Privacy Policy

We collect the information needed to provide PlaceSage and to keep it secure. The exact information depends on how you use the app.

• Account information, such as your user ID, email address, display name, password credentials, email verification status, registration date, guest account status, and social sign-in identifiers from Apple or Google when you choose those sign-in methods.
• Landmark scan information, such as photos you upload or capture, request IDs, upload metadata, selected language, AI-generated landmark names and descriptions, confidence scores, coordinates, addresses, AWS place IDs, Wikidata IDs, saved scan history, map entries, votes, and deletion status.
• Location information, such as current device coordinates when you grant location permission, image GPS metadata when present in a photo, map viewport queries, and approximate location inferred from network or request metadata.
• Device, usage, and diagnostics information, such as app version, device type, operating system, IP address, logs, crash reports, performance data, feature flag events, analytics events, advertising identifiers where ads are enabled, and anti-abuse signals.
• Communications information, such as support requests, privacy requests, account emails, verification emails, and related message metadata.

• To create guest or registered accounts, authenticate you, verify email addresses, manage sessions, and support account deletion.
• To upload, validate, resize, store, and retrieve scan images so the service can identify landmarks and show your saved discoveries.
• To identify landmarks, generate descriptions, resolve map coordinates, reverse geocode places, and save discoveries to your personal map.
• To enforce limits for temporary accounts, prevent abuse, investigate errors, secure the service, and comply with legal obligations.
• To provide analytics, feature flags, crash reporting, customer support, service messages, and app review prompts.
• To show ads or sponsored placements where advertising components are enabled.

When you submit a landmark scan, PlaceSage sends the image and any location you provide to our backend. We validate and resize images, extract GPS metadata if it exists, remove image metadata from the processed image, store the processed image in Amazon S3, and process the image with AI and location services.

PlaceSage may use OpenAI API services, Amazon Bedrock, AWS Location or GeoPlaces services, Wikidata, Wikimedia services, and related infrastructure to identify landmarks, find coordinates, retrieve public place information, and generate descriptions. We do not knowingly opt in to using your scan content to train OpenAI models.

AI and map outputs can be incomplete, delayed, or inaccurate. Do not rely on PlaceSage as your only source for safety-critical, legal, travel, accessibility, or emergency decisions.

We use service providers to operate PlaceSage. They may process personal data only as needed to provide their services to us, unless their own terms state they act independently.

• Amazon Web Services for hosting, Amazon S3 image storage, email infrastructure, map tiles, place search, reverse geocoding, and related cloud services.
• OpenAI and, where configured, Amazon Bedrock for AI processing of landmark scans and descriptions.
• PostHog for analytics, feature flags, product usage measurement, and service improvement.
• Sentry for crash reporting, diagnostics, replay or error context where enabled, and reliability monitoring.
• Cloudflare Turnstile for bot detection and anti-abuse checks during registration or guest account flows.
• Apple and Google for optional social sign-in and app store distribution.
• Google AdMob for advertising where ad placements are enabled.
• Wikidata and Wikimedia services for public landmark and place reference data.

Where UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies, we rely on different legal bases depending on the processing activity.

• Contract: to provide the app, accounts, landmark identification, saved maps, and support.
• Consent: for device permissions such as camera, photo library, and precise location where your device asks for consent, and for optional marketing or tracking where required.
• Legitimate interests: to secure, debug, measure, improve, and protect PlaceSage, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation: where we must retain, disclose, or process information to comply with law.

PlaceSage is designed as a personal discovery app. We do not sell your personal data. We share personal data with service providers, with authorities or other parties where required by law or to protect rights and safety, and as part of a business transfer such as a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets.

We keep personal data for as long as needed to provide PlaceSage, maintain security, resolve disputes, and comply with legal obligations. Saved scans, associated images, generated descriptions, and map entries are generally kept while your account remains active, unless you delete a saved place or delete your account.

Account deletion currently blocks and marks the account as deleted. Some records may remain in backups, logs, fraud-prevention records, or legal records for a limited period. We may retain aggregated or de-identified information that no longer identifies you.

• You can choose not to grant camera, photo library, or location permissions, but some features may not work without them.
• You can delete individual saved places in the app where the feature is available.
• You can request account deletion from the app.
• Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, object to, or receive a copy of your personal data, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• You can contact us to exercise privacy rights or raise a concern.

We are based in the United Kingdom and use providers that may process data in the United Kingdom, European Economic Area, United States, and other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, data processing agreements, or equivalent transfer mechanisms.

We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data, including encrypted transport, access controls, provider security controls, logging, and monitoring. No service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

PlaceSage is not intended for children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal data to PlaceSage without appropriate permission, contact us so we can review and delete it where required.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to notify you through the app, website, or other appropriate means.

For privacy requests, contact privacy@astraprospera.com. For general support, contact contact@placesage.com.