Privacy policy
Last updated October 7, 2026
Loo York is made by one person in New York who wants finding a public restroom to be the easy part of your day. This page says what we collect, who can see it, and how to get rid of it. No ads, no data brokers, no tracking you around the internet.
What we collect, and why
Your account
- Email address. Used to send you a one-time sign-in code, and for account notices like a reply to a bug report. We only send you news about Loo York if you asked for it. Never shown to other users.
- Username. You pick it. It’s public: it appears next to anything you post.
- Karma. A score for things you’ve contributed. Public, on your profile.
Things you post
These are the point of the app, and they’re tied to your username:
- Reviews: a star rating, what you wrote, tags, any note on how to find the door, the date, and the facts you answer about the restroom (code, key or purchase required, who it’s for, wheelchair access, changing table, free menstrual products). A door code you report is shown to everyone as a tip once the review is approved.
- Photos you attach to a review.
- Restrooms you add to the map: the name, the spot you pinned, and the address.
- Reports that something is wrong.
- “Closed right now” reports. The reason you pick and anything you type in the note are shown to everyone right away, for two hours, without your name. Which restroom you reported, and when, stays private.
- Bug reports, with any screenshots you attach.
A person reads every review, photo and new place before it goes live. Until then, only you and the moderators can see it.
Your lists
Favorites, Hitlist and AVOID! are private. Only you can see what you’ve saved.
Your location
The app asks for your location to show restrooms near you and how far away they are. Finding what’s near you happens on your phone. We don’t store your location or where you’ve been. Three things to know:
- What you type in the map search is sent to Apple’s geocoder and, if that finds nothing, to Photon (run by komoot, built on OpenStreetMap), to turn it into a spot on the map.
- When you add a new place, the spot under the pin is sent to those same two services as you move the map, to suggest a name and an address. If you tap “Use my current location”, that spot is where you are at that moment.
- The pin’s coordinates are saved with the place if you submit it, and are public once the place is on the map.
Your phone
A bug report includes your phone model, iOS version and app version, so we can reproduce the problem. Beyond that, the only device information that leaves your phone is what any app sends to work: when the app checks Expo for an update it sends the platform, the app version and a random per-install ID (not your account), and the services below see your IP address in their ordinary server logs. The app has no analytics or crash-reporting trackers.
The website
If you leave your email on looyork.app, it goes into our database and we use it for one thing: telling you when Loo York opens. That email has an unsubscribe link, and you can email us to come off the list before then. The website has no analytics or tracking cookies. Netlify, which hosts it, keeps ordinary server logs (your IP address) for a short time.
Who can see what
Public: your username, your karma, your approved reviews and the photos on them, the facts and door codes from those reviews, places you added that are on the map, and the reason and note on any “closed right now” report (without your name).
Only you: your email, your saved lists, your pending posts. Drafts never leave your phone.
Moderators (that’s us): everything above, plus reports, who filed each “closed right now” report, bug reports and screenshots, so we can act on them.
Who we share it with
We don’t sell your data or share it with advertisers. We use a few services to run the app. Each only handles what it needs to, and each is bound by its own privacy terms to protect your data at least as carefully as this page promises:
- Supabase stores the database, handles sign-in, and stores photos.
- Resend delivers the sign-in code emails and any emails you’ve asked for.
- Apple draws the map (Apple Maps) and turns searches and pins into places (Apple’s geocoder).
- Photon (run by komoot, built on OpenStreetMap) suggests names and addresses when you add a place. Restroom addresses in the app come from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Expo delivers app updates.
- Netlify hosts this website.
Restroom data itself comes from NYC Open Data and community-sourced lists, and from people like you.
Changing your mind
- Location: turn it off any time in your iPhone’s Settings → Loo York. The app still works; it just can’t say what’s near you.
- Emails: every email to the list has an unsubscribe link, and you can also just email us to be taken off. Sign-in codes only arrive when you ask for one.
- A single post: you can delete any review of yours from that restroom’s page. Its photos go with it.
- Everything: delete your account, below.
How long we keep it
As long as you have an account. Reports and reviews that aren’t approved are kept so you can see why, and deleted with your account.
Deleting your account
Email plumbing@looyork.app from the address you signed up with. Within 7 days we delete your account and everything tied to it: your email, username, karma, reviews and their photos, lists, reports, bug reports and screenshots, and we confirm by email. Two things stay, with nothing on them pointing to you: a place you added stays on the map (it’s a restroom, not a post about you), and any facts your reviews filled in on a restroom, like “has a code”, stay with that restroom.
Kids
Loo York isn’t for children under 13, and we don’t knowingly keep their data. If you think a child has an account, email us and we’ll remove it.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we’ll update the date at the top and tell you in the app’s inbox or by email.
Questions
Anything about your account or your data: plumbing@looyork.app. A person answers.