Item-404

Privacy

Last updated: August 2026

What Item-404 records when you search

When you search for an item, Item-404 records the text you typed, the time of the search, which store you were searching, which sign or link you arrived from, whether a shelf location was found, and the two browser identifiers described below — so that repeat searches from the same device or visit are not counted twice. Nothing else about the search is recorded.

If you ask to be notified

When a store is not mapped yet, the result screen offers to email you once, if and when that store gets mapped. That form is the only place Item-404 asks for personal information, and it is entirely optional — searching never requires it.

If you use it, Item-404 stores the email address you enter, the store you asked about, the search term that was on screen when you asked, and the time. The address is used only to send that one notice. It is not shared with the store, not sold, and not used for any other mail. Your entry is kept until you ask for it to be removed — email stan@item-404.com and it will be deleted.

What Item-404 does not collect

There are no accounts and no logins. Apart from the optional email described above, Item-404 does not ask for your name, email, phone number, or payment information, and does not collect any of them. It does not track you across other websites and does not sell or share search records with advertisers.

Who sees the searches

Search records are shared with the store you were searching, so the store can see what shoppers are looking for and stock accordingly. Records are reported in aggregate — what was searched and how often, not who searched. Email addresses from the notify form are not part of what a store sees: a store may be told how many people opted in, never who they are.

Cookies and browser storage

Item-404 does not use cookies.

Item-404 stores a few small values in your browser instead. A visitor identifier is kept in Local Storage and remains until you clear your browser data. A session identifier, the sign you arrived from, and a marker noting that you already joined a store’s notify list are kept in Session Storage and are discarded when the browser session ends. None of these contain personal information — the notify marker records only that you signed up, not your address — and none are used for advertising or cross-site tracking.

Contact

Item-404 is built and operated by Stan Snigir in the Boston area. Questions about this policy: stan@item-404.com