Privacy Policy
Effective: October 28, 2026
1. Overview
Proof (“we,” “our,” or “us”) respects your personal privacy. This Privacy Policy details the types of information we collect when you use our web application (proofnyc.co), how we use it, and how your data is protected. Proof is intended only for adults aged 18 or older.
2. Information We Collect
- Accounts and identifiers: email address, handle, profile details, Supabase user ID (including an anonymous authentication ID), browser/device identifier, session identifier, and authentication and account-status information. Your email is not displayed publicly in feeds.
- Eligibility & Policy Acceptance: We record the time you affirm that you are at least 18 and the versions of the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and age policy you accepted. This record is associated with your authenticated or anonymous Supabase session identity. Proof relies on your affirmative attestation and does not collect your birthdate or identity documents for age verification.
- Place-linked activity, content, and safety records: participating venue, physical QR-code scan or plaque activity, venue identifiers and coordinates, timestamps, notes, public replies, photos, voice recordings, reactions, bookmarks, report categories and optional report details, and block or unblock records. Venue coordinates describe the participating venue; Proof does not request device GPS or live geolocation. Notes and approved public replies, with the displayed handle, are public by design.
- Private correspondence and meeting invitations: private letters, conversation metadata, meeting-invitation messages and status, the notes or replies that provide their context, participant identifiers, and participant email addresses where needed to verify identity, operate the feature, or send notifications. Private content is available to intended participants and may be accessed by Proof personnel and service providers when needed to operate, secure, moderate, support, or comply with law.
- Analytics and technical data: PostHog identifiers and product events, such as pages or features used, venue-linked interactions, note or reply IDs, device/browser information, errors, and session replay. Proof's replay configuration shows ordinary interface text while masking form inputs, correspondence, public user content, personal data, and sensitive media, attributes, and network-request details. Proof also removes analytics properties with sensitive keys, including email, message/content, precise-coordinate, token, and private/draft fields. Technical providers may separately process IP address and request metadata when delivering the service.
- Information stored on your device: cookies and local storage used for authentication, device and session identifiers, venue access, drafts, saved places, visit intent, and product history.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use the collected information solely to:
- Authenticate your session and maintain your digital tasting passport.
- When you verify or sign in, use device and session identifiers to associate eligible prior anonymous notes and venue stamps with your verified account and, during verified ownership redemption, transfer your current policy-acceptance record.
- Render community reflections, calculate dish averages and rankings, and display nearby venues.
- Review public replies, private letters, and meeting invitations before delivery or publication. Original public notes are not held for pre-delivery review, but may be moderated later. Proof's operator or authorized moderators may access private communications for moderation and safety.
- Record and act on reports and block or unblock requests, and detect and prevent spam, abuse, and violations of gathering conduct.
- Send transactional email notifications about public replies and eligible private letters. These notification emails do not include private-letter text.
- Analyze product usage, troubleshoot technical problems, and improve Proof.
- Deliver exportable share cards (Story PNG assets) upon your request.
4. Third-Party Infrastructure & Sub-processors
We disclose information to service providers that process it for Proof's business purposes: Supabase (authentication, database, and media storage), Vercel (hosting and request delivery), PostHog (product analytics, masked session replay, and diagnostics), Mapbox (map features), and Resend (transactional email delivery). The information disclosed depends on the service and may include account or recipient email, identifiers, content or event metadata, IP address and technical request data, venue or map context, and operational records. We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a corporate transaction. Public notes, replies, handles, photos, and voice recordings are disclosed publicly by design; private letters and meeting-invitation messages are not public by design.
5. Online Tracking and Browser Signals
Proof uses cookies, local storage, and PostHog to understand activity within Proof over time. PostHog may collect information on Proof as described above. Proof does not run advertisements, use advertising or retargeting pixels, or track users across unrelated services for advertising. Because Proof does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, Proof does not currently respond differently to legacy browser “Do Not Track” signals. If Proof becomes required to honor an opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, it will do so as required by applicable law.
6. Data Retention & Deletion
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide and secure Proof, maintain requested features and correspondence, meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention varies by record and provider. Public activity may stop appearing in a daily view without being deleted from Proof. When an authored note or letter is deleted, Proof may replace it with a deletion marker and retain limited relationship, security, or operational records so conversations remain coherent and legal or safety needs can be met. To request access, correction, or deletion of account information, content, analytics identifiers, or session recordings, email hello@proofnyc.co. We will process verified requests subject to applicable legal, security, fraud-prevention, backup, and operational exceptions.
7. California Disclosures and Privacy Rights
California's Online Privacy Protection Act requires certain disclosures from operators of commercial websites and online services that collect personally identifiable information from California residents. This Privacy Policy describes the categories of information Proof collects, how we use and disclose it, how you may request review or changes, and how we announce material changes.
The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (together, the “CCPA”), applies only to businesses that meet statutory criteria. We do not represent that every CCPA obligation or right applies to Proof. If the CCPA applies to a particular request, a California resident may have rights to know and access personal information, correct inaccurate personal information, delete personal information, opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, limit certain uses or disclosures of sensitive personal information, and receive equal service and pricing when exercising privacy rights, subject to applicable exceptions.
Whether or not the CCPA applies, you may ask us to provide, correct, or delete personal information reasonably linked to you by emailing hello@proofnyc.co with the subject “California Privacy Request.” This inbox is actively monitored by Proof's founder. Please identify the right you want to exercise and provide the account email or handle associated with Proof. For anonymous activity, include any relevant note, reply, letter, or invitation link available to you. Do not send us a password or one-time authentication code.
We may need to verify that you control the relevant account, email address, browser session, or content before acting. Some anonymous activity cannot be reliably linked to a person after browser storage is cleared or a device is lost. We will review verified requests and respond as required by applicable law. A deletion request may result in content being removed or replaced with a deletion marker so that replies and conversation integrity remain understandable. We may retain information where permitted or required for security, fraud prevention, legal compliance, dispute resolution, backups, and other lawful operational purposes. An authorized agent may submit a request for a California resident, but we may require proof of authorization and verification of the resident's identity.
Proof does not sell personal information or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined by the CCPA. We do not run advertisements or use advertising or retargeting pixels. We therefore do not currently provide a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link. Proof discloses information to service providers only to operate, secure, support, and improve Proof, as described in this policy; we do not authorize those providers to use Proof personal information for their own advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising. If these practices change, we will update this policy and provide any opt-out method required by applicable law.
We do not discriminate against you for making a privacy request. Contact hello@proofnyc.co with questions about these California disclosures.
8. Age Eligibility
Proof is not intended for anyone under 18. If you believe an underage person has created an account or submitted content, contact hello@proofnyc.co so we can review the report and take appropriate action.
9. Changes to this Policy
We may update this policy as Proof changes. We will post the revised policy on this page and update the effective date. If a change materially affects how we collect, use, or disclose personal information, we will provide additional notice through Proof, by email, or by another method appropriate to the change when required by law. The revised policy applies from its stated effective date.