Privacy Policy

ThanksPorch is a place for thank-you cards and for sharing things, help and know-how with people you already know. You're trusting us with names, words and relationships that matter to you, so we've tried to write this the way we'd explain it across the fence: plainly, and without anything hidden in the small print.

The short version

• We collect what ThanksPorch needs to work, and nothing to sell. We don't sell your information, we don't show ads, and we don't use analytics or tracking tools.
• Your full porch is seen only by your Porchmates. Each thing you put out is seen only by the people you choose.
• Your exact address is optional. Someone sees it only after you say yes to their request.
• You can delete your account, and what you've written, at any time.

1. Who we are

ThanksPorch ("we", "us") is based in British Columbia, Canada. If you have a question about your information, or want to use any of the rights below, write to hithanksporch@gmail.com.

2. What we collect

When you come in (sign in)

• Your email address, and the one-time codes we send to it.
• If you sign in with Google or Apple: the name, email address and profile photo that service shares with us, plus the sign-in details it gives us to keep you signed in. We never see your Google or Apple password.
• While you're signed in, the session records your IP address and the kind of browser and device you use. It does this to keep your account secure.

Your porch

• Your display name, your profile photo and a short introduction.

What you put on the porch

• Titles, descriptions, photos and photo descriptions.
• A nearby spot you choose to show roughly where a handoff happens. You choose it knowing it can be seen before you say yes to anyone.
• If you choose to add them, an exact address and handoff instructions.

Thanks Cards

• What you write on a card: the recipient's name, your note, and your signature and date line.
• The recipient doesn't need an account, so a card may name someone who has never used ThanksPorch.

Asking, sharing and talking it through

• Requests, messages and notes you send to others, and notes about a handoff, including any "what's not right" report you make about one.

Your relationships

• Your Porchmates, any nicknames or private notes you keep about them, your tags, and who you chose to show each thing to.

Visitors who arrive by a card

• If someone opens one of your cards without signing in, we briefly keep that visit in a cookie, so they can sign in smoothly afterwards.

What we don't collect

• We don't use analytics, advertising or tracking tools.
• We don't collect payment details: ThanksPorch has no payments.
• We don't ask for your date of birth or government ID.

3. How we use it

We use your information only to:

• run ThanksPorch for you: show your porch, cards and offerings to the people you chose, and carry your messages and requests;
• send you sign-in codes and other messages that are about your account;
• keep ThanksPorch safe: protect accounts, look into concerns you raise with us, and stop misuse;
• meet our legal obligations.

We don't sell or rent your information. We don't use it for advertising. We don't build profiles of you for anyone else.

4. Who can see what

• Your full porch is visible only to signed-in people who are your Porchmates.
• Each offering is visible only to the audience you pick for it: all your Porchmates, particular people, or a tag. Anyone you exclude can't see it. If a card points to an offering, whoever holds that card can see it too.
• A card's link (its porch address or QR code) can be opened by whoever holds it, without signing in.
  • It shows your display name, the card's words, your introduction and the offering the card points to.
  • Treat a card the way you'd treat a letter: whoever holds it can read it.
• Your exact address and instructions are shown to someone only after you say yes to their request.
• Nicknames and private notes about your Porchmates are visible only to you.
• Photos are stored at long, hard-to-guess web addresses. They're shown only to the people who can see the offering or porch they belong to. But anyone who is given a photo's address can open it, so please don't put anything in a photo you wouldn't want passed on.
• ThanksPorch has no public directory and no search across porches.

5. Services that help us run ThanksPorch

We use a small number of service providers. Each handles your information only to provide its service to us.

Provider	What they do	Where
Render	Hosts the app	United States (Oregon)
Neon	Hosts our database	United States (Oregon)
Cloudflare	Stores and delivers photos, and resizes them	Global network
Resend	Sends sign-in code emails	United States
MapTiler	Shows maps and finds places	Switzerland, and a global network
Google, Apple	Sign you in, only if you choose them	Their own terms apply

About maps:

• When a map appears on your screen, your browser loads it directly from MapTiler. That means MapTiler receives your IP address and the area you're looking at.
• When you search for a landmark, our server sends MapTiler the words you typed and roughly where you're searching. It doesn't send your saved address, so search for a nearby landmark rather than typing your home address.

Your information is handled outside Canada. Our database and servers are in the United States, and the other providers above may handle it in the United States or elsewhere. Information handled there is subject to local law and may be accessible to authorities under that law. We remain responsible for your information when a provider handles it for us, and we rely on each provider's terms and safeguards to protect it.

6. Cookies and storage on your device

We use only the cookies and browser storage ThanksPorch needs to work, such as keeping you signed in and remembering your language, and none for advertising or tracking.

7. How long we keep it, and deleting it

• While your account is open, we keep your information so ThanksPorch can work for you.
• Cards: you can delete a card at any time. It's removed, and its link stops working.
• Offerings: when you take an offering down, nobody new can come across it. We keep a record of it so the people who already asked can still see what their request was about.
• Conversations: messages stay part of the conversation they were sent in. They're shared between two people, so one person can't remove them for both.
• Closing your account: you can delete your account at any time. When you do, we delete your account and what you've written and uploaded, photos included. We keep only what the law requires us to keep, and we'll tell you if that applies.
• Backups: deleted information can remain in our backups for a limited time. After that it's gone.

8. Your choices and rights

You can ask us to:

• show you the personal information we hold about you;
• correct something that's wrong;
• delete your information;
• withdraw your consent to how we use it. Some of ThanksPorch may stop working for you if you do.

Write to hithanksporch@gmail.com. We'll answer within 30 days.

If you're not happy with our answer, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (oipc.bc.ca) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca).

9. Keeping it safe

Here's how we protect your information:

• Connections to ThanksPorch are encrypted.
• Sign-in uses one-time codes, or the sign-in services you choose.
• Inside ThanksPorch, what you can see is checked on every request.

No system is perfectly secure. If a breach creates a real risk of significant harm to you, we'll tell you, and report it to the regulator where the law requires.

10. Changes to this policy

When we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change matters, for example a new use of your information, we'll tell you in ThanksPorch before it takes effect.

11. Contact

Questions about this policy or your information? Write to hithanksporch@gmail.com.