Privacy Policy
Last updated 9 July 2026
Beacon (“Beacon,” “we,” “us”) is a photo & video board for your immediate surroundings: anonymous (no account, no name), hyperlocal (tied to where you are), and ephemeral (posts are automatically deleted after a period of inactivity). This policy explains what we collect and why. We built Beacon to collect as little as possible.
1. What we collect
Waitlist (this website)
- Your email address, when you submit it to join the waitlist.
- A timestamp and the referring page (origin and path only — we strip query strings and fragments).
- Your IP address, used transiently to rate-limit signups and prevent abuse. It is not stored alongside your email as a profile.
The Beacon app
- No account and no real name. You don't sign up. The app uses an anonymous identifier so basic features (like rate limiting and moderation) work; it isn't tied to your identity.
- Approximate location. To show posts near you and attach a post to a place, the app uses your device location, coarsened / snapped to a grid before it reaches our servers — we avoid storing your precise coordinates.
- Content you post — photos, videos, and comments — which is visible to others nearby and is automatically deleted after inactivity (target: within about 24 hours).
- Reports you submit about content, used for moderation.
- Basic technical/device data needed to operate and secure the service (e.g. app integrity checks, error diagnostics).
2. How we use it
- To notify you about early access and launch (waitlist email only).
- To operate Beacon: show nearby posts, deliver content, and enforce the automatic deletion of stale posts.
- To keep the service safe: rate limiting, spam and abuse prevention, and moderation of reported content.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your email for third-party advertising.
3. Who we share it with
We use trusted infrastructure providers who process data on our behalf:
- Google Firebase / Google Cloud — application backend, database, storage, and anti-abuse (App Check). Waitlist emails and app data are stored here.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) — hosting for this website.
We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users and the public. Otherwise we don't share your personal information with third parties.
4. How long we keep it
- Waitlist email: until we launch and contact you, or until you ask us to remove it — whichever comes first.
- App posts and comments: automatically deleted after inactivity (target: ~24 hours), along with their media.
- Abuse-prevention data (e.g. rate-limit counters): kept only as long as needed for that purpose.
5. Your choices & rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal information, and to object to certain processing. Because the app is anonymous and content is short-lived, most app data deletes itself. To exercise any right — including removing your email from the waitlist — email us at hello@heybeacon.app and we'll take care of it.
6. Children
Beacon is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country), and we don't knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we'll delete it.
7. Security
We use industry-standard measures to protect data — encryption in transit, access controls, and app-integrity checks. No system is perfectly secure, but minimizing what we collect is our first line of defense.
8. Changes
We'll update this policy as Beacon evolves and post the new version here with a revised date. Significant changes will be highlighted.
9. Contact
Questions about privacy? Email hello@heybeacon.app. See also our Community Guidelines.