CivicChangePrivacy policy
The short version
- You don’t need an account to use CivicChange. As a guest, nothing about you is sent to our servers.
- Photos you take stay on your device. We never upload them.
- Your location only helps find nearby addresses. We don’t store it or keep a history.
- No ads, no tracking, no analytics, and we never sell your data.
- You can delete your account and everything saved to it from inside the app.
What we collect
| Information | When | What happens to it |
|---|---|---|
| Email address, display name, user ID | Only if you create an account | Stored with our authentication provider to sign you in. Your password is hashed; we can’t read it. |
| Saved places | When you tap Save while signed in | We store the address, parcel (block and lot), the place’s coordinates, the headline and stage shown, and the date saved, so your list syncs across devices. As a guest, they stay only on your device. |
| Photos | When you use the camera | Used on your device only, to help you choose an address. Kept in the app’s temporary storage; never uploaded to us. |
| Location | Only if you allow it, while the app is open | Used to list nearby addresses. The coordinates are sent to DataSF to look up those addresses (see below). We don’t record or store your location, and we never track you in the background. |
| Searches and place lookups | When you search an address or open a place | The address text or parcel is sent to DataSF to retrieve public records. We don’t keep a record of what you looked up unless you save it. |
| Technical logs | Whenever the app or website connects | Our hosting providers may log IP addresses and request details for security and reliability. |
How we use it
- To show you answers about places and let you save them.
- To sign you in and keep your saved places in sync.
- To keep the service secure and working.
We don’t use your information for advertising, profiling or tracking, and we don’t sell or rent it.
Who handles it
- Supabase hosts our database and sign-in service (servers in Oregon, USA). It stores the account information and saved places described above.
- DataSF, the open-data platform of the City and County of San Francisco, receives the address searches, parcel numbers and coordinates the app sends to retrieve public records. Its own privacy practices apply to those requests.
- Apple provides the map on iPhone and distributes the app. Apple’s privacy policy applies to Apple Maps.
- Cloudflare hosts this website.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it.
Keeping and deleting your data
We keep your account and saved places until you delete them. To delete everything, open Account → Delete account in the app. Your account, profile and saved places are removed from our servers immediately, and saved places on your device are erased. Any backups are overwritten on our provider’s normal schedule. If you can’t use the app, email us and we’ll delete it for you.
Guests can remove saved places one by one, or by deleting the app.
Your choices and rights
You can turn off camera or location access at any time in iPhone Settings → CivicChange; the app still works with map taps and address search. Depending on where you live (for example California, the EU or the UK), you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete your personal data. Contact us and we’ll help.
Public records
The answers in CivicChange come from public records published by the City and County of San Francisco. We leave applicant names and contact details off the cards. If a record looks wrong, the issuing department can correct it; you can also tell us on the support page.
Security
Data travels over encrypted connections, and each account can only read and change its own saved places. No system is perfectly secure, but we limit what we collect so there is less to protect.
Children
CivicChange isn’t directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we’ll delete it.
Changes
If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we’ll update the date above and, where appropriate, tell you in the app.
Contact
UpLevel Technologies LLC · [email protected]