The Village Map is built on a simple promise: the evidence is the product, and your identity is not part of that evidence. We collect as little as possible, we never track you, and the demand log never stores who searched. Here is exactly what that means.
01Who we are
The Village Map is a mobile app operated by Project Planet LLC, a California limited liability company. The app is a directory of Black-owned businesses that also makes visible what a neighborhood is asking for. For any privacy question or request, contact us at hello@villagemap.app.
02What we collect
The Village Map has no accounts and no passwords. We collect a small amount of information when you choose to give it to us, and the app uses location in the moment when you ask it to. Separately, every search is recorded anonymously to map local demand, as described in Section 03. Specifically, what we collect is:
- Waiting list and notifications — your email address and, optionally, your first and last name, together with the search term and ZIP area you asked about. This is the only place in the app where a person's identity meets a search, and it happens only because you chose to join. We use it only to email you when a matching business appears.
- Location — the general ZIP area you choose or detect, used to show businesses near you and to log anonymous local demand. If you tap "Find near me", the app uses your device's precise location in that moment to sort listings by distance and sends it with that search to our database service to find nearby listings. We never store your precise location.
- Business submissions — the business name, street address, ZIP code, phone number, website URL, and category you enter when you add a business to the directory.
- Photos — only when you choose to upload one while adding a business. Photos are stored publicly to display on that business listing.
03The demand log never stores who searched
Every search of three or more characters is recorded — the search words, how many results were found, the ZIP area, and the geographic centre point of that ZIP area. It never records who searched. No name, email, device ID, IP address, or other identifier is ever stored with a search. This is by design and it does not bend.
Recording what people search for turns unmet demand into visible evidence an entrepreneur or a lender can act on. Location for the demand log is always reduced to the centre point of a ZIP area, never your real coordinate.
04What we never do
We do not sell your data. We show no advertising. We use no third-party advertising, analytics, or tracking SDKs of any kind. We do not build a profile of you. Because there are no accounts, there is nothing to log in to and nothing to breach in the way accounts are usually breached.
05Who processes data on our behalf
A small number of services process data so the app can function:
- Supabase — our database and photo storage provider, which hosts business listings, waiting-list signups, search demand events, and uploaded photos. Like any web host, it may keep brief technical request logs that can include an internet address, but these are not connected to the demand log.
- Resend — our email delivery provider, which sends notification emails when a business matching your waiting-list request is listed.
- Zippopotam.us — an open postal lookup service. When the app looks up the geographic centre point of a ZIP area for distance sorting and anonymous demand logging, your phone sends only the 5-digit ZIP code directly to this service. Like any web service, it can see your phone's internet address, but no name, email, or account details are ever sent.
- US Census Bureau Geocoder — a public US government service. When you submit a business listing, your phone sends only the business street address and ZIP code directly to this service to determine its map coordinates. It can see your phone's internet address, as any web service can, but no name, email, or account details are ever sent.
- Apple and Google platform services — when the app translates your device's location into a neighbourhood name or ZIP code, your phone's operating system sends coordinates to Apple (on iOS) or Google (on Android) to perform that reverse lookup.
These services process data only to deliver these functions, not for their own marketing or tracking.
06How long we keep data
Here is how long we keep each kind of information:
- Search records — kept permanently as an anonymous, cumulative record of neighbourhood demand. Because they contain no personal identity, they cannot be tied back to you.
- Waiting-list details — kept until you ask us to remove them.
- Business listings and photos — kept for as long as the listing remains published in the directory.
07Your choices and your rights
Because we hold so little, control is straightforward:
- Location — you can grant or deny location access at any time in your device settings. The app checks before prompting.
- Photo library — access is requested only when you add a business, and can be revoked in your device settings.
- Unsubscribing and deletion — you can unsubscribe from waiting-list emails at any time by replying REMOVE to any notification email you receive, or by emailing hello@villagemap.app. We will delete your details promptly.
If you live in California, the CCPA gives you the right to know what personal information we hold about you, to request its deletion, and not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights. To make any of these requests, email us at the address above. We do not sell personal information, so there is no sale to opt out of.
08Children
The Village Map is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.
09Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle data, we will update this page and revise the date at the top. Material changes will be reflected here before they take effect.
10Contact
Questions, requests, or concerns about privacy go to hello@villagemap.app. A real person reads it.