Privacy Policy

Footprints | Travel Guide — Last updated: September 16, 2026

Footprints ("we", "the app") is a travel experience app where users share location-verified tips. This policy explains what data we collect and how we use it.

1. Data we collect

• Account data: username, email address, and a securely hashed password (bcrypt). We never store plain-text passwords.
• User content: the experiences (tips), photos, trips, and collections you create. Experiences are public and visible to all users, in the language you wrote them.
• Location: when you add an experience, your device's GPS coordinates are sent to our server once to verify you are within 75 km of the selected city. The coordinates are used only for this check and are not stored. If you allow location access, the app also uses your location on your device to center the map on where you are; this is not sent to our server. We do not track your location in the background.
• Push token (optional): if you enable notifications, a device push token is stored to deliver them. It is removed when you sign out.

2. What we do NOT collect

• No location history or background tracking.
• No advertising identifiers, no third-party analytics or ad SDKs.
• No contacts, no precise device fingerprinting.

3. How data is used

• To operate the service: showing experiences, profiles, trips, and notifications.
• To verify that experiences come from people who were genuinely near the city.
• To moderate content: usernames, bios and experiences are automatically filtered for abusive language and spam; users can report experiences and block other users; heavily reported content is hidden.

4. Translation

If you tap the translate badge on an experience, its text is sent to a third-party translation service (MyMemory / Google Translate) to produce the translation. Only the tip text is sent — never your identity or location.

5. Third-party services

• Map imagery: satellite map tiles are loaded from Esri (ArcGIS) and the map library from unpkg. Like any website, these services receive your device's IP address when the map loads.
• Push notifications: notifications are delivered through Expo's push service and Apple/Google push services, which receive your push token and the notification text.
• Hosting: our servers and database are run by our hosting provider.

We do not sell your personal data or share it with anyone else.

6. Data retention & deletion

Your data is kept while your account is active. You can delete your account at any time in the app: Profile → Account → Delete Account. This immediately and permanently deletes your account and all associated data: experiences, photos, trips, routes, profile, follows, votes and notifications.

If you can no longer access the app, email us from your registered address at the contact below and we will delete your account within 30 days.

7. Children

Footprints is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

8. Contact

For privacy questions or deletion requests: deeplearningayaz@gmail.com