Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 2026-04-23

Here Comes The Guide ("we," "us," or "our") provides wedding venue listings and related services through our website (herecomestheguide.com) and our ChatGPT app (the "Services").

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and retain information, and the choices available to users. It also describes the data our ChatGPT app returns from its tool calls, as required by the platform on which the app is distributed.

Our Services are operated from the United States. By using the Services, you acknowledge that information you provide will be processed in the United States and in other jurisdictions where our service providers operate.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following categories.

A. Information You Provide

  • Search inputs (e.g., location, guest count, venue preferences)
  • Information submitted through inquiry forms (name, email, phone number, wedding date, guest count, date flexibility, preferred contact methods, and any message you choose to include)
  • Favorites or saved venues (stored as venue identifiers, not full venue records)
  • Communications you send to us or to venues

B. Information Automatically Collected by Our Website (herecomestheguide.com)

When you use our website, we may collect:

  • Device and browser information
  • IP address and general location
  • Usage data (pages viewed, interactions, timestamps)

This information is collected through cookies and analytics technologies (see Section 9). IP address is also retained by our website's form-handling system in connection with inquiry submissions for security and spam-prevention purposes.

The ChatGPT app itself does not directly collect device fingerprints, browser information, IP address, or analytics data. The app runs inside ChatGPT's interface and is subject to OpenAI's data handling for that platform.

C. Information Used by the ChatGPT App

When you use our ChatGPT app, we process:

  • Your prompts and search queries
  • Filters you explicitly select (e.g., region, guest capacity, price tier, venue type, features)
  • Interactions such as favoriting venues or sending inquiries
  • A platform-provided per-user identifier ("subject ID") issued by the ChatGPT platform. We use this identifier as the key under which your saved venues, recently entered contact details, and submission history are stored for a short period to enable continuity across the conversation. It is not tied to a durable account. It is not tied to your real-world identity or a persistent user account.
  • An "idempotency key" (a random identifier the app generates) stored alongside each inquiry submission to prevent duplicate outreach if a request is retried.

2. Data the ChatGPT App Returns from Tool Calls

Our ChatGPT app exposes a limited set of tools. The data returned by each tool is:

  • Venue search and venue details — venue name, city, state, region, guest capacity, price tier, short description, image URLs, and a link to the full listing on herecomestheguide.com. No user-related data is returned.
  • Saved venues ("shortlist") — the list of venue identifiers you have saved, creation and update timestamps, and (when applicable) the contact details you most recently entered so the inquiry form can be pre-filled. No data about other users is ever returned.
  • Inquiry submission — a submission identifier, a per-venue delivery status (success, failed, or already contacted), the submission timestamp, and, on retry, the idempotency key that was used. No authentication tokens, internal session identifiers, raw log lines, or internal Craft CMS identifiers beyond the submission identifier are returned.

We audit these responses to ensure they include only the data strictly necessary to fulfill the user's request, consistent with the platform's data-minimization requirements.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal information to:

  • Provide and improve venue search results
  • Personalize results based on filters you explicitly select
  • Enable you to save or favorite venues
  • Facilitate inquiries you choose to send to venues
  • Operate, maintain, secure, and debug our systems
  • Analyze usage of our website and improve the Services

We process information related to inquiries and communications — such as submission timestamps, selected venues, and related request details — to facilitate and support those interactions.

We process personal information where we have a valid legal basis to do so, including where processing is necessary to provide the Services you request, to comply with legal obligations, or for our legitimate business interests in improving and securing our Services.

We do not process personal information for purposes materially different from those described in this Privacy Policy without providing appropriate notice or obtaining consent where required.

4. ChatGPT App Data Use and Processing

We adhere to data-minimization principles and limit collection and processing to the information necessary to fulfill a specific user request.

We do not retain full ChatGPT conversation histories beyond what is necessary to fulfill a specific request and maintain system functionality.

What Data Is Used

  • User inputs (search queries and preferences)
  • Filters explicitly selected by the user (e.g., region, price tier, venue type)
  • Error events and high-level system metrics retained briefly for debugging and performance monitoring. Raw user inputs are not written to application logs.

How It Is Used

  • To retrieve and rank relevant venue listings
  • To return structured venue information (see Section 2)
  • To support features such as favoriting venues and sending inquiries

Saved or favorited venues and the most recently entered contact details are associated with the platform-provided subject identifier described in Section 1.C, are session-scoped rather than durable account data, and are retained for a limited period (up to approximately 7 days).

What the Tool Does Not Do

  • It does not access vendors, articles, or other planning resources outside of venue listings.
  • It does not share user data with venues unless you explicitly submit an inquiry.
  • It does not use your inputs or personal information to train or improve our machine-learning models.

5. Data Sharing and Sub-Processors

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. We disclose personal information only as described in this Privacy Policy and only to the extent necessary to operate the Services.

We share information with the following categories of recipients:

  • Venue partners. When you choose to send an inquiry, we share the information you provide (such as name, email, phone number, and event details), together with limited contextual details (the venue(s) you selected and submission timing), with the venue partner(s) you selected.
  • Internal Here Comes The Guide team members. Every inquiry submission is also delivered to an internal team address for support, quality-assurance, and operational purposes, in addition to the venue partner(s).
  • Service providers / sub-processors. The following third parties process data on our behalf:
    • OpenAI — operates the ChatGPT platform on which our app runs. Your conversational inputs are transmitted to and processed by OpenAI as part of delivering that platform. OpenAI's use of that data is governed by OpenAI's own terms and privacy policies. We do not control OpenAI’s independent processing of data within the ChatGPT platform.
    • Postmark — delivers transactional email (including inquiry notifications to venues and internal recipients).
    • Craft CMS / Solspace Freeform — our website's content-management system and form plugin, which stores inquiry submissions.
    • Hosting and infrastructure providers — including the hosts of our session cache (used for short-term ChatGPT-app state) and our venue search index.
    • Google Analytics 4 — provides analytics for our website only (see Section 9). Not used within the ChatGPT app.

We do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own independent marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain different categories of information for different periods depending on the nature of the data and the purpose for which it was collected.

A. Inquiry and Submission Data (Website)

Information submitted through inquiry forms is stored in our website CMS (Craft CMS / Freeform). These records are retained indefinitely as business records to support venue communications and legal obligations, until a deletion request is received. You may request deletion of this data as described in Section 7.

B. ChatGPT App Data

  • Search session data: up to approximately 1 hour
  • Saved venues, most recently entered contact details, and recent submission history: up to approximately 7 days
  • Application logs: limited to error events and system metrics and retained only briefly

We do not retain full ChatGPT conversation histories.

C. Analytics Data (Website)

Usage data collected through analytics tools such as Google Analytics is retained in accordance with those tools' configurations and is generally aggregated or de-identified over time.

7. User Controls and Choices

You may:

  • Choose what information to include in searches or inquiries
  • Avoid submitting sensitive personal information in ChatGPT prompts
  • Request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information
  • Stop using the ChatGPT app at any time
  • Manage cookies through your browser settings

Depending on your location, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) or the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the rights of access, correction, deletion, and objection to certain processing. We do not sell personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@herecomestheguide.com. We may take reasonable steps to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. We will respond to verified requests within 30 days, or longer only where permitted by applicable law.

Where applicable, we will delete or de-identify personal information upon verified request, unless retention is required for legitimate business or legal purposes.

8. AI and Automated Processing

Our ChatGPT app operates within the ChatGPT platform, where AI systems provided by OpenAI generate responses based on your inputs. Our app provides structured data and functionality that supports those responses.

Outputs are generated automatically by the ChatGPT platform and may not always be complete or accurate.

We do not use your inputs or personal information to train or improve our own machine-learning models.

Your inputs are transmitted to and processed by OpenAI to provide the ChatGPT service, in accordance with OpenAI’s policies.

You are discouraged from submitting sensitive personal information (such as health, financial, or government identification data) through the Services.

9. Cookies and Tracking (Website Only)

We use cookies and similar technologies on our website to:

  • Enable core functionality
  • Understand usage patterns
  • Improve performance and user experience

These technologies may assign a unique identifier to your device or session to help recognize repeat visits.

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to collect and analyze usage data on our website. For more information, please see our Cookie Notice page.

The ChatGPT app does not use cookies or tracking technologies directly.

You can control cookies through your browser settings.

10. Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information, including sanitization of user-provided text fields before they are transmitted or stored, and authenticated, encrypted channels for communication with our back-end services and sub-processors.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take appropriate measures to protect data.

11. Children's Privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

12. Third-Party Links and Services

The Services may contain links to third-party websites, including venue listings.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third parties. You should review the privacy policies of any third-party services they access.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

web@herecomestheguide.com

15. Summary of Data Practices

Below is a summary of the data we process, its source, purpose, who it is shared with, and our retention period.

Search Queries

  • Source: User (ChatGPT app)
  • Purpose: Venue recommendations
  • Shared With: OpenAI (platform processing)
  • Retention: Up to approximately 1 hour

Filters (User-Selected)

  • Source: User (ChatGPT app)
  • Purpose: Search ranking
  • Shared With: None
  • Retention: Up to approximately 1 hour

Saved Venues

  • Source: User (ChatGPT app)
  • Purpose: User experience
  • Shared With: None
  • Retention: Up to approximately 7 days

Platform-Provided Subject ID

  • Source: ChatGPT platform
  • Purpose: Key for short-term per-user app state
  • Shared With: None
  • Retention: Up to approximately 7 days

Idempotency Key

  • Source: Generated by the app
  • Purpose: Prevent duplicate inquiries on retry
  • Shared With: None
  • Retention: Up to approximately 7 days

Inquiry Details (Name, Email, Phone, Event Details, Message)

  • Source: User (website & ChatGPT app)
  • Purpose: Contact selected venues
  • Shared With: Venue partners + internal team + Postmark (email delivery) + Craft CMS (storage)
  • Retention: Retained as business records; deletion available on verified request

IP Address (Website Form Submissions)

  • Source: Automatic (website only)
  • Purpose: Security / spam prevention
  • Shared With: Craft CMS / Freeform
  • Retention: Per Craft CMS retention settings

Usage Data

  • Source: Automatic (website only)
  • Purpose: Analytics & performance
  • Shared With: Google Analytics 4
  • Retention: Per GA4 configuration