Privacy policy
Phéro is a map where neighbours leave short-lived trails: free finds, quiet spots, lost pets. This page explains what we collect, why, who sees it, and how to have it removed.
Who's responsible
Phéro is run by El Mehdi Naghbal, who is also the person in charge of protecting personal information. Contact: support@getphero.app.
What we collect
- Your account: your email address, or your Google or Apple sign-in. An optional nickname and your ant avatar.
- What you post: trails, notes, photos, lost pet reports and sightings, your "Still here" and "Gone" votes, reports and blocks.
- Location: your phone's location while you use the app, to show what's near you and place your trails. We store the exact spot of a trail privately, and only for moderation. We don't track you in the background.
- Places you save: your home area and alert zones, if you set them.
- Phone number: only if you choose to share it with someone who reached out about a lost pet.
- Your phone: a notification token, so we can send the alerts you turned on, and your language.
We don't sell your information, show ads, or use advertising or analytics trackers.
Who sees what
- Trails are anonymous. Other people see the note, the photo and a rounded location (within about 20 m), but not who posted it. Lost pet reports posted from your home area show a rougher spot (about 200 m).
- Shared lost pet links are public. Anyone with the link, with or without the app, can see the pet's name, description and photo, and an approximate area (about 300 m), for as long as the report is live.
- Your phone number is seen only by the one person you share it with.
- Your nickname, home area, alert zones and blocks are visible only to you.
- Phéro's moderators can see who posted what when dealing with reports and abuse.
How photos are handled
The app removes hidden data such as GPS location from photos before uploading them. Each photo is then sent to OpenAI's moderation service, which checks it against our rules, and to Cloudflare's AI models, which look for people, before anyone can see it. Photos showing someone's face or body are refused. Hands or arms alone are allowed. The guess of what's in a photo runs on your phone and doesn't send the photo anywhere.
Companies that help run Phéro
These providers process information for us. Most are in the United States, so your information may be stored or processed outside Quebec and Canada, where the rules can differ.
- Supabase (United States): database, sign-in, photo storage.
- OpenAI: checks photos against our rules.
- Expo, Google and Apple: deliver notifications. Google and Apple also handle sign-in if you choose them.
- Resend: sends sign-in emails.
- Cloudflare: runs this website and looks for people in photos.
- OpenFreeMap and Esri: provide map and satellite images, and see the area being loaded and your network address.
- Google Maps: opens if you tap Navigate.
How long we keep it
- Trails stay for 30 days after they end, for history and moderation, then they're deleted along with their photos, votes, reports and exact locations.
- Messages and phone numbers shared about a lost pet are deleted when the report ends.
- Photos that fail the check are deleted right away. Checked photos that never get posted are deleted after about a day.
- Your account stays until you delete it.
Your rights
You can delete your account at any time in the app (Profile, then Delete my account), which removes your profile, trails, votes and reports. You can also ask us for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, or withdraw your consent, by writing to support@getphero.app. If you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to Quebec's Commission d'accès à l'information.
Children
Phéro is for adults aged 18 and over, and we don't knowingly allow anyone younger to use it. Our child safety page explains how we handle harmful content.
Keeping it safe
Information is encrypted in transit, and database rules limit who can read what. No system is perfect: if a breach could seriously harm you, we'll tell you and the Commission d'accès à l'information.
Changes
If this policy changes in an important way, we'll tell you in the app.