Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 6, 2026

GutPattern (“GutPattern,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is operated by GutPattern. Your trust is the whole point of GutPattern, so this policy explains — plainly and specifically — what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have.

GutPattern collects health-related information, which many laws treat as sensitive. We handle it accordingly, and we describe our practices honestly here. GutPattern is not a HIPAA-covered entity; the information you share is governed by this policy, not HIPAA.

Information we collect

• Account information — such as your email address, username, and password credentials, and any profile details you add (for example, an avatar or optional demographic fields like sex or age).
• Health stories and contributions — the symptoms, conditions, treatments, outcomes, timelines, and narratives you choose to share, along with any comments, replies, or updates you post. This is sensitive health information.
• Consent and opt-in records — your choices about anonymous GutPattern insights, de-identified data licensing, and practitioner matching, and when you made them.
• Communications — messages you send us (for example, through Contact) and your email/notification preferences.
• Usage and device data — basic, privacy-respecting analytics such as pages visited and general activity, and technical data like browser type and approximate region, used to operate and improve the Service.
• Cookies and similar technologies — see Cookies & analytics below.

How we use your information

• To run the Service — create and secure your account, publish and display your stories, and show you relevant patterns and stories.
• To enable comments, replies, notifications, and updates you’ve asked for (such as a weekly digest).
• To process the story text you submit (including automated extraction that structures symptoms, treatments, and outcomes from your writing).
• To improve anonymous GutPattern insights — only from activity and contributions you’ve opted in to use for that purpose.
• To communicate with you about your account, respond to requests, and provide support.
• To maintain security, prevent abuse, and comply with legal obligations.

Where the law requires a legal basis (for example, in the EU/UK), we rely on your consent for anonymous insights, de-identified data licensing, practitioner matching, and marketing communications; on contract to provide the Service you signed up for; and on our legitimate interests to secure and improve the Service.

Service providers and processors

We use a small number of trusted vendors to run GutPattern. They process data only on our instructions and under contract. These include providers for:

• Hosting and content delivery (our site infrastructure).
• Database and authentication (storing your account and stories, and signing you in).
• Email delivery (login codes, notifications, and digests).
• Automated text processing (structuring the stories you submit).
• Analytics (privacy-respecting usage measurement).

We don’t sell your personal information to these providers; they act on our behalf. A current list of processor categories is maintained here, and we’ll update it as our stack changes.

Selling and licensing data

Part of how GutPattern sustains itself is by licensing de-identified data from the community — always within the limits of what you’ve opted in to:

• De-identified licensed datasets. Where you’ve opted in, we may license or sell de-identified data and patterns (symptoms, treatments, outcomes, story details, comments, updates, and general usage signals) to outside organizations such as researchers, clinicians, health companies, biotech organizations, and other commercial partners. This data is stripped of information that identifies you personally.
• Your individual story. Stories you publish and opt to share may be included in these de-identified datasets and displayed on the site. You keep ownership of your story (see our Terms).
• We do not sell your personal, identifiable information for advertising — the only situation where identifiable information leaves GutPattern is the practitioner matching you specifically request.

Practitioner matching

If you opt in to practitioner matching, we may share the relevant details you’ve provided with a matched practitioner or provider so they can follow up with you. This is the one situation where information that can identify you leaves GutPattern, and it only happens when you request or enable it. You can turn it off at any time in your account. GutPattern does not endorse or supervise practitioners (see our Terms).

Consumer health data (state privacy laws)

Some U.S. states — including Nevada (SB 370), Washington (My Health My Data Act), and Connecticut — give specific rights over consumer health data and may require your affirmative consent before we collect, share, or sell it. If you live in one of these states, the consent choices and rights described in this policy apply to your health data, and you may exercise them through Contact or your account settings. For more detail, see our dedicated Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.

Your choices, controls, and rights

• Opt-ins. Anonymous GutPattern insights, de-identified data licensing, and practitioner matching are opt-in. You set them when you join or use the relevant feature and can change them anytime in your account. If turning one off affects features, we’ll tell you before you confirm.
• Access and portability. You can request a copy of your data.
• Deletion. You can delete your account and stories from your account settings or by contacting us. When you delete a story, it is removed from public display; we will also remove it from future licensed datasets, though copies already licensed in a de-identified form may not be retrievable.
• Correction. You can edit or ask us to correct your information.
• Opt-out of sale/sharing and withdraw consent. You can withdraw consent for anonymous insights, licensing, or practitioner matching at any time.

Depending on where you live (for example, California, the EU/UK, or a state with consumer-health-data laws), you may have additional rights. To exercise any right, use Contact; we’ll verify your request and respond within the timeframe the law requires. You won’t be discriminated against for exercising your rights.

Data retention

We keep your account and contributions for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. After you delete your account, we remove or de-identify your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we must retain certain records to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. De-identified licensed data may be retained.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards — including access controls and encryption in transit — to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, and we can’t guarantee absolute security.

Data breach notification

If we discover a breach affecting your personal or health information, we will notify affected users and, where required, the relevant authorities (and, where applicable under the FTC Health Breach Notification Rule or state law, other required parties) without undue delay and consistent with applicable law.

Cookies & analytics

We use minimal cookies and privacy-respecting analytics to keep the site working, keep you signed in, and understand what’s useful. We don’t use advertising trackers. You can control cookies through your browser settings; some features may not work without essential cookies.

Notifications and email

We send transactional messages (like login codes and account notices) and, if you opt in, updates such as a weekly digest. You can manage or unsubscribe from non-essential emails in your account or via the unsubscribe link.

Children

GutPattern is intended for adults (18+). We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

International users

GutPattern is operated from the United States. If you use it from another country, you understand your information will be processed in the U.S., where privacy laws may differ from your own.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as GutPattern grows. When we make material changes, we’ll update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify account holders.

Contact

Questions about your data, or want to exercise a right? Reach us through the Contact page.