Privacy Policy

By using the Service, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide

Account information: email address and display name when you register or sign in via Google.
Profile information: avatar, bio, and notification preferences you optionally add.
Content you submit: place contributions, reviews, ratings, journey routes, and photos.
Communications: messages or feedback you send us directly.

Information collected automatically

Search queries: text you type into the search bar, used to improve search quality. Queries are stored with a hashed, non-reversible identifier — not your email or user ID.
Location data: if you grant permission, we use your device's location to show nearby places. Location is never stored server-side without your explicit action (e.g. contributing a place).
Usage data: pages viewed, places opened, features used, and general interaction patterns — used to understand how the product is being used.
Device and log data: browser type, operating system, IP address (hashed for analytics), and referring URL.

Information from third parties

If you sign in via Google, we receive your name and email address from Google as provided by you to Google.

2. How We Use Your Information

Providing the Service: displaying personalized recommendations, managing your saved places and journeys, and enabling collaboration features.
Improving the Service: analyzing usage patterns to fix bugs, prioritize features, and improve search and discovery quality.
Communications: sending transactional emails (account confirmations, collaboration invitations) and optional weekly discovery digests. You can opt out of digest emails in your profile settings at any time.
Safety and moderation: detecting and preventing abuse, spam, and violations of our Terms of Service.
- Advertising and monetization: where applicable and subject to your consent preferences, we may use information collected through cookies and similar technologies to support advertising, measure ad performance, and improve the relevance of advertisements displayed on the Service.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only in the following circumstances:

Service providers and advertising partners: we use Supabase for data storage and authentication, Resend for transactional email, Mapbox for maps, Anthropic for AI-powered search features, analytics providers, and advertising partners such as Google AdSense. These providers process information solely for the purposes of delivering their services and supporting the operation of the Service.
Public content: reviews, place contributions, and public journeys you submit are visible to other users of the Service.
Legal requirements: we may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of Avora, its users, or the public.
Business transfers: in the event of a merger or acquisition, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email or prominent notice on the Service before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

## 4. Cookies and Tracking

Avora uses cookies, local storage, and similar technologies to provide and improve the Service.

Essential Cookies

Authentication cookies: set by Supabase to maintain your logged-in session. These cookies are necessary for the Service to function and cannot be disabled.
Preference storage: your language preference, consent choices, and certain user settings may be stored on your device using cookies or local storage.

Analytics Cookies

Analytics (non-essential): we use analytics tools, including Vercel Analytics and Google Analytics, to understand how visitors interact with Avora, improve performance, and enhance the user experience. These tools may collect information such as pages visited, device type, browser information, and general usage patterns.

Maps and Third-Party Services

Maps (non-essential): Mapbox GL JS is used to render interactive maps. Mapbox may collect technical information and set its own cookies. For more information, see Mapbox's Privacy Policy.

Advertising Cookies

Avora may display advertisements provided by Google AdSense and other advertising partners.

Google and its partners may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to:

Serve advertisements based on your visit to Avora and other websites.
Measure advertising performance.
Personalize advertising content where permitted by applicable law and your consent preferences.

Google's use of advertising technologies is described in Google's Advertising and Privacy Policy:

https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

Where required by law, advertising cookies will only be activated after you provide consent through our cookie banner or consent management platform.

Managing Cookies and Advertising Preferences

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through Avora's cookie consent banner or cookie settings interface.

You can also control how Google personalizes ads by visiting:

https://adssettings.google.com

Disabling advertising cookies may affect the relevance of advertisements displayed to you but will not prevent ads from appearing.

By continuing to use the Service after providing consent, you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies as described in this Privacy Policy.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account information and content for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete your personal information within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal purposes. Anonymised, aggregated usage data may be retained indefinitely.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you.
Correct inaccurate information in your profile settings.
Delete your account and associated personal data.
Export your content (saved places, journeys, reviews).
Opt out of non-essential email communications via your profile settings.
Withdraw consent for non-essential cookies at any time via the cookie banner.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@avora.app. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Children's Privacy

Avora is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

8. International Transfers

Avora operates from Costa Rica. Your information may be processed in countries other than your own, including the United States, where our service providers are based. By using the Service, you consent to this transfer. We take reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated securely in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

9. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your personal information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), database-level row security, and hashed storage of sensitive identifiers. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or by posting a prominent notice on the Service. The "Effective" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.

11. Contact

Questions or concerns about your privacy? Contact us at hello@avora.app. We aim to respond within 5 business days.