Loo YorkPrivacy Policy
Last updated 2026-10-04 · Covers the iOS and Android apps
The short version. Loo York finds the nearest restroom you can get into. There is no account, no name, no email, no ads, no analytics and no tracking. Your location is used on your phone to rank restrooms. It only reaches our server when you tap Go or send a report, and then the server keeps the distance to the restroom, not where you were.
What stays on your phone
Most of the app works without talking to anyone. The full restroom list is downloaded to your phone, and ranking happens there. On your phone the app keeps:
- the restroom list and recent reports, so it works offline;
- your settings: filters, and which maps app to use for directions;
- the restroom you are currently walking to, so the app can ask later whether it was usable;
- contributors you have blocked;
- once you contribute, a random anonymous sign-in token (see below).
All of it is deleted when you delete the app.
Location
Loo York asks for location only while the app is in use. It never tracks you in the background and never keeps a history of where you have been.
- Browsing and ranking: your location stays on the phone.
- Tapping Go: your position is sent once, so the server can check how far you are from that restroom. It stores the distance and the time, not your coordinates.
- Reporting ("I'm relieved", "Denied", or how you got in): your position is sent so the server can check that you are at the restroom (within 50 m). Again it stores only the distance.
- Adding a new restroom: you can only add one where you are standing, so its location is your current position. That location becomes the restroom's pin on the map and is visible to everyone.
What reaches our server, and why
Nothing is sent until you first tap Go or contribute. From then on:
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Anonymous user ID | A random ID created the first time you tap Go or contribute. It is not linked to your name, email, phone number or Apple / Google account. It lets the server count one report per person per day, apply rate limits, and let others block a contributor. |
| Trips | Which restroom you tapped Go on, your distance from it, and when. Used to accept a "was it usable?" answer given after you have left. |
| Reports | Which restroom, what happened (got in, locked, customers only, couldn't find it, out of order), how you got in if you said, your distance from it, and when. |
| New restrooms | Location, type of place, whether you need to buy something, and the optional note (up to 100 characters). |
| Feedback | If you use Send feedback in Settings: your message (up to 1,000 characters), the kind you picked, your platform (iOS or Android) and the app version. It is sent with your anonymous user ID, so we can limit it to five messages a day. We read it to fix bugs and decide what to build. Please don't put personal details in it. |
| Problem reports | Which restroom you flagged and the reason you picked. |
| Trust score | A number that goes up when your reports match other people's and down when they don't, so reliable reports count for more. |
Loo York does not collect photos, contacts, your name, email, phone number, advertising ID or device identifiers, and the app contains no analytics or crash-reporting SDK.
What other people can see
- Restrooms you add, including your note, and a "pending" label until two other people confirm them on site.
- The random ID attached to restrooms you added, so people can block that contributor. It says nothing about who you are.
- A summary of recent reports, for example "A fellow New Yorker got in 2h ago" or "Ask the staff". Individual reports and who sent them are not shown.
Services involved
- Supabase hosts the database and the anonymous sign-in, on servers in the United States (Supabase privacy policy).
- Maps. On iPhone the map and walking times come from Apple Maps, so your device sends Apple the map area and route requests, as any app using Apple's maps does (Apple privacy policy). On Android the map tiles come from OpenFreeMap, which receives the tile requests and your IP address, like any website you load.
- Directions. Tapping Go opens Apple Maps, Google Maps or another maps app you choose. From there that app's own privacy policy applies.
- Notifications. The "was that one usable?" reminder is scheduled on your phone. There is no push-notification server.
We do not sell, rent or share your data with anyone for advertising or any other purpose.
Keeping and deleting data
Reports, trips and added restrooms are kept for as long as the app runs, because they are what tells the next person whether a restroom is open. The app only uses recent ones: reports stop affecting whether a restroom shows as open after a few hours.
Deleting the app removes everything on your phone, including the anonymous sign-in token. After that, what is left on the server cannot be connected back to you by anyone, including us.
To have a restroom you added, or your other contributions, removed, email yinglianliu0217@gmail.com. Because there is no account, tell us roughly where and when, and we will find and delete it.
Community rules and moderation
Notes and new restrooms must be real and appropriate: no offensive content, no personal information about anyone, no advertising. Any restroom can be flagged with "Report a problem", and a user-added place flagged by three different people is hidden automatically. You can block a contributor so their places never appear for you. Reports of abuse go to the email above and are reviewed by hand.
Children
Loo York is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from them.
Changes and contact
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date at the top. Questions: yinglianliu0217@gmail.com.