The short version. We use your location to run CrowdFinds, but other people only ever see an approximate area until a Buyer pays to unlock a Find. We remove location data from photos before upload. We don't sell your personal information or show third-party ads. You can delete your account in the app.
1. Who we are
CrowdFinds is run by [Legal business name] ("CrowdFinds", "we", "us"). This policy covers the CrowdFinds apps for iPhone and Android, the web app at app.crowdfinds.co, and this website.
2. What we collect
What you give us
- Account details: your email address and password, or your Google or Apple sign-in. From Google or Apple we receive your name, email and, if available, profile photo.
- Profile: your name, profile photo, whether you use CrowdFinds as a Buyer or Scout, your city, and your notification preferences.
- Finds you post: photos, titles, descriptions, condition, estimated value, claim fee, notes, store name and pickup location.
- Find Requests: what you're looking for, your budget, the claim fee you'll pay, your travel distance and the location you request from.
- Messages to us: support requests, problem reports, feedback and reports about Finds, plus the app version and device type attached to them.
What we collect when you use CrowdFinds
- Precise location, when you allow it: to confirm a Scout is at the store when posting, to show Buyers how far Finds are, to check Item Not Here reports, and, for Scouts, your most recent location so we can tell you about Find Requests nearby.
- Activity: Finds you save, unlock, confirm or report; your claims, credit and earnings history.
- Device and usage: a push notification token, device type and app version, and app usage events (for example, which screens are opened) linked to your account, which help us fix problems and improve the app.
From payment and sign-in providers
- Stripe tells us whether a payment succeeded, the amount, and a payment reference. We don't receive your full card number. For Scouts, Stripe handles identity and bank details for payouts.
3. How we use it
- To run CrowdFinds: show Finds, unlock locations after payment, process claims, credit and Scout earnings.
- To keep it fair and safe: check locations, prevent fraud and fake Finds, review reports and enforce our Terms.
- To contact you: notifications you've turned on, receipts, support replies and important changes.
- To improve CrowdFinds: understand which features are used and fix bugs.
- To suggest listing details: we analyse the photos you choose for auto-fill (see section 5).
- To meet legal duties, such as tax and payment records.
4. What other users see
- Before a Find is unlocked: its photos, title, details, claim fee and an approximate area that is a few hundred meters from the real spot. Never the exact location, store name or notes.
- After a Buyer pays: that Buyer sees the Find's exact location, store name and the Scout's notes.
- Find Requests: signed-in Scouts see what you're looking for and an approximate area, never your exact location.
- Your own location is never shown to other users.
- Profile: your name and profile photo may be shown with your Finds or requests. Profile photos are stored so they can be shown publicly.
5. Location and photos
- We remove location data (EXIF GPS) from photos before they're uploaded. Before that, the app may read a gallery photo's location on your device to check it was taken at the store.
- When you use auto-fill, the photo is sent to an AI service to suggest a title, category, condition and estimated value. We use Google Cloud Vision and Google's Gemini models, and may use OpenAI or Anthropic as a backup if Google is unavailable. These providers process the photo to return a suggestion.
- You can turn off location access in your phone's settings, but posting Finds and Item Not Here won't work without it.
6. Services we use
These companies process data for us to run CrowdFinds:
- Supabase: accounts, database and photo storage
- Stripe: payments, refunds and Scout payouts
- Expo: push notifications and web app hosting
- Google: maps, Google sign-in, and AI photo analysis (Cloud Vision, Gemini)
- Apple: Sign in with Apple
- OpenAI and Anthropic: backup AI photo analysis
- PostHog: app usage analytics
- Resend: emails such as support notifications
- [Website host, e.g. Netlify]: hosting this website
Our Scout community runs on Skool, a separate service. If you join, Skool collects your answers to the joining questions (including your email) under its own privacy policy.
We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect people's safety, or as part of a merger or sale of the business, in which case this policy continues to apply.
7. What we don't do
- We don't sell your personal information.
- We don't share it for targeted advertising, and we don't show third-party ads.
- We don't track you across other companies' apps or websites.
8. How long we keep it
We keep your information while your account is open. When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information within [30] days, except records we must keep for payments, taxes, fraud prevention or legal reasons, which we keep for up to [7] years. Finds you posted are removed from CrowdFinds when your account is deleted.
9. Your choices and rights
- Delete your account from your Profile in the app.
- Notifications: change them in the app under Notification preferences, or in your phone's settings.
- Location: turn it off in your phone's settings at any time.
- Access or correct your information: edit your profile in the app, or contact us for a copy of your data.
Depending on where you live (for example California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia or another state with a privacy law), you may have rights to know, access, correct, delete and get a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of its sale or targeted advertising, which we don't do. We won't treat you differently for using these rights. To make a request, contact us using section 13. We'll verify your identity before acting on it.
10. Security
We use encryption in transit, access controls and database rules that keep exact locations hidden until a paid claim. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong password and tell us right away if you think your account was accessed without permission.
11. Children
CrowdFinds is for people 18 and older. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you think a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
We'll update this policy when our practices change and change the "Last updated" date. If a change is significant, we'll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
13. Contact
[Legal business name], [Mailing address]. Email: support@crowdfinds.co. In the app: Menu → Contact support.