1. Information we collect
Account details (name, email, phone), identity verification data, booking and payment information, messages, and usage data needed to run the marketplace.
2. How we use it
To verify identity, process bookings and payouts, match travelers with hosts, provide support, prevent fraud, and improve the service.
3. Sharing
We share limited information between matched hosts and travelers to complete a booking. We never sell your personal data, and your ID documents are never shared with other members.
4. Your rights
You can access, correct, export, or delete your data, and object to certain processing. Contact us to exercise these rights.
5. Identity verification documents
Why we collect them: Travel Closet is a marketplace where strangers hand each other physical items. We verify government ID once per member — to confirm you are who you say you are, meet the 18+ requirement, and to deter fraud and account abuse. That trust is what makes hosting and renting safe.
How they're protected: ID images are encrypted at rest (AES-256), are never shared with other members or third parties, and can be viewed only by authorised administrators through an access-controlled route. Every access to an ID document is logged — who viewed it and when — as is every deletion.
How long we keep them: only through the verification and dispute window. ID images are deleted automatically 30 days after your verification is decided (approved or rejected); superseded submissions are deleted immediately when you resubmit. We do not permanently store government-ID images.
What remains afterwards: only the verification outcome, its date, and an internal record reference — enough to show you were verified without keeping the document itself. You can also ask us to delete your ID images earlier, any time after your verification is decided, via the contact page.
6. How long we keep your other data
- Account details — kept while your account is active, and deleted within 30 days of a verified account-deletion request (except data we must keep, below).
- Booking, payment, and payout records — kept for up to 7 years after the transaction, as required for tax, accounting, and dispute-resolution purposes, even if you delete your account.
- Messages between members — kept for the life of the accounts involved so both sides retain their conversation history, then deleted with the account.
- Analytics data — collected only with your consent; retention is governed by the Cookie Policy (up to 2 years).
7. Service providers we share data with
We use a small number of processors to run the service, each receiving only what their function requires:
- Stripe — payment processing and host payouts. Your card details go directly to Stripe; we never see or store them.
- Resend — transactional email delivery (booking confirmations, verification links).
- Render — cloud hosting where the service and its database run.
- Google Analytics & Microsoft Clarity — anonymous usage analytics, loaded only if you consent via the cookie banner.
Some providers process data outside your home country; where they do, transfers rely on their standard contractual safeguards.
8. Data security
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest, with access limited to the purposes above.
9. Cookies
We use one essential sign-in cookie, plus optional analytics cookies that load only with your consent. See the Cookie Policy for details and controls.
10. Contact
Questions about privacy, or want to exercise your data rights? Reach us via the contact page.
Travel Closet operates under the laws of the State of Oklahoma, United States. This policy describes our actual data practices; it is not a representation of compliance with any specific regulation and is pending review by legal counsel.