This policy explains what personal data hintr (the app at hintr.net) collects, why, and your rights. hintr is in beta, so features and this policy may change; we will update the date above and tell you in the app about important changes.
The short version
You need to be 18 or over to use hintr.
We use your phone number to sign you in. Other people on hintr never see it.
People in your groups see your first name (plus your surname initial if two people share a first name) and the photos you enter. People who aren’t in your groups can’t see your name or your photos.
There are no public profiles, no followers and no private messages.
We don’t ask for your location, and we remove location data from every photo before storing it.
Votes are anonymous.
Notifications are off until you turn them on.
There are no ads in hintr.
You can report or block anyone, leave any group, and delete your account at any time.
Who we are
Hintr Limited (company number 17526959) is the data controller for personal data processed through hintr, under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Contact: toby@hintr.net.
What we collect
Phone number — to create your account and send you sign-in codes by text.
Name — your first name and surname. Others in your groups see your first name, plus your surname initial if two members share a first name.
Photos — the live photos you take in the app to enter a challenge. We re-encode every photo and remove its metadata (including EXIF and GPS location) before storing it.
Votes — the entries you pick and their order. Votes are never shown with your name.
Group membership — the groups you create or join, your role, and when you joined or left.
Reports and blocks — reports you make or that are made about your content, and people you block.
Push notification tokens — if you turn on notifications, your browser gives us a push address for your device.
Device and log data — IP address, browser and device type, timestamps and request logs, used for security, rate limiting and fixing problems. Phone numbers are masked in our logs.
Usage analytics — pages viewed and basic events, measured without analytics cookies.
Why we use it (lawful bases)
To run hintr for you — accounts, groups, daily challenges, entries, voting, results, leaderboards and archives (contract).
To keep hintr safe — sign-in codes, rate limits, abuse prevention, reports, moderation and blocks (legitimate interests in a safe service; legal obligation where the law requires).
To send push notifications you have switched on (consent; you can turn them off at any time in Settings or your device settings).
To understand and improve hintr with cookieless analytics and error reports (legitimate interests).
Texts and notifications
We only text you one-time sign-in codes. We never send marketing texts or emails, and the app never texts or emails anyone else. When you share a link (for example “put a mate forward” or “nudge your group”), you send it yourself from your own phone. Push notifications never include anyone’s name.
Who can see what
Entries are hidden from everyone else until voting opens at 7pm, then shown to members of that group without names. After 9pm the group sees the podium (first names, with a surname initial if needed) and points.
Public groups show their name, type and member count to anyone who searches. Member names are only visible to members.
Share cards you create are images you choose to share; they include only your own photo.
Service providers (processors)
Supabase — database and private photo storage.
Twilio — sending sign-in codes by text.
Our cloud hosting provider — runs the hintr servers.
PostHog (EU) — cookieless usage analytics.
Sentry — error reports, where enabled.
Google Fonts — serves the fonts the app uses (your browser requests them directly).
Browser push services (e.g. Apple, Google, Mozilla) — deliver notifications if you turn them on.
Some providers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, we rely on UK adequacy regulations or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement/Addendum.
How long we keep it
Account, name, groups, entries, photos and votes: while your account exists. Delete your account and they are deleted.
Sign-in codes: stored only as a hash, for up to 10 minutes, and deleted once used.
Reports: up to 12 months after they are resolved, unless we need them longer for a legal claim or safety reason.
Server logs: up to 30 days.
Backups: deleted data can remain in encrypted backups for up to 30 days before it is overwritten.
Deleting your account
Go to You › Settings › Delete account and confirm. We delete your account, your photos and entries, your votes, your memberships, your push tokens and your blocks. Reports you made stay (without your identity) so moderators can finish reviewing them. Points others already earned from your past votes stay as totals.
Your rights
You have the right to access, correct, delete or move your data, to object to or restrict some processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. Email toby@hintr.net — we will reply within one month. If you are unhappy, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113).
Age
You must be 18 or over to use hintr. We ask you to confirm this when you sign up; we don’t check ID. If we find out that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will delete it and its data. If you think someone under 18 is using hintr, email toby@hintr.net.
Private by default
Your phone number is never shown to other users.
Only members of a group can see its member list, names and photos. A public group shows only its name, type and number of members in search.
Anyone who has a group’s invite code or link can join it, so only share it with people you know. Group admins can make a new code (the old one stops working) and remove members.
Groups are invite-only unless the person who starts them chooses public.
We don’t collect your location and photos are stripped of location data.
Notifications are off until you switch them on, and never include anyone’s name.
There is no chat or messaging between users.
Security
Data is sent over HTTPS. Photos are stored privately and served only through short-lived links to people allowed to see them. Database access is restricted to our servers.
Storage on your device
We store your session and a few settings (for example, that you have seen the beta note) in your browser’s local storage, and a secure session cookie. These are strictly necessary for the app to work. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies.