The short version: We don't collect your name, email, or any personally identifiable information unless you contact us directly. We don't store your tool responses. We don't sell your data to anyone. Ever.
Who we are
SideHustleGuard (sidehustleguard.com) is a small independent site that provides free tax guides and a $5 tax compliance checker for US side hustlers — Etsy sellers, gig workers, freelancers, and anyone earning income outside a traditional W-2 job.
Questions about this policy? Email us at richard@sidehustleguard.com.
What information we collect
The free tax checker tool (/tool.html)
The free checker asks you a short series of questions — your hustle type, state, and income range — and generates a personalized tax overview based on your answers. None of this is stored. Your responses exist only in your browser session to generate the report. Once you close the page, they're gone. We don't log them, we don't save them to a database, and we don't share them with anyone.
The $5 paid report
If you purchase the full $5 compliance report, payment is handled entirely by Stripe. We never see or store your card number, CVC, or billing details — those go directly to Stripe's servers. What Stripe may share with us is limited to transaction confirmation (that a payment succeeded) and your email address if you provide one to receive the report. We don't use that email for marketing without your explicit consent.
Stripe's privacy practices are governed by Stripe's own Privacy Policy.
Analytics
We use basic analytics to understand which guides are helpful and how visitors find the site. This is page-view-level data only — we track that a page was visited, not who visited it. No user profiles are built, no cross-site tracking occurs, and no individual visitor is identified or followed.
Cookies
We use minimal session cookies — the kind that disappear when you close your browser — to make the tool work correctly across steps. We do not use advertising cookies, third-party behavioral tracking cookies, or persistent tracking pixels. You won't find Facebook Pixel, Google Ads remarketing tags, or anything similar on this site.
What we do not collect
- Your name, address, or any government-issued ID
- Your Social Security number or tax ID
- Your actual income figures or tax return data
- Your browsing history on other sites
- Device fingerprinting or persistent identifiers
We will never sell your data. We don't have a buyer for it, we don't want one, and it's not part of our business model. The site makes money through a $5 tool and affiliate commissions — not data brokerage.
Affiliate links and disclosures
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. We only link to services we'd genuinely recommend to a side hustler.
Our current and potential affiliate relationships include:
- Northwest Registered Agent — We earn a commission if you form an LLC through our link. This relationship is active. Every Northwest link on the site includes a disclosure.
- TurboTax — We may earn a commission if approved for their affiliate program. Any TurboTax links will be clearly labeled as affiliate links.
- FreeTaxUSA — Same as above: pending approval, any links will be disclosed.
Affiliate relationships do not influence the editorial content of our tax guides. We write about what side hustlers actually need to know, not what earns us the highest commission.
How we protect your information
The site is served over HTTPS. We don't store personal data on our servers, which means there's very little to protect in the first place. Payment data never touches our infrastructure — it goes straight to Stripe's PCI-compliant systems.
Third-party services
Beyond Stripe (payments) and our analytics provider (page views only), we don't share data with third parties. We don't use data management platforms, advertising networks, or email list services that process personal information.
Children's privacy
SideHustleGuard is intended for adults with self-employment income. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has submitted information through this site, contact us at richard@sidehustleguard.com and we'll remove it promptly.
California residents — CCPA notice
If you're a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives you certain rights regarding your personal information.
The simple version: We don't sell personal information — to anyone, at any price, under any definition of "sell" the CCPA covers. Because we collect so little personal data to begin with, most CCPA rights (right to know, right to delete, right to opt out of sale) are satisfied by default.
If you have a specific CCPA request or question, email richard@sidehustleguard.com and we'll respond within 45 days.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this privacy policy, we'll update the effective date at the top of this page. We don't plan to introduce advertising networks or data-sharing arrangements, but if anything changes you'll be able to see it here.
Contact us
For any privacy questions, data requests, or concerns, reach us at:
Email: richard@sidehustleguard.com
This privacy policy was last updated in April 2026. It applies to all pages on sidehustleguard.com.