Privacy Policy

Who we are

Retrievals is a free semantic search engine for the National Gallery of Art's open-access collection. This policy explains what information we collect when you use the site and what we do with it. If you have questions, email us at legal@retrievals.app.

The short version

• We have no accounts. We never ask for your name, email, or payment details.
• We use analytics to understand how the site is used and to catch errors.
• We do not sell your data and we do not run advertising.

What we collect

We collect only automatic analytics data while you use the site:

• pages you visit and how you got here (referrer)
• search queries you enter
• device and browser type, and operating system
• an IP address, used to estimate general location and to protect the service

This data is collected through PostHog, Google Analytics, Vercel Analytics, and Vercel Speed Insights.

Search queries

When you search, your query text is sent to our backend on Modal, where an AI model embeds it and matches it against the artwork index. We do not store your queries in any database. Modal keeps only transient operational logs. Query text also appears in analytics events we use to measure how search performs — always without an account or other identifying information, because we don't have any.

Cookies and tracking technologies

Like most sites, we use small files called cookies to count visits and understand usage. The providers below set cookies on your device:

• PostHog (product analytics) — sets a `ph_*` cookie
• Google Analytics — sets `_ga` cookies
• Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights — measure page performance

We do not use advertising cookies, marketing pixels, or cross-site tracking. You can opt out in your browser settings, install Google's Analytics opt-out extension, or email us at legal@retrievals.appand we'll help.

Sharing with third parties

We share data only with the services that run the site, each under its own privacy policy:

• Vercel — hosting, analytics, speed insights
• Google — Google Analytics usage data
• PostHog — product analytics and error tracking
• Modal — serverless compute that embeds queries and searches the index
• Cloudflare — object storage that serves artwork thumbnails

We do not sell your information.

Data retention

We retain analytics data according to each provider's default retention settings. Because we have no accounts, there is no personal account data to keep. Search queries are not stored by us.

International transfers

The site is hosted on Vercel's infrastructure, and our analytics providers process data in the United States and other regions. If you are in the European Union, the UK, or elsewhere outside the US, your data may be transferred to and processed in the US.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under the GDPR, the CCPA/CPRA, or similar laws, including the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or export your data, and to object to its use. To exercise any of these, email legal@retrievals.app. We respond within the time the law requires.

Children

Retrievals is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes

We may update this policy. When we do, we'll revise the “Last updated” date above. Significant changes will be highlighted on the page.

Contact

Questions or requests: legal@retrievals.app.