Privacy

Glowfinder is a small neighborhood map. We keep as little as we can, and this page lists everything we keep. Last updated Nov 2, 2026.

Listings and hosts

  • What a host adds. Title, description, dates, hours, how to visit, access, tradition tags, links for giving drives, and up to six photos.
  • Photos. We remove EXIF data, including GPS location, and resize every photo before we store it.
  • Address. We keep the full address and the exact point privately so the pin lands in the right place. If a host picks Street only, the house number and exact point are never sent to the browser. Not in the page, the map data, share links or the Google Maps link.
  • Host email. We keep it to send the private edit link. It is never shown or exported. We store only a one-way hash of the edit link, not the link itself.
  • Deleting. A host can delete a listing at any time with their private link. That removes the listing, its photos, and its We visited and report data.
  • Ended listings. A listing stays on the map with an ended label for 7 days after it ends, then leaves the public site.

Visitors

  • No accounts. You never sign in.
  • We visited. Your browser makes a random id and keeps it on your device. We store only a salted one-way hash of that id next to the listing. Tapping again removes it. The count is the only public number.
  • Reports. If you report a problem we store the reason, your optional note and a salted one-way hash of your IP address, so one connection can report a listing once.
  • IP addresses. We do not store them as they are. We use a salted hash to limit how fast one connection can send forms. Those counters expire within a day.
  • On your device. Your theme choice, your route stops, your We visited id and whether you have seen the welcome banner stay in your browser storage. We set no advertising or analytics cookies.

Alerts

If you sign up we store your email, ZIP code, distance and the categories you chose, plus one-way hashes of your confirm and unsubscribe links. Nothing is sent until you confirm. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link. All alert subscriptions are deleted after Feb 21.

How long we keep it

  • Listings, their photos and host email addresses are deleted 90 days after the season ends, on May 22. Hosts can list again in November.
  • We visited and report data is deleted on the same date, May 22.
  • Alert subscriptions are deleted after Feb 21.
  • Rate limit counters expire within a day.

Who helps us run it

  • Vercel hosts the site. Like most hosts it keeps short request logs, which include IP addresses, for a limited time to run and protect the service.
  • Upstash is our database provider, connected through Vercel. Listings, hashed visit and report data, and alert subscriptions live there.
  • Vercel Blob stores host photos.
  • Brevo sends our email: edit links, alert confirmations and the daily alert note. It receives the address it delivers to.
  • CARTO and OpenStreetMap supply the map tiles. Your browser asks them for map pictures, so they see your IP address.
  • The US Census geocoder and OpenStreetMap Nominatim turn a host's typed address into a map point.
  • Google Maps opens only when you choose Open in Google Maps on your route. We do not send it anything before that.

Questions

Write to MTOCommunityFinder@gmail.com.