Last updated: 14 July 2026

BrowseStay ("we", "us") helps travellers discover vacation rentals they can book directly with the owner or property manager. This policy explains what we collect, what we don't, and why.

We've written this to describe what our software actually does, not to cover ourselves with vague language.

1. The short version

1. We do not sell your data. We do not run ads. No advertiser pays us to show you anything.
2. We do not track your browsing history. The BrowseStay extension reads the listing page you're on to check for a direct match, but does not send your browsing to us or anyone else.
3. You do not need an account to search. Accounts are only for property owners and managers.
4. We record which searches and properties are popular, using a pseudonymous ID — not your name, and not your raw IP address.

2. Who we are

BrowseStay is operated by Crafted With Code. Privacy contact: privacy@browsestay.com

BrowseStay is a discovery service, not a booking agent. When you click through to an owner's website, you leave BrowseStay and that company's own privacy policy applies to whatever happens there. We do not receive your booking details, payment information, or reservation data.

3. What we collect

3.1 If you just search (no account)

We do not collect your name, email, address, or payment details to search.

3.2 About that session ID — an honest explanation

We create a one-way SHA-256 hash from either a first-party cookie (bs_sess) or, if that isn't present, your IP address and browser user-agent, combined with a secret key. We store only the resulting hash — never the raw IP address.

The hash cannot practically be reversed to identify you, and we do not attempt to. However, we don't claim it is fully anonymous: because it is derived from your IP and browser, it is best described as pseudonymous data, and under laws such as the GDPR it may still count as personal data. We'd rather tell you that than overstate our position.

3.3 If you're a property owner or manager

To list properties we collect: your name, business email, password (stored hashed), company name, business website, logo, phone number, business address, country, areas served, and any property management system you use.

We also record which of your properties were viewed and clicked, so you can see your own analytics.

3.4 If you contact us

Our forms collect: name, company, email, website, number of properties, platform, and your message. We use this only to reply to you and assess a listing application.

3.5 Server logs

Like nearly all websites, our servers keep standard access logs (including IP address) for security, abuse prevention, and debugging. These are separate from the analytics described above and are kept for a limited period.

4. What we do NOT collect

1. Your browsing history across the web
2. Pages you visit outside Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com
3. Your Airbnb/Vrbo/Booking account, login, or messages
4. Your payment or card details — we never see them
5. Your booking, dates, or reservation with an owner
6. Location data from your device

5. The Chrome extension

The BrowseStay extension is deliberately narrow:

1. It runs only on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com listing pages. It cannot run on any other site — that's enforced by the extension manifest, not just our promise.
2. It reads the page you're on to identify which listing it is, so it can check for a verified direct-booking match.
3. It sends nothing about your browsing to us. The only network request it makes is to download our list of verified direct-booking properties from browsestay.com/api/listings. That request tells our server your IP (as any web request does) but contains no information about what you were viewing.
4. Matching happens on your device. The listing list is stored locally in your browser (chrome.storage.local) and refreshed roughly every 6 hours.
5. No account, no signup, no tracking ID.

If you uninstall the extension, its local data is removed by your browser.

6. Third parties who may see something

We keep these to a minimum, and we won't pretend there are none.

We do not use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, advertising networks, or third-party tracking scripts.

7. Why we're allowed to do this (legal bases)

If you're in the UK/EU, our lawful bases are:

1. Legitimate interests — for security, fraud prevention, and understanding which searches and listings are useful, using pseudonymous data.
2. Contract — to operate an owner account you asked us to create.
3. Consent — where required for any non-essential cookie (see our Cookie Policy).

8. How long we keep things

1. Analytics events: retained in aggregate; we do not need them tied to a session indefinitely.
2. Owner accounts: for as long as the account is active, then deleted or anonymised on request.
3. Contact enquiries: kept while we deal with them and for a reasonable period afterwards.
4. Server logs: a short rolling period.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

1. Ask what personal data we hold about you
2. Get a copy of it
3. Correct it
4. Have it deleted
5. Object to or restrict processing
6. Withdraw consent
7. Complain to your data protection regulator

Email info@craftedwithcode.com and we'll respond.

An honest limitation: for anonymous searching, we may genuinely be unable to find "your" data, because the session hash is one-way and not linked to you. Please don't read that as a refusal — it's a consequence of collecting as little as possible.

If you're in California, we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA/CPRA.

10. Security

Passwords are hashed. Traffic uses HTTPS. Access to owner data is restricted by role-based permissions, and administrative actions are logged. No system is perfectly secure, and we won't claim otherwise.

11. Children

BrowseStay is not intended for anyone under 16. We don't knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has given us data, email us and we'll remove it.

12. International transfers

Our servers and some service providers may be located outside your country. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for those transfers.

13. Changes

If we change this policy we'll update the date at the top. Material changes will be highlighted on the site.

14. Contact

info@craftedwithcode.com

BrowseStay is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, or any other booking platform. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.