Outprobe Privacy Policy
Effective Date: April 4, 2026 Last Updated: March 20, 2026 Version: 1.0
Our Privacy Promise
Outprobe is built on a simple principle: your data is yours. We do not track you across the internet, we do not build advertising profiles about you, and we do not sell your personal information. Ever.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Account Information (You Provide)
When you create an Outprobe account, we collect:
- Display name (chosen by you)
- Username (unique handle)
- Email address (for login and essential notifications)
- Password (hashed, never stored in plain text)
- Profile picture (optional)
- Bio and identity tags (optional, chosen by you)
1.2 Content You Create
When you use Outprobe, you create content that we store to provide the service:
- Posts, comments, and replies
- Media uploads (images, videos, documents)
- Messages in probes (group chats) and direct messages
- Community content (events, initiatives, playlists, listings)
- Circle memberships and sharing preferences
1.3 Technical Information (Automatically Collected)
To keep the platform running and secure, we automatically collect:
- Device type (mobile, desktop, tablet) for responsive display
- IP address (for security, rate limiting, and abuse prevention)
- Browser/app version (for compatibility)
- Crash reports (to fix bugs)
- Basic usage analytics (aggregate, non-identifying: e.g., "500 people visited Explore today" — NOT "User X visited Explore 12 times")
1.4 What We DO NOT Collect
- Browsing history outside Outprobe
- Location data (unless you explicitly share it in a post)
- Contact lists or phone book
- Biometric data
- Financial information (handled by third-party payment processors)
- Advertising identifiers
- Cross-app tracking data
- Keystroke or typing patterns
2. How We Use Your Information
| Purpose | Data Used | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Provide the service (show posts, deliver messages) | Account info, content | Contract performance |
| Secure your account (login, 2FA) | Email, password hash, IP | Legitimate interest |
| Prevent abuse (spam, harassment) | IP, usage patterns (aggregate) | Legitimate interest |
| Show contextual ads (free users) | Community topic/category ONLY | Legitimate interest |
| Send essential notifications (password reset, security alerts) | Contract performance | |
| Improve the platform (bug fixes, performance) | Crash reports, aggregate analytics | Legitimate interest |
| Process payments (Premium subscriptions) | Handled by third-party processor | Contract performance |
2.1 What We NEVER Use Your Data For
- Building an advertising profile about you
- Selling or renting your data to third parties
- Tracking you across other websites or apps
- Training AI or machine learning models on your personal content
- Sharing with data brokers
- Political targeting or manipulation
- Discriminatory profiling
3. Advertising Policy
3.1 Our Approach: Contextual, Not Personal
Outprobe shows ads to free users in community feeds. These ads are:
- Contextual: Targeted based on the community's topic/category (e.g., a photography community may show camera ads), NOT based on your personal data, browsing history, or behavior
- Native: Displayed as clearly labeled "Promoted" posts in community feeds
- Non-invasive: No pop-ups, no auto-playing video ads, no banner ads
- Limited: Appear only in community feeds, never in profiles, messages, or community detail screens
3.2 What Advertisers Receive
Advertisers receive aggregate, anonymous metrics only:
- Number of impressions (how many times the ad was shown)
- Number of clicks
- Community category the ad appeared in
Advertisers NEVER receive:
- Individual user data
- User names, emails, or profiles
- Click-through tracking to external sites
- Any personally identifiable information
3.3 Removing Ads
You can remove all ads by subscribing to Outprobe Premium. Communities that reach Tier 2 (via Explorer Stones) also become ad-free for all members.
4. Data Storage and Security
4.1 Where Your Data Lives
- Database: Hosted on secure servers with encryption at rest
- Media files: Stored on Cloudflare R2 (encrypted, zero-egress infrastructure)
- Real-time data: Processed through encrypted connections
4.2 Security Measures
- All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS 1.3
- Passwords hashed using industry-standard algorithms (bcrypt)
- JWT-based authentication with short-lived access tokens (15 minutes)
- Rate limiting on all endpoints
- DDoS protection via Cloudflare
- Regular security audits
4.3 Data Retention
- Active accounts: Data retained while your account is active
- Deleted content: Removed from our servers within 30 days
- Deleted accounts: All personal data permanently deleted within 30 days; anonymized aggregate analytics may be retained
- Security logs: IP-based security logs retained for 90 days, then deleted
5. Your Rights
Regardless of where you live, Outprobe grants you the following rights:
5.1 Access
You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you.
5.2 Correction
You can update or correct your personal information at any time through your account settings.
5.3 Deletion
You can delete your account at any time. We will permanently delete all your personal data within 30 days. Content you posted in communities may be anonymized (author shown as "Deleted User") rather than removed, to preserve conversation context.
5.4 Data Portability
You can request an export of your data in a machine-readable format (JSON).
5.5 Opt-Out of Ads
You can remove all ads by subscribing to Outprobe Premium.
5.6 Withdraw Consent
Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
6. Cookies & Local Storage
6.1 What We Store on Your Device
Outprobe does not use tracking cookies. We store minimal data on your device to make the app work:
| Item | Storage Method | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication token (JWT) | localStorage | Keeps you logged in | Access: 15 minutes, Refresh: 7 days. Cleared on logout. |
| Theme preference | localStorage | Remembers light/dark mode choice | Until you change it |
| Language preference | localStorage | Remembers your UI language | Until you change it |
6.2 What We DO NOT Store on Your Device
| Item | Why Not |
|---|---|
| Tracking cookies | We don't track you |
| Third-party cookies | We don't embed third-party trackers |
| Advertising cookies | We don't do personalized ads |
| Analytics cookies | We use server-side aggregate analytics only |
| Fingerprinting data | We don't fingerprint browsers or devices |
No cookie banner needed — we don't use cookies. The localStorage items above are essential for the app to function (authentication and user preferences).
7. Third-Party Services
We use a minimal number of third-party services:
| Service | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | CDN, security, media storage | IP address (for security) |
| Payment processor (TBD) | Premium subscriptions | Payment info (we never see your card number) |
| Ad network (contextual only) | Displaying ads to free users | Community category (no user data) |
We do NOT use:
- Google Analytics
- Facebook Pixel
- Any cross-site tracking service
- Any data broker or data enrichment service
8. Children's Privacy
Outprobe is not intended for users under the age of 13 (or the minimum age required by your country's laws). We do not knowingly collect information from children. If we learn that we have collected data from a child, we will delete it immediately.
9. Global Privacy Approach
9.1 GDPR-Inspired, Applied Globally
Outprobe is not a EU-registered entity and does not formally claim GDPR compliance. However, we believe the principles behind GDPR represent the best standard for user privacy, so we voluntarily apply GDPR-level privacy protections to all users worldwide, regardless of where they live.
This means every Outprobe user, in every country, gets:
- Right to access their data
- Right to correct their data
- Right to delete their data
- Right to export their data (portability)
- Right to withdraw consent
- Minimal data collection (data minimization principle)
- Purpose limitation (data used only for stated purposes)
- Transparent communication about data practices
9.2 Disclaimer
While we morally commit to these standards and build our systems accordingly, Outprobe does not guarantee formal legal compliance with GDPR, CCPA, or any specific data protection regulation. We are a small platform operated by an independent developer, and we cannot afford the legal infrastructure required for formal compliance certification in every jurisdiction.
What this means:
- We follow the spirit and principles of GDPR for all users
- We build our systems with privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default
- We do not sell, share, or monetize user data in any way
- We cannot be held legally responsible for compliance with specific regional data protection laws
- Users in jurisdictions with specific data protection rights should be aware that our protections are voluntary, not legally binding obligations under those specific laws
9.3 Our Commitment
Despite the disclaimer above, our actual practices exceed what most platforms offer:
- We collect less data than required by any regulation
- We never sell or share personal data (so "right to opt-out of sale" is moot — there is no sale)
- We never do personalized advertising (so behavioral tracking concerns don't apply)
- We delete data within 30 days of request (faster than most regulations require)
- We provide data export (JSON format) to all users
We don't need complex compliance because we simply don't do the things regulations are designed to prevent.
10. Changes to This Policy
We will notify you of material changes to this policy via:
- Email notification
- In-app notification
- At least 30 days before changes take effect
Minor clarifications or formatting changes may be made without notice.
11. Contact Us
For privacy-related questions, requests, or complaints:
- Email: privacy@outprobe.com
- Response time: Within 30 days
Summary: The Outprobe Difference
| Other Platforms | Outprobe |
|---|---|
| Track you across the internet | Never tracks you outside Outprobe |
| Build advertising profiles | No advertising profiles, ever |
| Sell your data to third parties | Never sells your data |
| Personalized targeted ads | Contextual ads based on community topic only |
| Complex privacy settings | Simple: your data is yours |
| Retain data indefinitely | Delete within 30 days of request |
Your data. Your control. No exceptions.
Questions about this policy? legal@outprobe.com