Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 6, 2026 · Last updated: September 6, 2026

Welcome to GobeFinder (“we,” “our,” or “us”). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency in how we collect, use, and handle your data. This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding the information gathered through the GobeFinder mobile application (the “App”) and any associated services or websites (collectively, the “Service”).

By accessing or using GobeFinder, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect minimal data necessary to deliver accurate local vendor tracking, prevent spam, and ensure network security.

A. Location Data (Approximate and Precise)

  • What We Collect: GPS coordinates, approximate device location, and spatial proximity data.
  • How We Collect It: Via your device's location services when you grant permission.
  • Purpose: To display nearby “gobe” vendors within your immediate radius, and to perform spatial anti-fraud checks (e.g., verifying that a user is physically near a vendor location before allowing a new pin submission or vouch).

B. Personal Identifiers (Phone Number)

  • What We Collect: Mobile phone numbers provided during vendor submission or verification flows.
  • How We Collect It: Directly from you via SMS One-Time Password (OTP) authentication.
  • Purpose: Account management (tying submissions and vouches to an authenticated user) and fraud & anti-spam prevention (blocking malicious actors from spamming duplicate or non-existent vendor locations).

C. Photos (Ephemeral Processing & Hashing)

  • What We Collect: Images uploaded or captured when adding a vendor spot.
  • How We Process It: Photos are processed ephemerally. When an image is uploaded, our backend generates a cryptographic/perceptual hash of the image and immediately discards the original raw photo file.
  • Purpose: Fraud prevention. We store only the mathematical hash to detect and prevent duplicate or stolen photo submissions across vendors without storing your original image files.

D. Device and Technical Identifiers

  • What We Collect: Unique device hardware IDs, IP addresses, app version details, and secure authentication tokens (JWT).
  • How We Collect It: Automatically generated or transmitted during API interactions.
  • Purpose: App functionality (managing passwordless guest sessions and secure server-side interactions) and security (maintaining API rate limits and defending against automated bots).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the data collected strictly for the following operational purposes:

  • Core App Functionality: Locating, mapping, and rendering local food vendors on an interactive map.
  • Community Trust & Moderation: Verifying vendor authenticity using spatial radius checks (30m duplicate detection) and user vouches.
  • Security & Fraud Prevention: Detecting spam, abuse, unauthorized access, and duplicate submissions.
  • Service Maintenance: Debugging server routes, ensuring database integrity, and optimizing query performance.

3. Data Storage and Security

  • Encryption in Transit: All communication between the GobeFinder app, our NestJS backend APIs, and underlying PostgreSQL/PostGIS databases occurs over encrypted HTTPS/TLS connections.
  • Data Retention — Account & Phone Numbers: Retained in our secure database for as long as your account is active or until you request deletion.
  • Data Retention — Photos: Original raw photo binaries are never stored; only non-reversible hashes are retained for verification purposes.
  • Data Retention — Vendor Coordinates: Physical map locations of public food vendors are retained on the public map as crowd-sourced community data.

4. Account & Data Deletion Requests

GobeFinder respects your right to access, alter, or permanently delete your personal information.

A. How to Request Account & Data Deletion

  • On this page: Use the data request form in the panel below.
  • By email: Send an email to brightopk@outlook.com with the subject line “Account / Data Deletion Request” and the registered mobile phone number associated with your account.
  • In-app: Navigate to Settings > Account > Delete Account within the GobeFinder mobile app to initiate an instant automated deletion.

B. What Happens Upon Deletion

  • Within 14 calendar days of receiving your request, your phone number, device tokens, and authentication records will be permanently purged from our PostgreSQL database.
  • Any public vendor pins or vouches submitted prior to deletion will remain on the public map to maintain community utility, but will be permanently anonymized and completely disconnected from your identity or phone number.

5. Third-Party Services & Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data or location history to advertisers or data brokers. Data may only be shared with reliable infrastructure providers under strict confidentiality agreements solely to operate the app:

  • Infrastructure & Database Hosting: Secure cloud hosting providers executing server-side APIs and spatial databases.
  • SMS Gateway Services: Third-party OTP delivery services used strictly for transmitting SMS verification codes.
  • Legal Compliance: We may disclose data if required to do so by applicable law, judicial order, or governmental regulation.

6. Children's Privacy

GobeFinder is intended for a general audience and is targeted at users 18 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information or precise location data from children under 13. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a child under 13, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our systems.

7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our tech stack, legal requirements, or app functionality. Any modifications will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” revision date. Continued use of the app after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or privacy requests regarding this Privacy Policy or GobeFinder's data practices, please contact us: