Privacy

Last updated November 7, 2026

CurbKicks is a free map of things people leave at the curb. We collect as little as we can to run it.

What we collect

• What you post: the photo, title, details and category. Posts are public.
• Visitor location: CurbKicks does not automatically request your device location. You can search by ZIP code or city/state, or choose to share your current location using the location button.
• Where the item is: new listings require a geocoder-confirmed house number and street address. The address is shown publicly on the listing, along with a map pin rounded to about 10 m. Older listings without a street address may show pin coordinates instead.
• Email alerts (optional): if you ask to be notified about new items, we store your email, an approximate location (rounded to about 1 km), your chosen distance, optional category and keyword filters, and when you confirmed. We email you only after you click the confirmation link, and only about new listings near that location, at most once an hour. For alerts, we use your email only to send and manage those alerts; we never sell or share it, and send messages through our own mail server. Every email has an unsubscribe link, which deletes the record immediately. You can also ask us to delete it at [email protected]. Sign-ups that are never confirmed are deleted after a few days, and confirmed alerts expire after 12 months unless you tell us (with one click in a check-in email) that you want to keep them.
• Your email (optional): only if you enter it when posting. It is never shown publicly and is used to send your private manage link, approval notice, and occasional pickup-intent notification when someone says they’re on the way.
• Your location while browsing: if you explicitly choose “Use my current location”, your browser location is used on your device to centre the map and sort by distance. We do not automatically prompt for GPS. Coordinates are sent to our server only to look up nearby listings and are not stored with your identity.
• Pickup interest: if you tap “I’m on my way”, we store a one-way IP hash against that listing for up to 45 minutes to show a temporary interest count and prevent repeat spam. If the poster supplied an email, we may send them one notification per listing per hour. We never share your email because this feature does not ask for it.
• Saved-item backup: if you request a backup, we store your email and saved listing IDs for up to 7 days, then send a private one-time restore link. The backup is deleted after it is used or expires.
• Abuse prevention: a one-way hash of your IP address, used for rate limiting and spam control. We don’t store the IP address itself.
• On your device: your browser stores a private key for each listing you post (so only you can manage it), your saved items, and your last location and radius. Saved items stay in this browser unless you request an email backup. Clear your browser data to remove them.

Photos

Photos are re-saved on our server, which removes hidden camera data such as GPS location. Please don’t include people, faces, licence plates or house numbers you don’t want public.

Other services involved

Map tiles come from OpenStreetMap, and typed addresses are looked up with the US Census Geocoder and OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim, so the address you search for is sent to them. “Get directions” opens Google Maps or Apple Maps, which have their own privacy policies. We don’t run advertising or sell data.

How long we keep things

Listings stay live for 7 days. Expired or picked-up listings, their photos and any email address attached to them are deleted about 30 days later. You can remove a listing yourself at any time from “My listings” or your manage link.

Your choices

To have a listing or your email removed sooner, or to ask what we hold about you, email [email protected] with the link to the listing.