Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: June 2026OurLocals is a community-powered platform where people can discover, document, and celebrate meaningful local places, traditions, businesses, and stories. Protecting your privacy is important to us, and we're committed to being transparent about how we collect, use, and protect your information. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have when using OurLocals.
Section 1
Information We Collect
Account Information
When you create an account or sign in, we may collect information such as:
- Your name
- Email address
- Profile photo
- A unique account identifier
This information allows us to create your profile and associate your contributions with your account.
Content You Share
OurLocals is built around community contributions. When you add a place, write a story, upload photos, or leave a review, we store the information you choose to share, including:
- Place names
- Stories and descriptions
- Categories and tags
- Addresses or map locations
- Photos
- Reviews and recommendations
Content you publish may be visible to other users of OurLocals.
Location Information
If you choose to allow location access, we use your device's location to help you find nearby places, centre the map around you, and add accurate locations when creating new spots.
Note: Providing your location is entirely optional. You can continue using OurLocals without granting location permission. We do not continuously track your location in the background.
Technical Information
Like most online services, we automatically collect limited technical information such as:
- IP address
- Browser and device information
- Request timestamps
- Basic error logs
We use this information to improve security, maintain the platform, and prevent spam or abuse.
Section 2
How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Create and manage your account
- Display your contributions on the public map
- Show your contributor profile
- Enable reviews and community interactions
- Help people discover local places and stories
- Improve and maintain the platform
- Prevent spam, fraud, and misuse
- Respond to support requests
- Comply with legal obligations where required
We do not sell your personal information.
Section 3
Public Content
OurLocals is designed to help people discover local stories together.
Places, stories, reviews, photos, and other content you choose to publish may be visible to everyone using the platform.
Please consider this before sharing personal information in your public contributions.
Section 4
Third-Party Services & Advertising
To operate OurLocals, we rely on trusted third-party service providers for services such as:
- User authentication
- Secure data storage
- Image storage
- Maps and location search
- Website hosting
- Third-party advertising and monetization (Google AdSense)
These providers only process information as needed to deliver their services and are responsible for protecting the data they handle under their own privacy policies.
Google AdSense & Advertising Cookies
OurLocals partners with third-party vendors, including Google, to serve advertisements on our website. These vendors use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites across the Internet.
Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visits to OurLocals and other sites on the web.
Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings or by opting out of third-party vendor use of cookies for personalized advertising through www.aboutads.info.
Section 5
Data Retention
We keep your information only for as long as it is needed to operate OurLocals or meet legal and operational requirements.
If you choose to delete your account, you may have the option to:
- Keep your public contributions on the map under an anonymous profile, or
- Permanently remove your account and associated content
Some limited technical information may be retained for a short period to maintain security and protect the platform from abuse.
Section 6
Your Rights
Depending on your location and applicable laws, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Update or correct your information
- Delete your account and personal data
- Request information about how your data is used
- Object to certain types of data processing where applicable
If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.
virendremoond@gmail.comSection 7
Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, or disclosure.
While we work hard to keep your information secure, no online platform can guarantee absolute security. We encourage you to use discretion when deciding what to share publicly.
Section 8
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as OurLocals evolves.
If we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of OurLocals after those changes become effective means you accept the updated Privacy Policy.
Section 9
Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, we'd be happy to help.
virendremoond@gmail.comThank you for helping us build a living archive of the people, places, and stories that make every community unique.