Last Updated: August 29, 2026 · Effective: August 29, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what information Bernikins ("Bernikins", "we", "us", or "our") collects, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to the Bernikins mobile app (iOS and Android), the website at www.bernikins.com, and the services they connect to (together, the "Service").
Bernikins is a gift list app. You create lists of things you would like to receive, share those lists with friends and family, and they can mark items as claimed so nobody buys the same gift twice.
| Category | What it includes | Why we collect it |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | First name, last name, email address, and a password. | To create your account, sign you in, let other users recognize you on a shared list, and send password reset emails. |
| List and item content | List names and descriptions, tags, item names, product links you paste, comments or notes you add, quantities, and price ranges. | This is the core content of the Service. We store it so we can show it back to you and to the people you share a list with. |
| Gift claims | Which items you have marked as purchased or claimed on someone else's list, the quantity, and when you did so. | So that other gift-givers can see an item is already taken, without spoiling the surprise for the list owner. |
| Sharing relationships | Which lists you have shared, who you have shared them with, share links you generate, and which shared lists you have archived. | To control who can view each list. |
| Preferences | Your app settings, such as light/dark theme, and whether you have enabled AI gift recommendations for a list. | To keep the app configured the way you left it. |
| Support and feedback | Messages you submit through the in-app feedback form, and any emails you send us. | To answer you and to fix problems with the Service. |
Please do not put sensitive personal information (for example government ID numbers, financial account numbers, or health information) into item names, comments, or list descriptions. The Service is not designed to hold it.
Bernikins does not contain advertising SDKs, analytics SDKs, or third-party tracking libraries. We do not collect precise or coarse location, your contacts, your photo library, your camera or microphone, your calendar, health or fitness data, biometric data, browsing history outside the Service, or mobile advertising identifiers (IDFA/AAID). We do not build advertising profiles, and we do not track you across other apps or websites. We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information as defined by applicable privacy laws.
If you are in a region where a legal basis is required (for example the EEA or UK), we rely on: performance of a contract with you (operating your account and lists), our legitimate interests (security, abuse prevention, and improving the Service), your consent (optional features such as AI recommendations), and compliance with legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it with advertisers. We do use a small number of service providers to operate specific features. Each is listed below along with exactly what is sent.
| Provider | Feature | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| Google (Gemini API) | AI gift recommendations | When you request suggestions for a list, the item names and the comments on that list, plus suggestions you have previously liked or disliked, are sent to Google's generative AI API to produce ideas. Your name, email address, and account identifier are not sent. This only happens when the feature is used. |
| ScraperAPI | Finding a product link for a suggested gift | The name of the suggested item is sent as a search query to retrieve a matching Amazon product URL. No account information is sent. |
| Mailgun | Transactional email | Your email address and the contents of the message are used to deliver password reset emails. |
| Our hosting and database provider | Running the Service | All data described in this policy is stored on servers we operate through our hosting provider. |
| Apple App Store / Google Play | App distribution | These platforms handle app download and installation under their own privacy policies. We do not receive your identity from them. |
These providers process data on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own advertising purposes. Their handling of data is also governed by their own privacy policies.
Bernikins participates in the Amazon Associates affiliate program. Some Amazon links shown or generated in the app include an affiliate tag, and we may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. When you follow such a link, Amazon may set its own cookies and collect information under Amazon's privacy notice. We receive only aggregate commission reporting from Amazon; we do not receive information identifying which individual user made a purchase, and we do not send Amazon your name or email address.
We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is required to comply with a law, regulation, subpoena, or lawful government request; to enforce our terms; or to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users, the public, or us. Consistent with our Safety Standards, we may also report content and associated account information to law enforcement or to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in cases involving the exploitation of minors.
If Bernikins is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy.
Bernikins is a sharing app, so some of your information is visible to other people by design:
You control sharing. You can stop sharing a list, and other users can remove or archive a list that was shared with them.
We keep your account information and content for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete your profile, lists, items, tags, sharing relationships, and feedback from our active databases immediately. Residual copies may persist in encrypted backups for a limited period and are deleted on our normal backup rotation, no later than three (3) months after account deletion.
One exception exists so that other people's lists are not broken: if you claimed a gift on someone else's list, a record that the item was claimed remains on that list after your account is deleted, and it is detached from your account. Server logs are retained for a short period for security and debugging.
You can delete your account and its associated data at any time:
Full instructions are on our Account & Data Deletion page. Account deletion cannot be undone.
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
You can exercise most of these rights directly in the app: edit your name and list content at any time, or use Settings to delete your account. For anything else, email support@bernikins.com. We will respond within 45 days, and may extend once by a further 45 days where permitted, telling you why. We may need to verify your identity, usually by confirming you control the email address on the account, before acting on a request.
California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), and we have not done so in the preceding twelve months. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that require an opt-out. The categories of personal information we collect are identifiers (name, email address) and internet or network activity limited to your interactions with the Service; these are described in Section 1, used as described in Section 2, and disclosed only to the service providers listed in Section 3.
EEA and UK residents: we act as the data controller for the information described here. Our servers and some of our service providers are located in the United States, so your information is transferred to and processed there. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
Do Not Track: we do not track users across third-party sites, so there is no cross-site tracking to disable. Because there is still no uniform standard for Do Not Track signals, we do not respond to them differently.
We use technical and organizational measures to protect your information. Passwords are stored as salted hashes (bcrypt) and never in readable form. Traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS, and access to production data is limited. Password reset links are single-use and expire after 30 minutes.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please use a strong, unique password and let us know at support@bernikins.com if you believe your account has been compromised.
Bernikins is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, contact support@bernikins.com and we will delete the account and its data promptly. Where local law sets a higher age of digital consent, that age applies instead.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date at the top shows when it last changed, and the updated version takes effect when posted. If we make material changes, we will provide a more prominent notice, such as an in-app notification. Please review this page periodically.
Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy or your data: