Privacy Policy

What we collect, why we collect it, and your rights as a user.

Effective Date: June 23, 2026 · Last Updated: September 2, 2026 · Version: 1.0

1. Who We Are

TentPole LLC ("TentPole," "we") operates the TentPole platform at thetentpole.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

Account info: name, email, password, role (organizer/vendor), business name, phone
Profile info: avatar, bio, business address, social links
Event info (organizers): event name, dates, location, descriptions, photos, terms, booth fees
Application info (vendors): product category, booth needs, samples, references
Payment info: handled by Square — we receive token references, not full card numbers
Communications: messages with other users, support tickets

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

Usage data: pages viewed, actions taken, timestamps, referrer URLs
Device data: IP address, browser type, OS, screen size
Cookies and similar: session cookies, preference cookies — see our Cookie Policy
Error data: stack traces and console output sent to Sentry for debugging

2.3 Information from Third Parties

Payment processors (Square): transaction status, partial card info, dispute notifications
OAuth providers (Google, etc.): name, email when you sign in
Analytics: aggregated, anonymized data

3. How We Use Information

Purpose	Examples
Provide the Service	Process applications, send messages, accept payments, generate booth layouts
Account management	Authenticate, send password resets, notify of activity
Communicate	Transactional emails, security alerts, billing notices
Improve the Service	Debug errors, monitor performance, analyze feature use
Marketing	Send product updates or newsletters only where permitted and with any consent required by law; opt out anytime
AI features	Send relevant content to AI providers (Anthropic) to generate suggestions
Legal and compliance	Respond to subpoenas, prevent fraud, enforce our Terms

Accepting the Terms or creating an account allows TentPole to send messages needed to provide the Service, such as security, application, payment, ticket, team-invitation, policy, and support notices. It does not create blanket consent for promotional email or text messages. Marketing choices are requested separately, are not preselected, and may be withdrawn.

4. Legal Bases (GDPR / EEA Users)

If you are in the European Economic Area, UK, or Switzerland, we process your personal data based on:

Contract performance — to deliver the Service you signed up for
Legitimate interest — to improve security, prevent abuse, send service updates
Consent — for marketing emails, optional cookies, AI feature opt-ins
Legal obligation — to comply with tax, fraud, and law enforcement requirements

5. Sharing Information

We share personal information only as follows:

Between platform users. When you apply to an event, the organizer sees your application and contact info. When you organize an event, vendors who apply see your profile.
Service providers (sub-processors). Supabase (database, auth, file storage), Square (payments), Anthropic (AI), Resend (email), Sentry (error monitoring), Netlify (hosting), hCaptcha (security). Full list in our DPA.
Legal authorities. When required by law, court order, or to protect rights, safety, or property.
Business transfers. If TentPole is acquired or merges, personal data may transfer subject to this Policy.
With your consent. For any other sharing.

We do not sell personal information.

6. Data Retention

Active accounts: retained for the duration of the account.
Closed accounts: we delete or de-identify data when it is no longer reasonably needed, subject to legal, fraud-prevention, dispute, accounting, security, and backup requirements.
Transactions and consent records: retained as needed to document orders, payments, refunds, policy acceptance, disputes, and legal compliance.
Backups and logs: retained on rolling schedules appropriate to recovery, security, and incident investigation, then deleted or overwritten according to the applicable provider and system schedule.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to:

Access your personal data we hold
Correct inaccurate data
Delete your data ("right to be forgotten")
Export your data in a portable format
Restrict or object to certain processing
Withdraw consent at any time
Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

To exercise these rights, email privacy@thetentpole.com. We will respond within 30 days (45 days for complex requests).

8. California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

California residents have additional rights:

The right to know what personal information we collect
The right to delete personal information
The right to correct inaccurate information
The right to opt out of "sale" or "sharing" — we do not sell or share for cross-context behavioral advertising
The right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights

To submit a CCPA request, email privacy@thetentpole.com with subject "CCPA Request."

9. Security

We implement industry-standard safeguards including:

Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+)
Encryption at rest for database storage
Row-level security policies in our database
Multi-factor authentication for staff accessing production
Regular security reviews and dependency audits
Incident response procedures

No system is 100% secure. If you suspect a security issue, contact security@thetentpole.com.

10. International Data Transfers

TentPole stores data primarily in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the US, your information may be transferred to and processed in the US and other locations used by our providers. Where a restricted transfer requires an appropriate safeguard, we use an executed data-transfer mechanism appropriate to the transfer, such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or another legally recognized mechanism.

10A. Organization instructions and TentPole support access

For application, attendee, team, and messaging data an Organizer controls, TentPole generally processes that information to provide the Organizer's workspace and instructions. TentPole also processes limited account, payment, fraud, security, legal, support, and product-operations data for its own platform responsibilities. Authorized personnel may access an account only when reasonably necessary for support, safety, security, maintenance, fraud investigation, legal compliance, or an authorized account-assistance request. Privileged access is restricted and logged.

11. Children's Privacy

TentPole is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If we learn we have done so, we will delete it.

11A. Organizer Advertising Pixels

Event organizers on paid plans may connect their own Meta (Facebook) advertising pixel to their public pages on the Service (their event pages, ticket purchase pages, and vendor application pages). Where an organizer has done so and you have accepted analytics cookies in our consent banner, Meta receives page-view and purchase events (including order totals) associated with that organizer's ad account. We configure these pixels so that your name, email address, phone number, and payment details are never transmitted. Declining analytics cookies disables organizer pixels entirely. Meta's handling of this data is governed by Meta's Privacy Policy.

12. Third-Party Links

The Service may link to third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Review their policies before using.

13. Cookies

We use cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. You can control cookies via your browser settings.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy. Material changes will be notified by email or in-app notice at least 30 days before taking effect.

15. Contact

TentPole LLC
Privacy: privacy@thetentpole.com
General: support@thetentpole.com
Address: 5540 Centerview Dr, Ste 204 #795750, Raleigh, NC 27606