Catown Map Privacy Policy

1. Scope and operator

This Policy applies to the Catown Map mobile application, official website, and related features (collectively, the “Service”).

The Service is operated by Catown Map Operations (“we,” “us,” or “our”).

2. Information we collect and process

Depending on the features you use, we collect or process:

• Account information: your email address, authentication identifiers, information provided through Google or Apple sign-in, registration time, and authentication status. Password authentication is handled by Supabase; we do not receive or store your password in plain text.
• Profile information: your display name, bio, and other information you add to your profile.
• Content: cat details, sightings, photos, sighting or capture time, GPS coordinates, notes, comments, and other content you submit.
• Activity: favorites, likes, votes, name or attribute suggestions, reports, disputes, and moderation records.
• Location: device location when you use features that need it, such as finding nearby cats, checking your viewing radius, or setting a sighting location.
• Detail-view history: your account, the cat or sighting viewed, and the date and time when you open a detail page while signed in.
• Technical and security information: IP address, request time, device, operating system, browser, language, authentication and bot-detection signals, abuse-prevention information, and error data.
• Notification information: Firebase installation identifiers, FCM registration tokens, notification settings, and app and operating-system information used to register app installations and deliver push notifications. Notification registrations made while signed in are associated with your account. The notification SDK may process installation identifiers and related information even if you do not allow notifications in your operating-system settings.
• Support communications: your email address, message, and information needed to respond.

We do not use third-party advertising or advertising trackers on the official website. Cloudflare still processes technical request information to deliver and protect the site.

3. How we use information

• To create accounts, authenticate users, manage sign-in, and send authentication emails
• To provide maps, cat and sighting records, photos, comments, favorites, voting, and other Service features
• To identify duplicate or similar cats and photos and improve how the Service works
• To apply viewing-radius and location-safety controls and prevent scraping, bots, abuse, and unauthorized access
• To investigate reports, moderate content, enforce our Terms, and respond to risks of harm to animals or people
• To respond to questions, incidents, deletion requests, and other support needs
• To deliver push notifications according to your settings, update notification registrations, and help prevent delivery to an incorrect account
• To comply with legal obligations and valid legal requests

4. Location and photos

We access your current device location only when you use a feature that needs it and grant permission through your operating system. You may revoke location permission in your device settings, although some features may stop working.

Coordinates submitted with a sighting are stored at their precise value so we can manage the record and apply safety features. Other users normally see a 300-metre-diameter circle containing the submitted location and a three-hour time window. The poster and administrators can access the precise location. Additional viewing restrictions or hiding may apply for safety.

For rescue location sharing, a requester can access the precise location for a limited time only after the poster approves the request. The poster can revoke access. We record the reason for requesting access, request and approval actions, viewing times, and external-map openings; the poster and requester can review the activity history. The operator uses these records for safety investigations and handling reports. Opening an external map sends the relevant coordinates to that service. Expiry or revocation cannot recall screenshots or information already retained outside the App.

We use Google ML Kit to detect and blur faces before upload. Image analysis takes place on your device; the input image and detection results are not sent to Google servers. ML Kit also contacts Google for updates and sends API performance and usage metrics, which Google uses to maintain and improve the APIs and prevent abuse.

5. Detail-view history

When you open a cat or sighting detail page while signed in, we record your account, the record viewed, and the time. We do not create account-linked detail-view history for guests.

We use this history to deter and investigate suspected animal harm, stalking, or misuse of location information. We may disclose relevant records where there is a serious risk of harm or in response to a valid legal request from law enforcement or another competent authority.

6. Legal bases for processing

Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we process information as necessary to perform our agreement with you, based on your consent, for our legitimate interests in operating a safe Service and preventing abuse, to protect vital interests, and to comply with legal obligations.

For processing based on consent or operating-system permission, such as device access to location or photos, you may withdraw permission through your device or the relevant feature.

7. Service providers

The following providers process information as necessary to operate the Service. Features independently provided by them are also governed by their own terms and privacy policies.

• Supabase: authentication, database, photo storage, and server functions. Supabase Privacy Policy
• Google: Google sign-in, Google Maps Platform, Geocoding and Time Zone APIs, ML Kit, Google Fonts, and support email. Google Privacy Policy
• Google Firebase: Firebase Cloud Messaging and Firebase Installations for notification delivery and identification of app installations. Notification registration information is also processed by Supabase. Firebase Privacy and Security
• Apple: Sign in with Apple authentication. Apple Privacy Policy
• Cloudflare: website delivery and security, and Turnstile bot detection. Turnstile processes browser, device, and network signals needed for bot detection, not your form entries or communications. Turnstile Privacy Addendum
• Resend: delivery of authentication and password-reset emails. It processes the recipient address, email content, and delivery metadata. Resend Privacy Policy

8. Disclosure of information

We do not sell your personal information except within the scope of your optional agreement under “Help build AI that recognizes cats” below. We do not share it for third-party advertising.

We disclose information only when:

• You give us permission
• It is necessary for the providers listed above to operate the Service
• Disclosure is required by law or requested through valid legal process
• It is urgently necessary to protect the life, safety, or property of an animal or person
• The Service is transferred as part of a business transaction in compliance with applicable law

Because Catown Map is a community service, cat details, photos, sightings, display names, and comments you post are shown to other users.

9. Data retention

• Account, profile, content, and activity information: while your account remains active or as needed to provide the relevant feature, subject to the deletion rules below.
• Cat and sighting detail-view history: 90 days from the time of the view.
• Account identifier or IP address used for rate limiting: deleted by a scheduled task running every minute after 24 hours have elapsed.
• Reports, disputes, and moderation records: reporter IDs are generally retained for one year after a report is recorded or updated, and moderator IDs for one year after the action. We then remove those IDs stored directly on the records, including rescue location-sharing reports. Report text may remain for abuse prevention and decision history. Removing IDs does not guarantee that a person cannot be inferred from free text or other information.
• Account-deletion work records: 90 days after deletion completes, then removed by a scheduled task running every minute. Unfinished work records are retained while needed to resume and complete account deletion.
• Push delivery work records: sent, failed, and skipped delivery records are retained for 30 days after processing completes. Pending and processing records remain while needed for delivery. This is separate from the in-app notification list.
• Push device registrations: 90 days after the last registration or update. A device is registered again when you return with push notifications enabled.
• Location-sharing requests and activity history: one year after sharing ends, is rejected, revoked or cancelled, or the request expires. Report text is handled separately under the moderation retention rule above.
• Support communications: for a reasonable period after resolution to maintain response history and prevent disputes.

Detail-view history, push delivery work records, device registrations, and location-sharing requests and activity history are deleted, and direct reporter/moderator IDs are removed, by a daily scheduled task after the periods above have elapsed. Scheduled processing times or system failures may delay deletion or removal of ID links.

We may retain only the information necessary for longer where required by law, a dispute, a safety investigation, a valid preservation request, or another legitimate reason. Provider logs and backups may contain information scheduled for deletion for a limited period under each provider's operational retention process.

10. Account deletion

You can delete your account from “Profile & Account Settings” in the App.

During deletion, you may choose either to delete all sightings and photos you posted or keep them as community records without an account link. If you keep them, we remove the link to your account and your private notes. You cannot edit, restore, or reclaim those records after deletion.

We delete your account, profile, comments, favorites, votes, detail-view history, and other account-linked personal data. We may keep safety and moderation records, but we remove their link to your deleted account.

See Account deletion for more information.

Retained photos, locations, and times may still allow someone to infer who posted them or identify another person. Removing the account link does not guarantee anonymity.

11. International processing

Our Supabase project for the primary database and photo storage is located in the Mumbai region of India. Resend primarily processes data in the United States. Firebase notification delivery, Google services, and Cloudflare delivery and protection may use facilities around the world. Supabase may also process data outside the selected region for purposes such as support.

The Service is available to users around the world. Information may be processed outside your country, including in countries where our service providers operate servers. Where required, we use safeguards made available by those providers and comply with applicable transfer requirements.

12. Security

We use reasonable safeguards such as access controls, encrypted transmission, separation of privileges, location-visibility restrictions, face blurring, and rate limiting. No method of internet transmission or electronic storage, however, can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

13. Your rights and choices

You can review or change profile information, revoke location permission, and delete content or your account through the App.

You can change notifications in the App or your operating-system settings. When you sign out, the App attempts to unregister that device's notifications for your account. Completion may be delayed by network conditions or other technical issues.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to processing of your personal information; receive a portable copy; withdraw consent; and complain to a data-protection authority.

To make a request, email [email protected] with information sufficient for us to verify your identity. We will respond within a reasonable period unless an exception under applicable law applies.

14. Children's privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and children under 13 may not use it. If your country or region requires a higher minimum age, you must meet that higher age requirement.

If we learn that we collected information from a child below the applicable age without appropriate parental consent, we will investigate and take steps to delete it.

15. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy when laws, Service features, or our data practices change. We will provide advance notice of material changes through the App or official website and request renewed consent where required by law.

16. Contact us

Help build AI that recognizes cats (optional)

Participation is optional. You can use the app with this setting OFF.

Purpose and sharing

Data is used to develop and improve AI that recognizes cats, such as suggesting matching cats. For this purpose, data may be provided to external companies and research organizations, with or without payment.

Eligible data

Only cat photos newly posted and same/different-cat judgments newly submitted while this setting is ON are eligible. Earlier contributions are excluded. Buyers will not receive account IDs, names, email addresses, individual activity histories, or exact locations. Before sharing, we remove photo location metadata and remove or exclude identifying details in images, and verify compliance with applicable law.

Turning OFF

All your contributions, including earlier ones, are excluded from future additions to training and new data sharing. If you turn ON again, only new contributions made afterwards are eligible. We cannot guarantee recall of data already supplied or removal of its influence from trained models. This does not limit your rights under applicable law.

Consent records

We store your choice, change timestamps, notice version, and display language with your account, and delete these records when your account is deleted. Account deletion excludes your contributions from new training and sharing.

For photo ownership, the license for AI training and paid sharing, and contributor compensation, see AI contribution in the Terms of Service.

Notice version: 2026-09-17-v1