Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Local-Link is a community-curated discovery app for finding Hidden Gem businesses, events, and perks in your area. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, how we use it, what stays on your device, and the controls you have. It applies to both Explorer (user) and Business / Organization accounts.

2. Information We Collect

Account information you provide:

• Name, email, password (stored hashed)
• Date of birth (for age verification — never displayed publicly)
• Optional phone number and country dial code
• Profile photo and bio

Location data (only when you grant permission):

• Precise GPS for Hidden Gem visit verification (within 0.25 miles of the business)
• Precise GPS for Hidden Gem nominations (verified at the time of submission)
• Approximate location for map exploration and distance-sorted recommendations

Contacts (only when you grant permission via Friends Management):

• Used to match friends who are already on Local-Link
• Contacts are never uploaded, sold, or shared without your permission
• You can revoke contacts access at any time from your device settings

Interests, preferences, and activity:

• Interest tags chosen during onboarding and editable in Settings → My Interests
• Saved places, saved events, likes, and search history
• Your visited places history and achievements
• Events you mark as attending, and whether you let other people see them

User-generated content:

• Posts, photos, reviews, comments, and forum threads
• Itineraries you create and messages you send
• Reports you submit about content or other users
• Reviews you mark as Helpful

Gems and rewards data:

• Gem balance, gems gifted to businesses, and Hidden Gem nominations
• Trailblazer records (which businesses you discovered first)
• Perk claims, including 4-digit claim codes and QR payloads tied to your account
• Vouches you give and how much of your daily vouch allowance is left
• Coordinates of the places you Trailblazed, used to draw your own discovery map

Business account information (Business / Organization accounts only):

• Business or organization name, category, address, hours, and description
• Verification documents and owner contact details
• Ads, promotions, events, and storefront media you publish
• Aggregate analytics on views, clicks, and visits to your profile
• Merchant PIN used to verify promotion redemptions in person

Subscription and billing data (Business / Organization accounts only):

• Subscription tier (Free, Pro at $19.99/month, or Premium at $79/month)
• Billing period (monthly or annual)
• Usage counters, credit balance, and referral credit balance
• Card top-up payments are processed by our payment partner; we do not store full card numbers

Communication preferences:

• App language and translation preferences (translate content toggle, target language, do-not-translate languages)
• Notification preferences and message preferences

Device and technical information:

• Device type, operating system, and app version
• Crash reports and aggregated in-app analytics events

3. How We Use Your Information

• Provide, secure, and improve the Local-Link service
• Verify your age and confirm you meet our minimum-age policy
• GPS-verify Hidden Gem visits and nominations so gems are earned fairly
• Match friends from your contacts (only when you opt in)
• Translate user-generated text using a third-party translation service when you enable translation
• Personalize your Home feed, map suggestions, events, and Hidden Gem recommendations using your interests and city-level location
• Target ads and promotions to relevant audiences based on interests and city — never on sensitive categories
• Enforce subscription tiers, credit balances, and draft/active listing limits for business accounts
• Verify promotion claims in person (matching the user's claim code or QR with the business's merchant PIN)
• Send service-related notifications and messages you've opted into
• Detect and prevent fraud, gem-farming, and abuse of the platform
• Draw your personal discovery map and neighborhood coverage — the places you discovered are shown to you, never to other users; saved places are separate, and whether friends can see those is controlled by the Privacy & Security switch

4. Data Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards to protect your data, including:

• Encryption of sensitive fields such as date of birth and authentication tokens
• Secure storage with role-based access controls
• Regular security reviews and dependency updates
• Staff training on data handling and privacy

Non-sensitive preferences and recently viewed data are cached on your device so the app works smoothly even when offline. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work continuously to protect your data.

5. Your Rights

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request deletion of your data and account
• Object to or restrict certain types of processing
• Receive a portable copy of the data you've provided
• Withdraw consent for optional permissions (location, contacts, notifications) at any time
• Appeal a decision we make about a privacy request — and if your appeal is denied, contact the Maryland Attorney General

Email contact@local-link-app.com to exercise any of these rights. We respond within 30 days.

We do not sell personal data, and we never use your precise location for targeted advertising. Maryland residents hold these rights under the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act.

You also control what other people can see about you. Privacy & Security has separate switches for the activity your friends can see, the events you are attending, and the saved places your friends can see.

6. Mobile Identifiers & On-Device Storage

Local-Link is a mobile app and does not use browser cookies. To deliver core functionality we use:

• Anonymous device identifiers issued by your operating system for crash reporting and analytics
• Secure on-device storage (AsyncStorage) for your language, translation preferences, dark mode, visited places, saved-place folders, daily vouch counts, Helpful votes, subscription state, and session tokens
• We do not use cross-app advertising identifiers to track you across other apps or websites

7. How Information Is Shared

With service providers:

We rely on a small number of trusted providers to operate the app:

• Map provider — to render maps and routes
• Payment processor — to handle subscriptions and card top-ups for business accounts
• Translation service — to translate user-generated text when you opt in
• Push notification provider — to deliver alerts you've opted into
• Crash reporting — to detect and fix bugs

Each provider has its own privacy policy. We share only what is needed for them to perform their function.

With other Local-Link users:

• Saved places — confirmed friends can see which places you've saved, never when you saved them, which folder they're in, or why
• Off by default — you turn this on with the "Let Friends See Your Saved Places" switch in Privacy & Security
• Reciprocal — turning the switch off also stops you from seeing your friends' saved places
• Confirmed friends only — never pending friend requests, friend suggestions, or the public

8. Permissions We Request

All permissions are optional — the app will prompt you only when a feature needs them, and you can revoke them at any time from your device settings.

• Location — to verify Hidden Gem visits and nominations and to sort places by distance
• Contacts — to find friends already on Local-Link from the Friends screen
• Notifications — to deliver messages, perks, and event reminders you've opted into
• Camera and Photo Library — to upload posts, reviews, ads, events, and profile photos

9. Data Retention & Deletion

• Account data is retained while your account is active
• You can delete posts, reviews, comments, and other content you publish at any time
• Deleting your account removes your profile and personal content; aggregate, anonymized analytics may be retained
• Expired or redeemed promotion claims are retained for fraud-prevention auditing for a limited period
• You can request a portable export of your data by emailing contact@local-link-app.com
• Your Trailblazer records and discovery coordinates are kept while your account is active and are removed when you delete it

10. Age Restrictions & Children's Privacy

Local-Link requires all users to be at least 13 years of age to create an account. We collect date of birth during account creation solely to verify age eligibility.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a user is under 13, we will promptly delete their account and associated personal information.

For users between 13 and 18, we recommend parental guidance. Parents or guardians may contact us to request account deletion or information access for a minor.

Your date of birth is encrypted, never displayed publicly, and never shared with third parties.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email or in-app notification at least 30 days before they take effect. The "Last Updated" date above always reflects the most recent revision.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Email: contact@local-link-app.com

Support: contact@local-link-app.com