Privacy Policy

Local Lore (Android application)
Last updated: 7/14/2026 · Effective: 7/14/2026

Local Lore is a community application for discovering and sharing local history. Users place "Lores" — short stories about a place — on a map, optionally with photographs and audio recordings. This policy explains what information the app collects, why, how it is stored, and what choices you have.

The short version. We collect the minimum needed to run the app: your Google account email, a username you choose, and the content you deliberately publish (stories, photos, audio, and the map location you select for each story). We do not sell your data, we do not track you across other apps or websites, and we do not show ads.

1. Who we are

Local Lore is operated by BorderTuning ("we", "us"). For any privacy question or request, contact us at supportlocallore@gmail.com

2. Information we collect

2.1 Account information

You sign in with Google. When you do, we receive and store:

Your email address, from your Google account.
A unique account identifier assigned by Firebase Authentication.
A username you choose. We ask you not to use your real name or any personally identifying information, and the app offers to generate a random one for you.

We do not receive your Google password. We do not access your Google contacts, calendar, or other Google services.

2.2 Content you create

When you publish a Lore, we store what you put into it:

The title, story text, date, and any reference link you enter.
The map coordinates you select for that story. You choose this by positioning a pin on the map or searching for an address — it is not automatically taken from your device.
Any photographs you take or select (up to four per Lore).
Any audio recording you make.
Your username, shown as the story's author.
Whether you marked the Lore as hidden (see Section 5).

2.3 Device location

With your permission, the app uses your device's location on the device to:

Center the map near you when you open it.
Show how far away each Lore is.
Sort the Lore list by distance.

Your device location is not uploaded to our servers and is not stored. It is used only in the running app on your phone. The only coordinates we store are the ones you deliberately choose when placing a Lore. You can decline the location permission and still use the app — you will simply not see distances, and the map will not auto-center on you.

2.4 Camera, photos, and microphone

The app requests camera, photo, and microphone access only when you actively choose to add a photo or record audio for a Lore. It does not access your camera, photo library, or microphone in the background or at any other time. Photos and audio you attach are uploaded and stored; anything you discard before saving is not.

2.5 Voting

When you upvote or downvote a Lore, we record that your account voted on that Lore, so that each person can vote once and can change or withdraw their vote. Vote records are not publicly displayed as individual votes — only the totals are shown.

2.6 Analytics and diagnostics

We use Google Firebase Analytics to understand general usage — for example, how many people open the app and which screens are used. This produces aggregate statistics and device-level information such as app version, device model, operating system version, and country. We do not use this to build advertising profiles, and we do not sell it.

3. Where your data is stored and who processes it

Local Lore is built on Google Firebase. Your data is stored on Google's servers and processed by Google on our behalf. The specific services we use:

ServiceWhat it handles

Firebase AuthenticationYour sign-in, email address, and account identifier.

Cloud FirestoreYour username, your Lores (text, chosen coordinates, dates, links), and vote records.

Firebase Cloud StoragePhotographs and audio recordings attached to Lores.

Firebase AnalyticsAggregate usage statistics.

Google Maps PlatformDisplaying the map and converting addresses you search into coordinates.

These services are governed by Google's Privacy Policy. Data may be stored and processed on servers located in the United States or other countries where Google operates.

4. How your content is published

Every Lore is reviewed by a moderator before it appears publicly. Until it is approved, it is visible only to you and to moderators. If you edit an approved Lore, it returns to the review queue.

Once approved and not marked as hidden, a Lore — including its title, story, images, audio, chosen map location, and your username — is visible to every signed-in user of the app.

Please think before you publish. The map location you attach to a story is shown to everyone. Do not place a Lore at your home address, your workplace, or anywhere you would not want publicly associated with your username.

5. "Hidden"Groups Lores — what this does and does not mean

You can mark a Lore as a part of a group that is hidden. A hidden Lore is not shown on the public map or in the public list; it is visible to you and to moderators.

We want to be straightforward about the limits of this. Images and audio are served through Google Cloud Storage using long-lived access links. If such a link has previously been issued for a file — for example, because the Lore was public before you hid it, or because a link was shared — that link may continue to work even after the Lore is hidden. "Hidden" means "not shown to other users in the app." It is not a guarantee of secrecy. Do not use Local Lore to store anything you need to keep confidential.

6. Content licensing

As stated in the in-app Terms and Conditions you accept on first use: content you publish to Local Lore is treated as public domain. Other users may view, share, and reuse it. If you are not comfortable with that, do not publish it.

7. Moderation and account enforcement

Moderators and administrators can review, approve, deny, edit, or delete any Lore, and can disable user accounts, in order to keep the community safe and on-topic. Moderators can see the email address associated with an account.

8. Data retention and deletion

We keep your account information and content for as long as your account exists.

Deleting individual content

You can delete any of your own Lores from within the app. When a Lore is deleted, its story text, images, audio, and vote records are removed from our systems.

Deleting your account

To request deletion of your account and all associated data, email supportlocallore@gmail.com from the address associated with your account. We will delete your profile, your Lores, and your uploaded media within 30 days.

Two caveats, stated honestly: content you published under the public-domain terms above may have already been copied or reused by others, and we cannot retrieve it from them. Deleted content may also persist briefly in routine backups before being overwritten.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete the personal information we hold about you, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise any of these rights, contact supportlocallore@gmail.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

10. Children

Local Lore is not directed to children. Our Terms require that all shared content be appropriate for people over the age of 16, and the app is not intended for use by children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Security

We use Firebase Authentication for sign-in and enforce access rules on the server so that users can only read and write what they are permitted to. All communication with our servers is encrypted in transit. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security — see Section 5 in particular.

12. Advertising

Local Lore does not display advertisements. We do not share your data with advertisers or data brokers, and we do not sell your personal information.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. If the changes are significant, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you in the app. Continuing to use Local Lore after a change means you accept the updated policy.

14. Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns:
supportlocallore@gmail.com
This policy applies to the Local Lore Android application. It does not cover any third-party website or service that Local Lore may link to.