Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 25, 2026

Introduction

Pocket Places ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application.

Information We Collect

Personal Information

• Account Information: Email address, name, and password when you create an account
• Authentication Data: If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your name and email from those services

Location Data

Location is always optional. Before we ask for it, the app shows you what is collected and what it is used for, and nothing is collected until you allow it. Each feature below can be turned off on its own, in the app or in your device settings.

• Precise Location (while using the app): With your permission, we collect your precise location to show which of your saved places are nearby and to center the map on you. When you ask for a collection of places near you, your coordinates are sent to our servers to select those places; they are not stored afterwards.
• Background Location (only if you turn a background feature on): With your permission, we collect your precise location while the app is closed or not in use, for two features you choose separately:
  • Nearby alerts notify you when you come within 500 metres of a place you saved. This is worked out on your device and the alerts stay on your phone.
  • Automatic stamps notice when you have spent a day somewhere new and add that city to your passport.
• What we keep: The location readings behind these features stay on your device and are never uploaded. When you are in a city you already have a stamp for — your home city included — the reading is discarded the moment the city is recognised, and only the time it was taken is kept. A stamp you added on another device is recognised within a day of it being added. Any other reading is deleted as soon as the stay it belongs to is recorded, and all of them are deleted when you turn the feature off or sign out. When a stay is recorded we store the city's name, its coordinates and the date on your account — that record is the stamp, and you can delete it in the app.
• We do not sell your location, share it with advertisers, or use it for advertising.

User Content

• Saved Places: Places you save, including names, locations, and notes
• Collections: Lists and itineraries you create
• Screenshots you share with us: When you add places from a screenshot, that image is uploaded to our servers and read by OpenAI's vision model to find the places in it. If you save a place from it, the screenshot is kept as that place's source and shown on it under "Saved from" — you can remove it by deleting the place. Otherwise it is deleted when you dismiss the share, and in any case within seven days once the share it came from has finished.
• Photos: Images you associate with saved places (if applicable)

Automatically Collected Information

• Device Information: Platform (iOS, Android or web), device type, operating system, and an analytics identifier
• Usage Data: A fixed set of product events — such as saving a place, creating a collection, importing a list, sharing, and signing up — plus when the app is opened and backgrounded. We do not record your screens, taps or keystrokes.
• Account Identifier: Once you sign in, these events are associated with your account id and email so we can support you and exclude our own testing

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and maintain the app functionality
• Show you places you've saved on a map, and which of them are near you
• Send proximity notifications when you're near saved places, if you turn nearby alerts on
• Add a passport stamp when you spend a day in a new city, if you turn automatic stamps on
• Build a collection of places near you when you ask for one
• Sync your data across devices
• Improve and personalize your experience
• Respond to your inquiries and support requests

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may collect information:

The app does not send your device's location to any of these services. Two things sit close to that line and are worth being exact about:

• Notifications you have turned on may name a place. "You've spent a day in Lisbon" travels through Expo's push service and then Apple's or Google's, like any notification.
• Working out which city you are in uses your device's own geocoder, not a call from us. On Android that geocoder is part of Google Play services, so your coordinates may reach Google through the operating system in the same way they do for any app that asks the device where it is.

Searching for a city to add to your passport sends what you type to Google, so it can be matched to a real place.

Data Storage and Security

• Your data is stored securely on Supabase servers
• We use industry-standard encryption for data in transit (TLS/SSL)
• Your password is hashed and never stored in plain text
• We implement Row Level Security to ensure you can only access your own data

Data Retention

• We retain your data as long as your account is active
• A screenshot is deleted when you dismiss the share it came from, and within seven days if nothing points at it any more. One kept as a saved place's source lasts as long as that place
• Location readings in a city you already have a stamp for are never stored at all; the rest are deleted as soon as the stay they belong to is recorded, and otherwise the next time you open the app after they are 14 days old
• All location data on your device is deleted when you turn the feature off or sign out
• You can delete your account and all associated data at any time
• Upon account deletion, your data is permanently removed within 30 days

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Correction: Update inaccurate information
• Deletion: Delete your account and all associated data
• Opt-out: Turn off nearby alerts or automatic stamps in the app's Account tab, and disable location or notifications in your device settings at any time

How to Delete Your Data

In the app:

1. Open Pocket Places and tap the Account tab
2. Scroll down to the Account actions section
3. Tap Delete Account
4. A confirmation dialog will appear — tap Delete Account to proceed
5. A final confirmation dialog will appear — tap Yes, Delete My Account to permanently delete your account

This will delete all your saved places, collections, shared content, and all associated data. Your data is permanently removed within 30 days of deletion.

By email: Contact us at hello@pocketplaces.app to request data deletion.

Children's Privacy

Pocket Places is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. By using Pocket Places, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top
• Sending an in-app notification for significant changes

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

Contact Us

California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
• Non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, you have additional rights including:

• Right to access your personal data
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object to processing
• Right to withdraw consent

To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@pocketplaces.app.