Clear choices about your information.

Information we collect

Account and profile information

When you create an account, we collect information such as your email address, username, display name, password credentials, profile details, and avatar. Passwords are stored in hashed form rather than as readable text.

Content and community activity

We process the posts, photos, comments, messages, pod activity, discussions, spots, bookmarks, follows, likes, reports, and other information you choose to create or share. We also record the relationships needed to provide features such as pod membership, blocking, and invitations.

Location information

Location is optional. If you choose to provide it, Mertastic may process device coordinates to support nearby discovery and spots. Nearby people queries use a coarsened, grid-snapped location to reduce precision. Content such as a spot may still include a location you deliberately choose to publish.

Device and technical information

We may collect device tokens for push notifications and standard technical data such as IP address, browser or device type, request timestamps, security events, and diagnostic information. This helps deliver, secure, and troubleshoot the service.

How we use information

• Provide accounts, feeds, profiles, pods, spots, discussions, and messaging.
• Personalize discovery and show relevant community activity.
• Send service messages and notifications you have enabled.
• Protect members, investigate reports, prevent abuse, and enforce community rules.
• Maintain, analyze, debug, and improve Mertastic.
• Comply with legal obligations and protect the rights of members and Mertastic.

How information is shared

Information you publish is shared according to the audience and privacy settings available for that feature. Direct messages and private pod content are intended only for their participants, although authorized moderation may review content when necessary to respond to reports or protect the service.

We may share limited information with service providers that help us host data, deliver media and notifications, provide authentication, operate maps, monitor reliability, or prevent abuse. Those providers process information for the services they perform. Map providers may receive technical information such as your IP address when an interactive map loads.

We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect people or the service, or as part of a business transaction subject to appropriate safeguards. We do not sell personal information.

Visibility and location

Your profile, public posts, public pods, discussions, and shared spots can be visible to other community members. Private conversations and private pod spaces have a more limited audience. Review the audience and context before sharing.

You can decide whether to provide location, whether nearby discovery is enabled, and the radius used for nearby results. You can remove your saved profile location in account settings. Your device may also let you revoke location permission.

Your choices and controls

• Edit your profile and privacy settings from your account.
• Control location sharing and nearby discovery.
• Manage saved content, follows, pod memberships, and push permissions.
• Block members and report content or behavior that concerns you.
• Delete individual content where that control is available.
• Delete your Mertastic account from account settings.

You may also have legal rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or obtain a copy of personal information, depending on where you live.

Retention and security

We retain information for as long as needed to provide Mertastic, maintain security, resolve disputes, satisfy legal obligations, and enforce agreements. Retention periods vary by the type and purpose of the information. Backups and records required for safety or legal reasons may remain for a limited period after account deletion.

We use technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect information. No internet service can guarantee absolute security, so use a unique password and contact us if you believe your account has been compromised.

Children and policy changes

Mertastic is not directed to children under 13, or the higher minimum age required in their country. If we learn that we collected personal information from a child who cannot lawfully use the service, we will take steps to delete it.

We may update this policy as Mertastic evolves. We will revise the effective date and provide additional notice when a change materially affects your rights or how your information is used.

Contact us

Questions or requests about privacy can be sent to privacy@mertastic.com. Please do not include passwords or other sensitive credentials in your message.