Privacy Policy — Cartharsis

The short version: Cartharsis is a simulated shopping experience for fun and stress relief. Nothing you see is for sale, nothing ships, no card is ever charged, and we never collect your payment details. We do log anonymous, non-identifying interaction data to understand how people use the site.

1. Who we are

Cartharsis ("we," "us") operates the website at cartharsis.app, a dopamine-only marketplace where you can browse real product listings and "shop" without spending any money. Contact: hello@cartharsis.app.

2. What we collect

Anonymous interaction events: which items you view, add to a cart, "check out," search for, or save, along with the listed price and a randomly generated session identifier stored in your browser. This ID is not linked to your real identity.
Optional simulated-checkout fields: if you type into the pretend checkout, we may log non-identifying fields such as a city name for the delivery animation. Do not enter real personal information — you don't need to.
Local storage: your cart and preferences are stored in your own browser (localStorage), not on our servers.

3. What we DO NOT collect

No accounts, names, emails, or passwords are required or requested.
No payment information. The checkout is fake; any card fields are never transmitted, processed, or stored. No transaction ever occurs.
No precise location, no contacts, no device fingerprinting for advertising.

4. How we use it

We use anonymous interaction data to operate and improve the experience and to understand aggregate shopping-interest trends (for example, which product categories people enjoy browsing).

5. Sharing and sale of de-identified data

We may share, license, or sell aggregated and de-identified interaction data (such as anonymized category and product-interest trends) to third parties for research or analytics. Because this data is not tied to your identity, it cannot reasonably be used to identify you. We do not sell data that identifies you, because we do not collect data that identifies you.

6. Your California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents may request to know, delete, or opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. To exercise any right, or to opt out of the sale/sharing of any information associated with your session, email hello@cartharsis.app with your request. You may also clear your session at any time by clearing your browser's storage for this site. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

7. Cookies, storage & analytics

We use browser localStorage for your cart, accessibility preferences, and an anonymous session ID. We use a third-party product-analytics provider (PostHog) to understand aggregate usage, which may set first-party cookies and record anonymous interaction events (pages viewed, buttons clicked). We do not use third-party advertising cookies and do not run ad networks.

8. Children

Cartharsis is intended for users 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

9. Changes

We may update this policy; the "last updated" date will change accordingly.

Cartharsis is an entertainment/simulation service. See our Terms of Use.