A La Commode privacy policy

Updated October 15, 2026. This policy describes the A La Commode website and Android app.

Information we use

When you sign in, Clerk provides your account identifier, verified email, name, profile photo when available, and session information. We use this to manage sign-in, contributions, and administrator access. We do not receive your Google, Apple, or Facebook password.

Signed-in search filters, language and appearance preferences are saved to your account and cached on your device. We store the reviews, photos, bathroom coordinates, corrections, claims, business logos, and support messages you submit, together with account attribution and timestamps. Approved contributions, approved business logos and reviews may be visible publicly. Pending logos are visible only to the submitting operator and administrators. Business claim verification methods and reviewer notes are stored for moderation; do not submit sensitive documents in a claim or reviewer note. Posting acknowledgments are recorded with contribution and upload details. Do not upload photos containing other bathroom visitors or include sensitive information in public contributions.

Location and photo access

With your permission, foreground location centers the map and finds nearby bathrooms. Location and map bounds are sent to our server for searches; address lookup may send coordinates to geographic data services. The Android app does not request background location. You can deny permission and search a city instead.

Ratings require a location-verified visit. If you choose to save a visit, we check a fresh phone location within 150 meters of the listing and store the bathroom identifier and verification time privately under your account, so you can review later. Your raw GPS coordinates and movement trail are not stored in saved visits. Optional tracking checks nearby bathrooms only while the rating screen is visible; it stops when you leave that screen, hide the app, or turn it off. Passing a bathroom does not automatically save a visit: you must select it and confirm that you used it. You can remove saved visits. Account deletion includes this visit history and a review of recovery copies. Location verification confirms proximity, not entry into the bathroom.

Photo uploads use a file picker. Contribution photos are resized before upload, which removes original photo metadata from the submitted image. A profile photo you choose locally is stored on that device.

Private-home showcases

My Bathroom showcases are separate from the public restroom finder. We collect an owner-provided title, optional city or broad area, self-score, photo and permission acknowledgment, linked privately to the account. We do not request a home address or coordinates. The dedicated showcase upload removes JPEG metadata on the server before saving; a moderator checks visible content before publication. Approved titles, broad areas, photos, owner self-scores and aggregate votes are public. Account identifiers behind votes are private. Signed-in reports hide a showcase for review. Owners can delete the showcase, photo, votes and reports. Account-deletion requests also cover votes on other showcases and any retained service backups. Do not include people, addresses or private information in images or text.

Services and advertising

Clerk processes authentication. Our hosting uses database and object storage services, including recovery backups. Maps, city search, address lookup, and location imagery use services such as OpenStreetMap, Open-Meteo/GeoNames and Wikimedia. Requests to third-party services can include network information such as an IP address.

Advertising is currently disabled, and no consent-management platform is active. Location permission, sign-in and posting consent do not grant advertising consent. Any future activation will require an appropriate consent setup and an update to this notice. The website contains an inactive Google AdSense integration. If activated, Google and its partners may use cookies, device or browser identifiers, IP addresses and ad-interaction information to serve and measure advertisements, subject to applicable consent settings. Learn more at Google advertising technologies and manage Google preferences through My Ad Center. The Android app opens this website through a Trusted Web Activity in a supporting browser; website advertising and consent settings would therefore also need to cover that experience. Embedded Android WebViews are excluded by the current code. There is no active native advertising integration.

Directions and external booking or sign-in links open third-party services governed by their own policies.

Storage, security and retention

We use secure connections and hashed app session tokens. Sessions expire and are checked against the authentication provider. Submitted content, account links and recovery copies remain stored while needed to operate the service or until a verified deletion request is processed. There is currently no fixed automatic deletion schedule for contribution data or backups.

Account deletion is handled by an administrator and includes associated personal data and a review of recovery copies. A specific legal or security retention requirement, if applicable to your request, will be explained with its reason and retention period. Deletion requests themselves are retained while being processed.

Your choices and contact

You can search without creating an account, deny location permission, sign out, and remove a locally chosen profile photo. For support and privacy questions, use our contact form. Your message goes privately to the A La Commode administrator. You can request account and associated data deletion here without signing in.

This page will be updated as services or data practices change.