Privacy Policy
Effective October 26, 2026
Friendly Streets is an app published by Adrian Bartholomew ("we", "us"). This policy explains what we collect when you use the app, why, and the choices you have. We don't show ads, we don't track you across other apps or websites, and we don't sell your information.
What we collect
| Information | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An anonymous account ID | Created automatically the first time you open the app. There's no sign-up. | To tell installs apart, so you can manage your own messages, subscriptions and blocks. |
| Messages you post, with the plate, the type of incident and the time | When you post | To show your message to other app users. Messages are linked to your anonymous ID, which isn't shown to others. |
| The IP address of the device you post from | When you post | Kept privately with the message, only to investigate abuse and comply with the law. It's never shown in the app. (Messages posted before October 26, 2026 may also have the internet provider and approximate postal code that IP address belonged to.) |
| Email address, city, state, ZIP code and country | Only if you subscribe to a plate | To contact you about your subscriptions if needed. |
| A push notification token | Only if you allow notifications | To notify you about new messages on plates you subscribe to. |
| Plates you subscribe to | When you subscribe | To know whom to notify. This list is private. |
| Reports you make and people you block | When you report or block | To review reports and hide messages from people you've blocked. |
| Where the incident happened (your device's precise location) | When you photograph a plate, or post a message, if you allow location access. For a photo you choose from your library, the location saved in the photo, if any. | Kept privately with the message to investigate abuse, respond to legal requests, and improve the service. It's never shown to other users, so nobody can use the app to track where a vehicle has been. |
| Your voice, when you tap the microphone | Only while dictating a message | Turned into text by your phone's built-in speech recognition (Apple or Google). Where your phone supports it, this happens entirely on the device. We never receive or store audio, only the text you choose to send. |
| Photos of licence plates | Only if you use the camera or choose a photo | Sent to our plate-recognition provider to read the plate. We don't store your photos. |
We don't collect your name, contacts or browsing history, and we only access your location while you're using the app (never in the background). The app asks for camera and photo access only to read plates, and for the microphone and speech recognition only so you can dictate messages and record sound with video.
Who can see what
- Other app users can see messages and the plate they're about, but not who posted them.
- Nobody else can see your contact details, subscriptions, blocks, reports, IP address or incident locations. These are protected by security rules in our database.
Service providers
We use these companies to run the app. They process data only on our behalf:
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Hosting): stores app data and runs our servers, in the United States.
- Expo and Apple Push Notification service: deliver notifications and app updates.
- OpenALPR, a Rekor Systems company: reads plates from photos you choose to send.
We may disclose information if required by law, or if we believe in good faith it's needed to protect someone's safety, for example when a message contains a threat.
How long we keep it
We keep your information until you delete it, or until we remove it for breaking the Community Guidelines. Reports are kept after a message or account is deleted so we can enforce our rules, but they're no longer linked to an account.
Deleting your data
In the app, go to Settings → Delete my data. This immediately and permanently deletes your contact details, subscriptions, the messages you've posted, your blocks and your anonymous account. You can also delete individual messages you've posted from the message's ⋯ menu, or email us (see Support).
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or get a copy of your personal information, and to object to how we use it. Email us to make a request; we'll respond within 30 days. We won't treat you differently for exercising these rights.
Children
Friendly Streets is for people 18 and over and isn't directed to children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, email us and we'll delete it.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit and stored with Google Cloud. No system is perfectly secure, but we limit access to what each part of the app needs.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date above, and tell you in the app if the changes are significant.
Contact
Adrian Bartholomew · adrianbartholomew25@pm.me