Privacy
Privacy Policy
Effective [EFFECTIVE DATE]
The stories, photos and memories you share with us are personal, and we treat them that way. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it to create your letters, who helps us do that, and the choices you have.
Furst Class Mail is a DBA of Hire Proximity LLC, a New York limited liability company (“Furst Class Mail,” “we,” “us”). This policy covers our website and the letters, mail and emails we send. We currently serve customers in the United States only.
What we collect
When you place an order
- Your details: your name and email address, and the name you’d like on a gift.
- Payment: payments are handled by Stripe. We receive confirmation of your payment and limited details such as the last four digits of your card, but we never see or store your full card number.
- About the pet: their name, type, photos, personality, habits, favorite things and the stories and memories you share.
- About the readers: the names of the people the letters are written to, which may include children’s first names, and whether the letters are for kids, grown-ups or the whole family.
- Delivery: the recipient’s name and mailing address.
- Gifts: the sender’s name and any note to include in the first letter.
- Your choices: the pen pals and add-ons you select.
Replies sent by mail
Letters include return envelopes. When a family writes back, the reply (letters, drawings and anything else inside) comes to our mailing address, where it is opened and scanned so we can read it and answer it in the next letter. See “Mail handling” below.
From veterinary practices
If a practice requests clinic cards, we collect the practice name, contact name, phone number, email address, practice address and anything shared about the practice.
When you contact us
We keep the messages you send us and our replies.
Automatically, when you visit the site
We use Google Analytics to understand how people use our website. It uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information such as the pages you visit, how you arrived at the site, your browser and device type, and your approximate location. See “Cookies and analytics” below.
How we use your information
- To write, illustrate, print and mail your letters, and to answer the replies your family sends.
- To process payments, send order confirmations and keep you updated about your series.
- To respond to questions, requests and veterinary practice inquiries.
- To send buyers occasional emails about Furst Class Mail. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any of these emails. We do not send marketing emails to gift recipients unless they sign up themselves.
- To understand how our website is used and improve it.
- To prevent fraud, keep our services secure and meet our legal obligations.
How your letters are made
We use artificial intelligence tools to help create every letter: Claude, made by Anthropic, helps write the letters, and Gemini, made by Google, helps create the illustrations. To do this, we send these tools the details you share, such as your pet’s name, photos, stories and the readers’ names. We use these companies’ paid business services, under terms that do not allow them to use the content we send to train or improve their models. [Confirm current terms for both providers before launch.]
A real person reviews every letter and illustration before it is mailed.
Sharing examples, only with your permission
We may ask whether we can share a letter, illustration, photo or story as an example on our website or social media. We only do this with your clear permission, and you can withdraw it at any time by emailing us. Children’s replies and drawings are never shared publicly without permission from the parent or guardian who placed the order.
Who we share information with
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with companies that help us run Furst Class Mail, and only as needed for them to do their part:
- Payments: Stripe
- Website hosting: Vercel
- Order records and file storage: [Airtable and photo storage provider]
- Email: [Email service provider]
- Letter writing and illustration: Anthropic (Claude) and Google (Gemini)
- Website analytics: Google (Google Analytics)
- Mail handling: [Virtual mailbox provider], which receives and scans replies
- Printing and mailing: [Printing provider, if used]
If you send a series as a gift, the recipient will see your name and the note you include. We may also share information if required by law, to protect the rights and safety of our customers or others, or as part of a sale or transfer of the business, in which case this policy would continue to apply.
Children’s privacy
Our website is meant for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13. Children’s names and details are provided by the adult who places the order, and children take part only by reading the letters and, if they like, mailing a reply.
A real person reads every reply. If something a child writes suggests they may be struggling or need support, we may reach out privately to the parent or guardian who placed the order. A parent or guardian can ask us at any time to review or delete the information we hold about their child, including scanned replies.
Mail handling
Replies are delivered to a mailbox service that receives mail on our behalf, scans it and makes the scans available to us. Scans are stored securely and kept only as described in “How long we keep information.” [Describe what happens to the paper originals once the provider is chosen.]
Cookies and analytics
Google Analytics uses cookies to measure how people use our site. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or opt out of Google Analytics using Google’s opt-out browser add-on. Blocking cookies will not stop you from ordering. [Add cookie consent details if a banner is added.]
How long we keep information
- Pet photos, stories and scanned replies: deleted 12 months after the final letter in your series is mailed, unless you ask us to delete them sooner or order something that needs them, such as a one-year-later letter.
- Order, payment and tax records: kept as long as required for accounting and legal purposes.
- Marketing emails: we keep your email address on our list until you unsubscribe.
- Veterinary practice requests: kept while we work with the practice, and deleted on request.
How we protect it
We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect your information, including limiting access to the people and services that need it. No system is perfectly secure, but if we learn of a breach that affects your information, we will notify you as required by law.
Your choices
- Access and correction: ask what we hold about you or your family, and correct anything that’s wrong.
- Deletion: ask us to delete your information, including photos, stories and scanned replies. If your series is still in progress, deleting this information may mean we can’t finish it.
- Permission to share: withdraw permission for us to use any example at any time.
- Emails: unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time. You’ll still get emails about your order.
To make a request, email privacy@furstclassmail.com. We’ll respond within [30] days. Depending on where you live, you may have additional privacy rights under state law, and we will honor them as required.
Changes to this policy
If we make meaningful changes, we’ll update the date at the top of this page and, if the changes affect how we use information you’ve already shared, we’ll let you know by email.
Contact us
Furst Class Mail, a DBA of Hire Proximity LLC
Email: privacy@furstclassmail.com
Mail: [MAILING ADDRESS]