfers

We are based in the United States. Your information is processed in the US and in other countries where our processors and fulfillment partners operate, including China (warehouse and dispatch) and the Netherlands (EU parcel routing). Those laws may differ from the laws where you live.

Changes

We will post updates on this page and change the “Last updated” date. If a change is material, we will also email the address on your account when we can.

Contact

MyTeaPal LLC, North Carolina, United States
hello@myteapal.com

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