Privacy

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Hometown Detective is run by Michael Griscom in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Write to help@hometowndetective.com about anything on this page, including any request to see or delete what we hold about you.

If you buy a case

Purchases are handled by Lemon Squeezy, who are the merchant of record: they take the payment and collect the billing and tax details needed to do it. We never see your card details. We receive your email address and your order so we can deliver the case and answer questions about it.

We do not add buyers to the mailing list, and we do not use purchase emails for marketing.

If you open a case you have bought

Cases unlock with a license key rather than an account, so there is no name, password or profile held for you. Redeeming a key checks it with Lemon Squeezy and sets a cookie in your browser so you are not asked for the key on every page. That cookie holds a signed marker and an expiry date, not your email address, and it is not used to track you.

To prevent abuse, each redemption creates a pseudonymous, one-way hash derived from your IP address and the country-level location associated with it. We use it only to apply a limit on the number of distinct networks that can redeem a key during a rolling 30-day period. We do not store the raw IP address, and we delete these records 30 days after the last unlock.

If you subscribe to the mailing list

We store the email address you give us, using EmailOctopus, and use it only to tell you when a new case launches. Every email has an unsubscribe link.

If you write to us

We retain email messages for a period of 30 days.

When you visit the site

Cloudflare, who host the site, record standard technical information such as IP address and browser type in order to serve it and protect it from abuse. We do not use analytics or advertising cookies. We use one strictly necessary access cookie after a valid license key is redeemed. It remembers that the browser has access to the case, contains a signed access marker and expiry date, and expires after 30 days. It is not used for advertising, analytics, or cross-site tracking.

Where UK or EU data-protection law applies, we process personal information:

  • To deliver what you bought — necessary to perform our contract with you.
  • To send the mailing list — your consent, given when you subscribed, which you can withdraw at any time by unsubscribing.
  • To reply to you — our legitimate interest in answering people who write to us.
  • To keep keys from being shared and the site from being abused — our legitimate interest in running it.
  • To meet tax, accounting, or other legal obligations — necessary to comply with those obligations.

International transfers

Hometown Detective is operated from the United States. If you access our site or purchase a case from outside the US, please note that your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate.

Who else handles it

We do not sell personal information. We disclose it only to the service providers listed above, to deliver and secure the service, comply with law, or protect rights and safety.

How long we keep it

  • Purchase and order records we hold — 3 years, unless a longer period is required for tax, accounting, dispute-resolution, or legal purposes.
  • The mailing list — until you unsubscribe.
  • Messages you send us — 30 days.
  • License redemption limit records — 30 days from the last unlock.
  • The access cookie — 30 days.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain processing of your personal information. You may also have a right to data portability in certain circumstances. To make a request, email help@hometowndetective.com. We may ask for information reasonably necessary to verify that you are the person making the request, and where applicable we aim to respond within one month.

If you are in the UK, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you are in the EEA, you may complain to your local data-protection authority.

Children

Our cases deal with adult subject matter and are not meant for children. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16.