SpinStacks operates lean and honest. Adults only, no minors. We don't sell your data because we don't collect much. If we display public content (Hacker News story titles, GitHub repo names) and you object, request takedown via the DMCA section below. State-by-state US privacy rights and EU/UK GDPR rights apply where you live.
SpinStacks displays public-source citations (Hacker News story titles + URLs, GitHub repository names + star counts) as part of the "Real-World Signals" transparency feature on each Stack. These are facts about public discussion, displayed under fair use for commentary and reference.
The Site is private and password-gated; it is not a public-facing service. If you are a copyright holder and believe content displayed on the Site infringes your rights, raise the issue through the same private channel by which the password was distributed (i.e., contact the friend or person who shared the password with you, who can relay to the operator). A complete written notice should include:
We will review and respond within 10 business days. Repeat infringers will be permanently blocked.
Counter-notice: if you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice to the same address with equivalent detail.
Stacks reference real third-party tools and services by name (including but not limited to Stripe, Supabase, PocketBase, FastAPI, Hono, NestJS, Twenty CRM, EspoCRM, Resend, Mautic, n8n, Activepieces, Plausible, PostHog, Sentry, Coolify, Dokploy, BookStack, Cal.com, LiteLLM, Lemon Squeezy, Listmonk). All such names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
References are made under nominative fair use for descriptive, factual purposes only — to identify the actual open-source tools that compose each suggested stack. SpinStacks is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the named entities. No claim of ownership or endorsement is made or implied.
The "Real-World Signals" section of each Stack displays factual public data collected from:
| Source | What we display | Terms followed |
|---|---|---|
| Hacker News (Algolia) | Story count, total points, top story title + URL | HN Algolia Search API; explicitly free for public consumption |
| GitHub | Repository name, stars, fork count, last-push date | GitHub REST API public unauthenticated access; well within rate limits |
| Google Trends | Search-interest index (0-100), trend direction | Public web data; values shown are the platform's own normalized index |
All data displayed on the Site is read-only, public, factual, and used for descriptive commentary purposes consistent with fair use. No private or authenticated data is collected. Reddit data is intentionally excluded following the operator's 2026 review of Reddit Inc. v. Perplexity AI Inc. et al. and related actions concerning unauthenticated scraping; the Site does not display Reddit-sourced content.
SpinStacks does not use cookies for tracking, advertising, or cross-site profiling. We use the browser's localStorage mechanism (a separate technology from cookies) for two strictly functional purposes:
spinstacks_age18_v1) — so you don't see the 18+ modal on every visitspinstacks_v1) — kept on your device only, never sent to a serverBoth are first-party storage values, not shared with any third party. Clearing your browser data resets them. Per the EU ePrivacy Directive (the "cookie law"), purely-functional first-party storage like the above is generally exempt from the consent requirement, but we disclose its use here for transparency.
SpinStacks aims to be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. We design with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as a target standard.
Current accessibility features include:
Equally effective alternatives. Where any visual element of the Site (such as the chained "circuit" layout) is not yet fully optimized for assistive technology, the underlying textual content of every Stack — pain point, plan, and tool list — is available in plain HTML and is fully readable by any screen reader. The Site as a whole therefore provides equally effective access to the substantive content for users of assistive technology.
Continuous improvement. The operator periodically reviews the Site with automated accessibility tooling (such as axe-core or equivalent) and addresses identified issues. The operator welcomes specific accessibility feedback and will address reasonable concerns within 10 business days.
If you encounter an accessibility barrier, raise it through the same private channel by which the password was distributed. The operator will address valid issues on a best-effort basis.
Various US state consumer-privacy laws (CCPA/CPRA in California; VCDPA in Virginia; CPA in Colorado; CTDPA in Connecticut; UCPA in Utah; TDPSA in Texas; and analogous laws in Oregon, Montana, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana, New Jersey, Delaware, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Maryland, and Rhode Island) and international laws (GDPR for EEA/UK residents; PIPEDA & CASL for Canada; the Privacy Act 1988 for Australia; LGPD for Brazil; the Online Safety Act 2023 for UK) grant data-subject rights such as access, deletion, correction, portability, and opt-out of sale or profiling.
Because SpinStacks does not collect, store, sell, share, or process any personal information about users:
These rights are therefore satisfied by the absence of collection. The age-gate confirmation and any spin counter live exclusively in your own browser's localStorage and may be deleted at any time by clearing browser data for this site.
International transfer: the Site is hosted on Netlify infrastructure in the United States. Because the Site does not collect personal data, there is no personal-data transfer.
Data retention: the operator retains no user data. Hosting-provider request logs are subject to Netlify's own retention policies.
Because no personal data is collected, data-subject requests under any national law are functionally satisfied by the absence of any record. Where local law nevertheless requires a written confirmation of non-collection, the same private channel by which the password was distributed may be used to relay the request to the operator.
SpinStacks displays content described as "AI-generated" throughout the Site, in accordance with the transparency principles of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689):
Informal resolution first. Before initiating any formal proceeding, you agree to convey a written description of any dispute to the operator through the same private channel by which the password was distributed and to attempt good-faith resolution for at least 30 days.
Binding individual arbitration. If informal resolution fails, any claim, dispute, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Site shall be resolved exclusively by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, in Passaic County, New Jersey, or another mutually agreed location, in English.
Class-action waiver. YOU AND THE OPERATOR AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.
Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to the operator through the same private channel by which the password was distributed, within 30 days of first using the Site. The opt-out must include your name and the date of first use.
Small claims exception. Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court for disputes within that court's jurisdiction, in lieu of arbitration.
Coordinated / mass arbitration protocol. If 25 or more substantially similar individual arbitration demands are filed against the operator within any 60-day period, the operator may, at its sole discretion, designate up to 10 representative cases to proceed first; remaining demands are stayed pending those representative outcomes. Common findings of fact and law in the representative proceedings shall apply to the stayed demands by collateral estoppel. This provision exists solely to manage administrative cost and is not intended to alter substantive rights.
The operator does not intentionally include the name, likeness, voice, or other recognizable identifier of any real natural person in any Stack. Stack content is conceptual and refers to generic personas ("solo accountant", "indie podcaster") rather than identified individuals.
If you believe your name, likeness, voice, or other identifying attribute appears in any Stack content on the Site without your authorization (whether through inadvertent generation, coincidence, or otherwise), and you wish to assert a right of publicity, right of personality, or analogous right under any applicable jurisdiction (including but not limited to N.Y. Civ. Rights Law §§ 50, 51 and Cal. Civ. Code § 3344, and including any 2024 or later amendments thereto concerning AI-generated content), raise the request through the same private channel by which the password was distributed and include:
The operator will remove the disputed content within 5 business days of a complete request, while reserving rights to dispute the underlying claim and to verify the requester's identity through reasonable means.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms or this Legal Notices page is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.
No waiver. The operator's failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of that right or provision.
Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Notice, and this Legal Notices page constitute the entire agreement between you and the operator regarding the Site, superseding any prior or contemporaneous communication.
Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms. The operator may assign rights and obligations without restriction, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Force majeure. The operator is not liable for failure to perform any obligation due to events beyond reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, civil or military authority acts, fire, floods, accidents, network or hosting outages, strikes, or shortages of transportation, fuel, energy, labor, or materials.
Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.
Survival. Sections concerning intellectual property, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, dispute resolution, and any other provisions which by their nature should survive termination, shall survive termination of these Terms.
Stacks displayed on SpinStacks are conceptual ideas, not validated business plans. Real-world signals shown alongside each Stack are factual public data points (Hacker News story counts, GitHub stars, Google Trends interest), not predictions of commercial success. You are solely responsible for any independent due diligence before acting on any Stack — including but not limited to:
The operator makes no warranty that any Stack idea is original, profitable, lawful in your jurisdiction, or free from third-party intellectual property claims.
The 18-and-older eligibility requirement (Terms Section 3) is a foundational, non-severable element of these Terms. If a court finds the age restriction unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the operator's alternative recourse is to terminate Site access for users in that jurisdiction rather than admit minors.
This Legal Notices page is provided for transparency and as a good-faith effort to comply with applicable consumer-protection, privacy, and intellectual-property law. It is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for high-stakes interpretation. The operator may revise this page; the "Effective" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.