Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 11, 2026
App: WhereNote
Contact: Support

WhereNote is a location-based app that helps users create, save, view, and interact with place-based notes, photos, comments, reviews, tags, and related content. This Privacy Policy explains what information WhereNote collects, how it is used, how it is shared, and what choices users have.

WhereNote is currently in a live testing phase. As the app develops, this Privacy Policy may be updated to reflect new features, legal requirements, or operational changes.

1. Information WhereNote Collects

WhereNote collects information needed to provide app functionality, protect users, support account management, and operate the live testing phases.

Account Information

WhereNote may collect account-related information such as:

  • User ID
  • Username or display name
  • Email address or login information
  • Account status
  • Friend, block, and connection-related records
  • App settings and user preferences

User-Generated Content

WhereNote may store content users create or submit in the app, including:

  • WhereNotes, markers, saved places, or location-based entries
  • Photos or images
  • Comments
  • Reviews
  • Review votes
  • Tags and FootNotes
  • Saved locations
  • Reports or flags submitted through content moderation tools

Some user-generated content may be visible to other users depending on the feature used. Other content is private to the creator.

Location-Related Information

WhereNote uses location-related information to provide core features. Depending on user permissions and actions, this may include:

  • The coordinates of a WhereNote, saved location, or user-created place
  • A snapshot of current location when using features such as Map, Re-center GPS, Create from GPS, proximity filtering, or Verify Visit
  • A user-selected proxy region when GPS permissions are not enabled

WhereNote does not track user location in the background. WhereNote does not maintain a continuous history of a user’s physical location.

Photos and Image Data

Users may upload images to WhereNote. WhereNote removes metadata and GPS information from uploaded images before storing or using them in the app.

Images may be stored using third-party cloud providers such as Cloudinary or other storage services selected by WhereNote.

Address Lookup Information

Users may optionally enter an address to help set coordinates for a saved location. Address lookup requests may be sent to a geocoding provider such as OpenCage. After coordinates are resolved, WhereNote does not rely on the address for ongoing location tracking. Users may edit or remove address text from their saved location records.

Device, Usage, and Diagnostic Information

WhereNote may collect limited technical and usage information needed to operate, debug, secure, and improve the app, including:

  • App activity and feature usage
  • Device and app diagnostics
  • Error logs or crash-related information
  • Security, abuse-prevention, or fraud-prevention records
  • Live testing metrics and session information

WhereNote uses this information to understand app performance, identify bugs, improve features, protect users, and support live testing.

2. How WhereNote Uses Information

WhereNote uses collected information to:

  • Create and manage user accounts
  • Provide app features and user-requested functionality
  • Display WhereNotes, comments, photos, reviews, tags, and related content
  • Support friend requests, blocking, and connection features
  • Enable Verify Visit, review voting, special offers, and location-based functionality
  • Provide search, filtering, proximity, and map-related features
  • Maintain app security and prevent abuse
  • Review content moderation reports
  • Respond to support, privacy, or account deletion requests
  • Improve app quality, reliability, and usability
  • Generate aggregate metrics and live testing insights

WhereNote may calculate aggregate metrics, such as how often certain tags are used across users. Aggregate metrics are not intended to identify individual users.

3. Location Features and Privacy

WhereNote is designed around places, but users control how location features are used.

Using WhereNote Without GPS Permissions

Users may explore limited parts of the app without enabling GPS permissions. Features that require GPS may be disabled or may prompt the user to enable location permissions.

When using WhereNote without GPS permissions, users may select a proxy region. In that mode, the geographic center of the proxy region may be used as the user’s effective current location for certain app features.

Using WhereNote With GPS Permissions

When GPS permissions are enabled, WhereNote may use the user’s current location to calculate proximity, distances, map position, and eligibility for certain location-based features.

WhereNote uses current location only when needed for app functionality. WhereNote does not track location in the background.

Verify Visit

Verify Visit is a voluntary location check that confirms a user is at or near a specific business location. Verify Visit may unlock reviews, review voting, or special content.

Verify Visit only checks location when the user chooses to use the feature. Businesses are not notified when a user completes a Verify Visit. The user’s username is not shared with the business.

Special Offers

Some offers may be unlocked through Verify Visit. If a user voluntarily unlocks an offer, WhereNote does not share user-specific information with the business. The offer screen shown to business staff does not reveal user account information.

4. Visibility of User Content

WhereNote uses different visibility rules for different types of content.

WhereNotes, Photos, and Comments

WhereNotes and associated content may be visible depending on the creator’s settings and app feature rules.

Comments on another user’s WhereNote are shared between the WhereNote creator and permitted users, such as friends. Comments are not public and cannot be searched by author or comment text. WhereNote may allow filters that indicate whether a WhereNote has comments.

Opening or viewing another user’s WhereNote does not notify the creator and does not share the viewer’s user information with the creator.

Tags and FootNotes

Tags and FootNotes are private to the user who creates or applies them. They may be used by that user for filtering and searching.

Applying a Tag, FootNote, or Favorite does not notify the WhereNote owner and does not share the applying user’s identity with the WhereNote owner or other users.

Reviews and Review Voting

Published reviews do not display the reviewer’s actual username. WhereNote may assign a unique reviewer alias that remains consistent across the user’s reviews without revealing the user’s account identity.

Reviewer metrics may persist and may be displayed with published reviews.

Users who complete Verify Visit may optionally vote on reviews. Review votes are anonymous and are not shared with the business or the reviewer.

5. Friend Requests, Unfriending, and Blocking

For privacy, WhereNote does not confirm whether a person specified in a friend request exists.

If a user unfriends or blocks another user, the target user is not alerted by that action. WhereNote may silently remove or restrict connection records and related access between the users.

6. Navigation Features

WhereNote may provide optional navigation buttons that open a third-party navigation app.

Using a navigation button does not share WhereNote account information with the WhereNote creator or business owner. The navigation app may receive the user’s current location or selected starting point in order to provide directions. Use of the navigation app is subject to that provider’s own privacy practices.

7. Content Moderation, Reports, and Safety

WhereNote may provide tools for users to report content or users. Reportable content may include users, images, WhereNotes, reviews, and comments.

When a user reports content, the reported content may be hidden or blocked for the reporting user. A content moderation report may be created for review by WhereNote.

The person or account being reported is not automatically notified by the reporting action.

WhereNote does not proactively review every image or item of user-generated content before it is uploaded or posted. However, WhereNote may review reported content or content associated with safety, abuse, legal, or policy concerns. WhereNote may remove, restrict, preserve, or disclose content or records when reasonably necessary to enforce policies, protect users, investigate abuse, comply with law, respond to legal process, or protect the rights and safety of WhereNote, users, businesses, or the public.

8. Third-Party Service Providers

WhereNote uses third-party service providers to operate the app. These may include providers for:

  • Authentication
  • Cloud database and storage
  • Image hosting and processing
  • Geocoding or address lookup
  • App diagnostics, analytics, or crash reporting
  • Email, support, or administrative tools

These providers process information as needed to provide services to WhereNote. WhereNote may change service providers as the app develops.

9. Advertising and Tracking

During the live testing phase, WhereNote does not currently use third-party advertising networks or cross-app tracking.

If WhereNote introduces advertising, sponsored placements, or additional analytics in the future, this Privacy Policy and applicable app store privacy disclosures will be updated before or when those practices are introduced.

10. Data Sharing

WhereNote does not sell user personal information.

WhereNote may share information in the following limited circumstances:

  • With technical infrastructure providers, such as Firebase/Google Cloud, Cloudinary, geocoding providers, crash diagnostics providers, or similar services, only as needed to operate WhereNote features selected by the user.
  • With other users when a user choice or feature intentionally makes content visible to them.
  • With businesses only if WhereNote introduces a feature that clearly asks the user to optionally share information with a business and the user chooses to use that feature.
  • When required by law, legal process, or regulatory request.
  • When reasonably necessary to protect users, investigate abuse, prevent fraud, enforce policies, or protect rights and safety
  • In connection with a business transfer, merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, or similar transaction.

11. Account Deletion

Users may request account deletion from the User Profile screen.

When an account is deleted, WhereNote deletes or anonymizes account information and associated personal data, except where limited retention is necessary for security, fraud prevention, abuse prevention, legal compliance, dispute resolution, content moderation, or protection of other users and businesses.

Once an account is deleted, it is not recoverable.

A user’s account may be locked while deletion is processed. Some deletion steps, such as removing photos, comments, cached references, or third-party storage records, may complete asynchronously.

For accounts associated with abuse, fraud, security incidents, legal issues, or policy violations, WhereNote may retain limited safety records, such as hashed identifiers, moderation records, or administrative notes, for a limited period. These records are not used for advertising or ordinary analytics.

12. User Choices and Privacy Requests

Users may control certain information directly in the app, including account settings, saved locations, permissions, and user-created content where editing or deletion tools are available.

Users may also contact WhereNote to request access, correction, deletion, or other assistance with their personal information. WhereNote will respond to privacy requests as required by applicable law and consistent with the current technical capabilities of the version of the app.

13. Data Retention

WhereNote keeps information for as long as reasonably needed to provide the app, operate the live testing phases, test, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce policies, maintain security, prevent abuse, and improve the app.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information, the reason it was collected, and whether the account or content is subject to a deletion, safety, legal, or moderation process.

14. Children

WhereNote is not intended for children under the minimum age required by applicable law. Users who are not old enough to use WhereNote should not create an account or submit personal information.

If WhereNote learns that it has collected personal information from a child in violation of applicable law, WhereNote will take appropriate steps to delete or restrict that information.

15. Security

WhereNote uses reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect user information. No app, service, or storage system can guarantee complete security.

Users should protect their login credentials and contact WhereNote if they believe their account has been compromised.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

WhereNote may update this Privacy Policy as the app, legal requirements, service providers, or data practices change.

The updated policy will be posted at the Privacy Policy URL. The effective date will be revised when the policy is updated.

17. Contact

For privacy, support, account deletion, or content moderation questions, contact WhereNote at: Support