Privacy
A clear view of how the service works.
This policy describes the free reading and the sandbox-only checkout currently implemented. Live payment processing, accounts, and advertising are not enabled.
Birth information in this preview
The Birth Chart reading uses the date, optional birth time, astrology system, and birthplace you provide. These details are sent to NextStepAstro's server for deterministic chart and reading calculations. The application has no customer account or birth-profile database. Free chart results and submitted birth details are kept in this tab’s session storage for up to 24 hours so Back navigation can restore them after checkout. Start a new reading or close the tab to clear that tab’s saved chart. This presentation cache never grants paid access.
If you start checkout for the full Next Step Reading, the server keeps only the birth date, time accuracy/time, and birthplace coordinates needed to reproduce that reading. It encrypts those details inside a Secure (on HTTPS), HttpOnly, SameSite=Lax browser cookie with a random purchase reference, Checkout Session ID, and calculation time. Pending checkout state expires after 24 hours; verified paid-reading access expires after 30 days. The server does not add the birth details to Stripe metadata or store them in an application database. Clearing the cookie before downloading the report removes the browser's access to it.
Stripe checkout
The Next Step Reading checkout uses Stripe test mode in local and non-production preview environments, and live mode only in production. It accepts card payments for a one-time €5 product. Test transactions do not collect a live payment. Stripe processes payment details on its hosted checkout under Stripe's privacy terms; NextStepAstro receives and verifies the Checkout Session status and product details. No payment email is sent by NextStepAstro. A verified report and its PDF are available only to the same browser holding the encrypted purchase cookie, for up to 30 days. The report and PDF are generated on request and are not saved in an application database.
Birthplace searches
Birthplace suggestions use GeoNames data hosted as static files on this website. Matching happens in your browser. We do not send your typed search to an external geocoding service, log search text in the application, or save search terms. Your browser requests the relevant data files from our hosting provider; those requests can reveal a place-name prefix through their filenames. Manual entry remains available.
Google Places is disabled in production. An explicitly configured local development environment can use Google Places, which sends search text and selected-place requests to Google under its policies. Production use would require separate authorization and a privacy-policy review.
Technical information and hosting
Like most websites, hosting and network infrastructure may process standard request information needed to deliver and secure the site, such as browser, device, network, and request-log information. NextStepAstro is hosted through Netlify; its handling of infrastructure information is governed by its own service and privacy terms.
The application does not use local storage for birth details. The encrypted purchase cookie described above is required only to complete checkout and view a verified purchased report. This statement does not describe the independent practices of a browser or hosting provider.
Visitor insights
NextStepAstro uses GoatCounter to count website visits and prepare aggregate country statistics for the visitors-around-the-world section on the About page. The section shows real aggregate visits from the previous 30 days when the service is configured. It remains in a truthful empty state when statistics are unavailable; invented visitor counts or countries are never displayed.
GoatCounter does not use cookies, local storage, or persistent visitor identifiers for this integration. It uses an incoming IP address and browser information in memory for up to eight hours to distinguish sessions, then discards that identifier rather than storing it on disk. Country is derived from the IP address and retained as aggregate statistics. NextStepAstro requests aggregate country counts through a server-only credential and does not expose that credential to browsers. Individual pageview collection is kept disabled in the GoatCounter account.
Future changes
Live payment processing, customer accounts, email delivery, persistent server-side profiles, or materially changed analytics require a separate review and an updated policy before activation. The checkout currently accepts test-mode transactions only.
Questions about privacy? Contact nextstepastro@outlook.com.