Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information Rouleat (“we”, “us”) collects when you use rouleat.com and the Rouleat app, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. We try to collect as little as possible. You can use Rouleat without an account.
1. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Account details (optional): display name, email address, username, a password (stored only as a one-way hash), and a profile photo if you upload one.
- Sign in with Google (optional): if you choose it, Google shares your name, email address, profile picture and a Google account ID with us. We use them only to create and sign in to your Rouleat account. We never see your Google password.
- Things you post: reviews, star ratings, dish reviews and hearts, comments and replies on posts and menu items, emoji reactions, likes, photos you upload, Passport check-ins and notes, reports about places (for example “permanently closed”), and group-decision votes.
- Safety tools: reports you send about a post, comment or account (the reason and any note you add), the people you block, and the places whose posts you hide.
- Business owners: if you claim a restaurant, the details you submit to verify the claim; the listing information, logo, menu items, deals, posts (text, photos and videos) and photos you add; and, if you buy a promotion or a menu build, the order details (package, price, dates, reach, how you chose to pay) and the menu files, dish photos, ordering links and notes you send us.
- Preferences: saved places, places you passed on, dietary and price filters, your home area label and app settings.
Information collected automatically
- Location: when you allow it, your device’s approximate location, or a place you search for, is used to find eateries near you. We use it to run the search and to cache results for that general area. We do not keep a history of where you have been, and we do not tie your precise location to your account.
- Usage counts: anonymous, per-place daily totals such as views, saves, spins, shares and taps on directions or ordering. These power “Trending” and owner analytics and are not linked to you.
- Technical data: your IP address and browser details as recorded in normal web-server logs; a session cookie that keeps you signed in; and, if the app hits an error, a short error report (the error message, page and browser type) so we can fix it.
- Abuse prevention: reports about places are tied to a one-way code made from your session or account so the same person can’t report a place many times. We don’t store the raw IP address with a report.
- On your device: the app stores some settings, guest saves and guest visits in your browser’s local storage. They stay on your device until you clear them.
Alerts, push notifications and emails
If you have an account, we create in-app alerts (for example: someone followed you, a friend checked in, a place you saved posted a deal or a new menu item, your review went live). You choose which alerts you get, in the app and by email, in Profile → Alerts → Alert settings. Every alert email has a one-click unsubscribe link. If you turn on phone alerts, your browser gives us a push address that we store with your account or saved places; turn them off in your profile or browser settings at any time.
What you had
When you check in you can list the dishes you ordered, rate them and add a comment. If the dish is on the restaurant’s menu, your rating counts toward its score there; dishes that aren’t on the menu stay with your check-in and are never added to the restaurant’s menu. Written comments are reviewed before they appear publicly. People who follow you can see your check-ins and dishes unless you turn off activity sharing.
2. How we use information
- To show you nearby places, run the Rouleat spin, and remember your saves, visits and settings.
- To show your public profile, reviews and photos to other people, and to let friends follow you. Friends who already know your exact email address can use it to find your profile; your email is never displayed to them.
- To keep the directory accurate (closed-place reports, owner claims), to review reported content, and to prevent spam, harassment and abuse.
- To process payments from restaurant owners for promotions and menu builds, run what they bought, and keep the business records the law requires.
- To measure what’s popular, fix bugs and improve the app.
- To show advertising that helps keep Rouleat free (see Cookies & Ads).
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising except through the ad service described on the Cookies & Ads page, which you can limit.
3. What other people can see
Your display name, username, profile photo and bio are visible to other members. Accounts are private by default: people must send a follow request, and only followers you approve can see your check-ins, dishes, saved places and Passport. You can make your account public, hide your saved places, stop sharing your check-ins, remove followers and stop appearing in suggestions in Profile → Privacy. Reviews and photos you post on a place’s page are public. Comments, replies, reactions and likes on posts and menu items are public and show your display name and photo; when a restaurant’s owner replies, it shows as the restaurant with an “Owner” badge. Your email address is never shown publicly.
Reports and blocking
You can report any post, comment or account, block other members, and hide a restaurant’s posts. The person you report or block is not told who did it. Our moderators see the report, the reason, your note and which account sent it, so they can act on it and stop abuse of the report button. People who have blocked each other don’t see each other’s comments, can’t reply to each other and can’t follow each other. You can see and undo your blocks in Profile → Privacy → Blocked & hidden.
4. Services we use
To run Rouleat we send limited information to these providers. Each handles it under its own privacy policy.
| Provider | What for | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Google Sign-In (when you use it) | Signing in with your Google account | Your browser talks to Google directly (in the installed app, Google sends you back to rouleat.com after you choose your account); we check the sign-in token with Google and receive your name, email, profile picture and Google account ID |
| Google Maps Platform (Places) | Place listings, ratings, photos | Search area coordinates, place IDs |
| Yelp Fusion (when enabled) | Place listings, ratings, photos | Search area coordinates |
| OpenStreetMap (Overpass, Nominatim) and map tiles | Map data, address lookup, the map view | Search area or typed address; your browser loads map tiles directly |
| Pexels | Illustrative stock food photos and videos, and “Example photo” pictures for dishes without a photo | Cuisine or dish-name keywords only |
| Google AdSense (when enabled) | Advertising | Your browser connects to Google directly; see Cookies & Ads |
| Web push services (Apple, Google, Mozilla) | Delivering alerts you turned on | An empty wake-up message; the alert text stays on our server |
| Anthropic (Claude AI) | Reading menus uploaded by restaurants (photos, PDFs or typed text, including menu-build orders) into menu items | The menu file or text only — no account or payment details |
| Stripe | Payments by restaurant owners for promotions, post boosts and menu builds | Card, wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay) and other payment details go directly to Stripe; we receive the payment status, amount and the restaurant’s name. We never see or store full card numbers |
| Our web host (IONOS) | Hosting the site and database | All data stored by the app |
| Delivery and reservation partners | Only when you tap “Order” or “Reserve” | You leave Rouleat and go to their site |
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect people’s safety, or as part of a sale or transfer of the service.
5. How long we keep it
- Account data and the content you post: until you delete it or delete your account.
- Reports about content: while the review is open and up to 12 months after, so we can spot repeat abuse. Blocks and hidden places: until you undo them or delete your account.
- Payment and order records for promotions and menu builds: as long as tax and accounting laws require (usually up to 7 years), even if the account is deleted.
- Cached place data from providers: typically days to a few weeks, then refreshed or removed.
- Error reports: only the latest 200 are kept, and they are cleared regularly.
- Server logs: kept by our host for a limited time for security.
6. Security
Passwords are hashed, pages are served over HTTPS, and forms are protected against cross-site requests. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a unique password.
7. Your choices and rights
- Access and correct: view and edit your profile, reviews and visits in the app.
- Delete: open Profile → Delete my account to permanently remove your account, saves, visits, follows, reviews, comments, likes, reactions, photos, blocks and alerts. Guest data on your device can be removed by clearing your browser’s site data.
- Location: you can deny location access and type an area instead.
- Notifications and ads: turn alerts off at any time; see Cookies & Ads for ad choices.
- Depending on where you live (for example California, other US states, the EU/UK), you may have rights to access, correct, delete or port your data, to opt out of “sale” or “sharing”, and to not be discriminated against for using these rights. Email dylan.mfh@gmail.com and we’ll respond within the time the law requires. You may also complain to your local data-protection authority.
8. Children
Rouleat is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 where local law sets a higher age), and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Changes
We may update this policy. We’ll change the date at the top, and for significant changes we’ll show a notice in the app.
10. Contact
Questions or requests: dylan.mfh@gmail.com.