Questions, answered plainly.

Privacy

What Spotago knows about you, and what it never asks for.

Do I need to give my name or email?

No. The app gives you an account the first time it runs, with no name, no handle, no profile photo and no email address. You can add an email and password, or a Google or Apple sign-in, if you want to sign in on another phone. That is up to you.

Can other people see who posted a photo?

No. A post shows the photo, the place and the time. It does not show who made it, and nothing links one post to another by the same person. Behind the scenes each post belongs to the account that made it, which is how you can edit or delete your own posts and how we act on reports.

Where does my photo appear on the map?

It depends on where you stood.

• At a public place, such as a beach, a park, a landmark or a shop, the photo is pinned where it was taken.
• Anywhere else, it is shown as an area, never a point. The area is about 100 metres across in busy places and wider in quiet ones, up to about 1.6 km.

You can switch exact locations off for new posts in Settings, and turn any post of yours back into an area at any time.

Does Spotago record where I am when I browse?

Not your position. To show what is near you, the app tells our server where to look, and the server answers. That position is not kept.

What we keep is the general region you were in, about 25 km across, roughly a city and its surroundings, for up to 90 days. It tells us how many people use Spotago in which parts of the world, and nothing finer. We also note whether you were looking at where you are or at somewhere else you chose, so we know how much people use Spotago to look at places far away.

Do you keep what I search for?

Not on our servers. Your recent searches, the ones the app suggests when you tap the search box, are kept on your phone only. They never leave it.

Two things do reach us. If you choose to keep a search so you can follow it, that search is saved with your account until you remove it. And we count searches so we can see what people look for and what the app has nothing for yet. That count is not tied to you, and a search only shows up in it when several different people have made it. A one-off search, such as a name or a street, never appears.

What do you keep to make the feed work?

The feed needs to know what you have already seen and what you tend to like. So we keep which posts you were shown (for up to 90 days), which you opened, liked or saved, and how long you looked. From that the app builds a picture of your taste, used to order your feed. None of it is shown to anyone. When you delete your account it is deleted, or kept only as counts that no longer point to you.

Do my photos carry hidden location or device data?

No. Cameras normally tuck details into a photo file, such as the position, the time and the model of the phone. Spotago removes all of that before a photo is stored, so the picture anyone can open carries none of it.

Are there ads or trackers?

There are no ads in Spotago today. We plan to add them later: local businesses that pay for a subscription will be able to appear near the places you are browsing. We will say so here when that starts.

There are no trackers, now or then. Spotago does not follow you across other apps or websites, and we will never sell your data.

Who else sees my data?

A short list of companies help run Spotago, each for one job: checking and describing each photo when you post it, storing the photos, running our servers, drawing the map, turning a position into a place name, and delivering notifications if you turn them on. None of them may use your data for anything else. The privacy policy names each one and says what it receives.

How do I delete my data?

In the app, go to Settings, then Account, then Delete account. That removes your posts and photos, your likes and saves, your taste picture, any email you added and the account itself. What stays are counts of how the app was used, which no longer point to you. If you no longer have the app, use spotago.com/delete-account.

A photo shows me or my home. What can I do?

Report it. In the app, open the photo’s menu, choose Report, and pick This is my home, This is me or This shows a child. You can also ask for the area around your home to be protected, so photos taken there are checked before anyone sees them. If you do not use Spotago, write to hello@spotago.com with the link to the post.