Privacy Policy

Account details: your email address, a password (stored securely by our sign-in system, never in plain text), your nickname and an optional profile photo.

Location details: an optional home town, the map point you pick for it, and a map point for each offer you post. Section 2 explains exactly what happens to each of these.

Content you create: offers, photos, trade preferences, pantry items, meal plans, messages, reviews, reports and the members you block.

Basic usage information: simple events such as an offer being posted, so we can see whether the app is working. We don't run advertising trackers and we don't build profiles for ad targeting.

Your home town

Setting a home town is optional. You pick it in Settings, either by searching a place or tapping the map, or by typing a town name. It is used to show offers near you and to keep paid top ads relevant to your area. Your town name appears on your member profile so neighbours know roughly where you are. The exact map coordinates saved with it stay on your account: they are not shown on your profile and are never plotted for other members.

Where each offer is

When you post food you choose a point on the map and a short label such as a town or neighbourhood. That label and pin are shown to other members on the browse map and on the offer's page so they can judge the distance. Choose a nearby landmark, a park or a crossroads rather than your home if you'd prefer to keep your street private — the pin is a meeting area, not a delivery address.

Device location

Your browser or phone may ask permission when you tap "Use my location" while picking a point. That is the only time we read your device's position, and you can decline and search or type the place instead. We never track your location in the background.

Other members: your nickname, avatar, home town, reviews, offers and offer locations. Your email address and real name are never shown to other members; messages are addressed by nickname only.

Only you: your account settings, pantry, meal plans, wants, the exact home coordinates you saved, the members you block, and the reports you send.

People you chat with: the messages and photos you send them, and the offer the conversation is about.

We don't sell your personal information. We don't publish your email, real name or exact home coordinates. We don't share your location with other members beyond the offer pin and town label you chose yourself.

Only the services that run Food Swap: our hosting and database provider, which stores app data; Stripe, which processes paid subscriptions and handles card details directly (we never see your card number); and AI providers used when you ask for features like pantry scanning or recipe suggestions, which process only the text or photo you submit for that request. Map tiles come from OpenStreetMap, which receives the usual technical request information (such as your IP address) when a map loads. We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

We keep your account and content while your account is open. You can delete your account from Settings at any time; this removes your profile and your offers. Some records may be kept for a while where we need them for safety and moderation — for example a report about a listing — or where the law requires it. Clearing a conversation deletes its messages for both participants.

Change your nickname, photo or home town in Settings. Leave the home town blank if you'd rather not share one. Pick a general area instead of your street for each offer. Block a member to hide their offers and messages. Clear or delete conversations in Messages, and delete your whole account in Settings.

We keep a small amount of information in your browser: the sign-in token that keeps you logged in, your light or dark theme choice, your language, and which tab you were last on. We don't use advertising cookies.

Access to your records is restricted to you and, where moderation requires it, the Food Swap team. No service is perfectly secure, so choose a strong password and keep it to yourself. Food Swap is not intended for children under 13.

If this policy changes we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continuing to use Food Swap after a change means you accept the updated policy. Our Terms of Service and Safety & FAQ cover how swapping works and how to report something.