Privacy Policy

1

Information We Collect

Fork It! collects information needed to provide, operate, secure, and improve the service. Depending on how you use Fork It!, this may include:

Location information — if you choose to share your device's location, we use it to search for restaurants near you.
Location you enter manually — if you enter an address, city, or other location instead of using your device's location.
Preferences — such as search radius, cuisine selections, and display preferences.
Account information — if you create an account, we store your username and a securely hashed version of your password. We do not store your password in plain text.
Saved favorites — when you save a restaurant, we store information needed to identify and display that restaurant in your favorites list and associate it with your account.
Group Pick information — when you create or participate in a Group Pick, we temporarily store information needed to operate the group, including participant names and cuisine preferences.
Feedback information — if you use the feedback form, we collect the contents of your message and any name or email address you voluntarily provide.
Technical information — our hosting infrastructure may generate standard server logs as part of operating and securing the site.

2

Location Information

Fork It! uses location information to find restaurants near you.

You can provide a location in two ways:

Allow your browser to provide your device's location; or
Enter a location manually.

If you select Use my location, your browser will ask for permission before providing location information to Fork It!. You can deny or revoke this permission through your browser or device settings.

Location information necessary to perform a restaurant search may be provided to services used to perform that search, including our restaurant data provider.

Fork It! does not use your location to track your movements or build a location history.

A location or address may also be stored locally in your browser when necessary to remember your preferences. You can remove locally stored information through your browser settings.

3

Accounts and Favorites

You do not need an account to use the basic restaurant-picking features of Fork It!.

If you create an account, we store your username and a securely hashed version of your password so that we can authenticate you.

If you save a restaurant as a favorite, we store information needed to identify and display that restaurant, such as its name, address, category, website when available, and restaurant identifier. This information is associated with your account so that your favorites are available when you return.

Your favorites are not sold to advertisers or used to build an advertising profile.

If you delete your account, your account information and saved favorites are deleted, subject to limited information we may be required or reasonably need to retain for security, legal, backup, or operational purposes.

4

Group Pick

Group Pick allows multiple people to provide restaurant preferences so Fork It! can find a restaurant that works for the group.

When you create or participate in a Group Pick, Fork It! temporarily stores information needed to operate the group session. This includes participant names and cuisine preferences.

Individual cuisine preferences are used to calculate the group result and are not intended to be displayed to other participants.

Group Pick information is temporary:

Active Group Pick sessions that have not produced a restaurant selection expire 24 hours after the group is created.
Completed Group Pick sessions become eligible for deletion as soon as a restaurant has been selected.
An automated cleanup process runs approximately once per hour and permanently deletes expired or completed Group Pick sessions, including their associated participant names and cuisine preferences.

Because cleanup runs periodically, Group Pick information may remain stored for approximately one additional hour after a session expires or a restaurant is selected.

Group Pick information is used to operate the Group Pick feature and is not sold or used for advertising.

5

Feedback and Contact Information

You can submit feedback without creating an account.

The feedback form may ask for:

Your name, which is optional;
Your email address, which is optional and is requested only if you would like us to be able to respond to you;
A feedback category, such as general feedback, a bug report, feature suggestion, or privacy/account question; and
Your message.

If you provide an email address, we use it to communicate with you about the feedback, question, or issue you submitted. Providing an email address does not subscribe you to marketing emails or a mailing list.

Your name and email address are not required to submit general feedback unless otherwise indicated on the form.

Feedback may be used to respond to questions, troubleshoot problems, fix bugs, improve Fork It!, and develop new features.

Feedback submitted through the site is not intended to be publicly displayed.

Please do not include passwords, financial information, or other sensitive personal information in a feedback message.

6

Cookies and Local Storage

Fork It! uses a strictly necessary session cookie when you sign in to an account. This cookie allows the site to keep you authenticated during your session. It is not used for advertising or cross-site tracking.

Fork It! may also use your browser's local storage to remember settings such as your location or address, search radius, cuisine preferences, and display preferences.

Information stored in local storage remains on your device unless you clear it or your browser removes it.

Fork It! does not currently use advertising cookies or third-party advertising trackers.

7

How We Use Information

We use information collected through Fork It! to:

Provide restaurant searches and selections;
Remember your preferences;
Operate accounts and saved favorites;
Provide Group Pick functionality;
Receive and respond to feedback and support requests;
Troubleshoot problems and improve Fork It!;
Maintain and secure the service; and
Comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information.

We do not use information submitted through the feedback form to send marketing emails unless you separately and explicitly agree to receive them.

8

Third-Party Services

Fork It! relies on third-party services to provide certain functionality.

Restaurant and place information is provided through Foursquare. When Fork It! performs a location-based restaurant search, location information necessary to perform that search may be sent to Foursquare.

If you manually enter a location, information may also be provided to a location or address lookup service when necessary to convert the location into coordinates.

Our hosting and infrastructure providers may process information necessary to operate and secure the site, including standard server logs.

Information processed by third-party services is also subject to those providers' applicable privacy policies and terms.

9

Data Retention

We retain different types of information for different periods depending on why the information is needed.

Account information and favorites are generally retained while your account remains active.
Active Group Pick sessions expire 24 hours after creation.
Completed Group Pick sessions become eligible for deletion as soon as a restaurant is selected.
Group Pick cleanup runs approximately once per hour. When a session is deleted, its associated participant names and cuisine preferences are permanently deleted with it. This means Group Pick information may remain for approximately one additional hour after becoming eligible for deletion.
Feedback messages and optional contact information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the message, troubleshoot an issue, improve the service, or maintain an appropriate record of the communication.
Information stored locally in your browser remains there until you clear it or your browser removes it.

When you delete your account, we delete your account information and saved favorites, subject to limited retention that may be necessary for security, legal, backup, or operational purposes.

10

Your Choices

You can control much of the information Fork It! uses.

You can:

Use Fork It! without creating an account;
Decline browser location access and enter a location manually instead;
Change or revoke location permission through your browser or device;
Clear Fork It! data stored in your browser;
Add or remove saved favorites;
Submit feedback without providing a name or email address, where those fields are optional; and
Delete your account and its associated favorites.

Group Pick information does not need to be manually deleted because it is automatically removed according to the retention periods described above.

If you provide an email address with feedback, you may contact us to request deletion of that communication and associated contact information, subject to information we may need to retain for legitimate security, legal, or operational purposes.

11

Children's Privacy

Fork It! is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to Fork It!, please contact us so that we can review and, where appropriate, delete the information.

12

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as Fork It! changes.

When we make changes, we will update the Last updated date at the top of this page.

Your continued use of Fork It! after an updated policy becomes effective means that your use of the service will be subject to the updated policy.

13

Contact

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your information, please contact us through the Fork It! feedback page.

If you would like a response, provide an email address in the optional email field.