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Privacy Policy

Last updated [EFFECTIVE DATE]

This Privacy Policy explains what information Civic (“Civic”, “we”, “us”), operated by [YOUR ORG / TEAM NAME], collects when you use our infrastructure-reporting app, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. Civic lets residents photograph and report public infrastructure issues — like potholes and broken streetlights — so they can be classified and routed to the responsible city.

1. Information we collect

Account information

  • Sign-in method — a Google account, an email and password, or an anonymous guest session. Guest sessions let you report without giving us an email.
  • Email address, if you sign in with email or Google.
  • Display name, if you choose to add one.
  • A user ID we generate to associate reports with your account.

Reports you submit

  • Photos of the issue (see How we handle your photos below).
  • Your device’s GPS location at the time of the report, used to place the issue on the map and identify the responsible city. You can decline location access, but reports are less accurate and may not route correctly without it.
  • An optional street address or written description you add.
  • Optional category tags (for example, “pothole”).
  • Basic timing data about how long a report took, which we use to improve the app.

Information collected automatically

  • Device and browser information needed to run and display the app.
  • Your IP address, used only momentarily to rate-limit our AI service and prevent abuse. We do not store your IP address in our database.
  • Error and diagnostic logs, processed by our error-reporting provider (see How we share information).

2. How we handle your photos

Photos get special handling because they can capture people and license plates. Here is exactly what happens to a photo you submit:

  • Before any public sharing, your device attempts to blur faces and license plates, creating a blurred copy on your phone.
  • The blurred copy is stored on a public content-delivery network and may be displayed publicly — on city maps, in issue feeds, and to other residents — as part of the report.
  • The original, unblurred photo is uploaded to private storage that only authorized city staff can access, and is automatically deleted after 30 days.
  • The original, unblurred photo is also sent to our AI provider (Google) to classify the issue (see Automated classification below).

Blurred photos may be public — and stay public

Once a blurred photo is part of a report, it may remain publicly accessible indefinitely. Treat anything visible in a submitted photo as potentially public and permanent.

Important limitation of automatic blurring

Automatic blurring relies on a feature available only in some web browsers. Where it isn’t available, the app falls back to blurring the top and bottom portions of the image, which may not cover a person centered in the frame. Because blurring is not guaranteed, please avoid photographing identifiable people, bystanders, or readable license plates — capture only the infrastructure issue itself.

3. Automated classification (AI)

Civic uses Google’s Gemini AI model to look at your submitted photo and predict the type of issue (for example, “pothole”), its likely severity, and whether it may be an emergency. This helps route your report to the right city crew.

  • The unblurred original image is sent to Google, which processes it as our service provider.
  • The model’s output is a prediction and can be wrong. An incorrect or low-confidence classification does not change your rights, and city staff review reports before acting.
  • You can ask us to review or correct an automated classification of your report by contacting us.

4. How we use your information

  • Provide and operate Civic.
  • Classify reports and route them to the responsible city.
  • Detect duplicate or related reports and merge them.
  • Notify you of status updates on your reports.
  • Maintain safety and prevent abuse, fraud, and spam.
  • Debug, secure, and improve the app.
  • Comply with legal obligations.

5. Cookies and local storage

Civic uses essential cookies and on-device storage to function. We do not use them for advertising.

  • Authentication cookies and browser local storage that keep you signed in, set by our auth provider (Supabase).
  • A service-worker cache that stores app files on your device so Civic loads quickly and works as a progressive web app.

We do not use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

6. How we share information

Service providers (sub-processors)

We share information with vendors who process it on our behalf, under contract, only to run Civic:

  • Supabase — database, file storage, and authentication.
  • Google — AI classification of report photos (Gemini).
  • Sentry— error and crash reporting. Error logs may include a report’s ID and technical details.
  • Map providers (OpenStreetMap, CartoDB, ArcGIS) — map tiles. Maps render in your browser; we do not send your account details to these providers.
  • Our hosting provider, which runs the app.

Cities and government systems

  • Reports — including the blurred photo, location, description, and classification — are shared with the city responsible for the area so it can act on the issue.
  • Some cities receive reports through the Open311 open standard used by government systems. Once a report is in a city’s system, it may become part of that government’s records, including public records subject to disclosure law.

Public display

The blurred photo, approximate location, description, tags, and status of a report may be shown publicly on maps and feeds within Civic.

Legal and safety

We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of users, the public, or Civic.

We do not sell your data

We do not sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Sending a photo to Google to classify your report is processing by a service provider, not a sale.

7. How long we keep information

  • Original (unblurred) photos — automatically deleted after 30 days.
  • Blurred photos — kept as part of the public report record and may remain available indefinitely.
  • Reports, classifications, and your account — kept while your account or the report is active, and as needed to provide the service, resolve issues, and meet legal obligations.
  • IP addresses — not stored (used only in-memory for rate limiting).
  • Error logs — retained by us and Sentry for a limited period to debug problems.

8. Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights. To exercise any of them, contact us at [contact@your-domain.com].

  • Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate information.
  • Deletion — ask us to delete your account and personal information, subject to records a city may already hold or that we must keep by law.
  • Location — allow or deny location access in your browser or device settings at any time.
  • Photos — you choose what to photograph; avoid capturing people or readable plates.

California residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, to opt out of “sale” or “sharing” (we do neither), and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. Submit a request to [contact@your-domain.com].

9. Security

We protect information with encryption in transit, access controls, and database row-level security that limits each user to their own data and restricts unblurred photos to authorized staff. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Children's privacy

Civic is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. International users

Civic is operated from, and stores data in, the United States, and our providers (such as Google and Supabase) may process data in the United States and other countries. By using Civic, you understand your information may be processed in the U.S.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. We’ll change the “Last updated” date above, and significant changes may be highlighted in the app. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.

13. Contact

Questions or requests? Contact [YOUR ORG / TEAM NAME] at [contact@your-domain.com].

Questions about this document? Contact [YOUR ORG / TEAM NAME] at [contact@your-domain.com].

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