Privacy policy

Last updated: October 12, 2026

Gleam is a private, invitation-only web app run by Tom Kingston. Only people he invites can use it. This page explains what Gleam collects, why, who handles it, and how long we keep it.

What Gleam collects

• About the people who use Gleam: name, email address, and mobile phone number (only when that person adds it for text alerts), plus each person's alert settings.
• Text alert consent: whether a person signed up for text alerts, when they signed up, and when they opted out.
• Activity in the app: what each person does in Gleam (for example, claiming a find or changing a setting) and when, so the people who use Gleam can see who changed what.
• Marketplace listing data: public details of listings that match the searches set up in Gleam, such as the title, description, price, photos, link, and the seller's public user name. This comes from marketplaces such as Mercari and eBay.
• A sign-in cookie that keeps a person signed in. Gleam uses no advertising or tracking cookies.

Why we collect it

Gleam uses this information for one purpose: to find online marketplace listings that may be good buys and send alerts (phone notifications, emails and, if turned on, texts) to the people who asked for them. We do not sell any of it, and we do not use it for advertising.

Mobile numbers and text messages

Mobile phone numbers and text-message opt-in data and consent are never shared with or sold to third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text-message opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third party at all.

A mobile number is used only to send that person the Gleam alerts they signed up for. Our text-messaging provider (Twilio) and the phone carriers handle the number only to deliver those texts.

Who else handles the data

Gleam runs on service providers that host the app and its database (Flowclick) and deliver its texts (Twilio) and emails. They handle the data only to run Gleam for us. We may also disclose information when the law requires it.

How long we keep it

• Marketplace listings are deleted 30 days after Gleam finds them, unless someone saved the listing (for example, claimed it or bought it).
• When a marketplace tells us that a seller closed their account (eBay sends these notices), Gleam deletes that seller's data.
• A person's details are kept while they use Gleam and deleted when they ask us to or stop using it.

Your choices

• Stop text alerts at any time by replying STOP to any Gleam text, or turn them off on Gleam's Alert settings page.
• Choose which alerts you get on the Alert settings page.
• To see, correct or delete your information, write to hello@mail.gleam.cx.

Contact

Tom Kingston
Email: hello@mail.gleam.cx

See also: Gleam alerts: text message terms and how to sign up for text alerts.