Onlooker LLC Privacy Policy

When you create an account we collect your email address, an encrypted authentication credential (password hash) or a Google sign-in identifier, your chosen display name, and an optional profile photo. We also store your account creation date, sign-in timestamps and the device/browser type used, for security and fraud prevention. Profile photos are checked automatically by an AI service before they're shown, and photos that fail the check are deleted right away.

We also collect your mobile number (to verify your account and for texts you choose), your legal name if you cash out, and, when you sign in or move money, your IP address and a scrambled (hashed) device identifier to prevent fraud. A human check from Cloudflare (Turnstile) runs on some forms. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email from them. Bank and tax details for cash-outs are collected and stored by Stripe, not by us.

If you book a Verified Visit, you give us the on-site contact's name and mobile number. We use them only to text that person about the visit. Check-in photos from a visit are private and shared only with the people involved in that visit.

If you earn or spend money on the platform we store wallet balances, bounty amounts, boost contributions, payout requests and transaction history. Card details are never stored by Onlooker LLC; card payments are processed by our payment provider under its own privacy terms.

Onlooker is only for adults 18 and over, and we do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.

Before your first cash-out, and before Verified Visits, we ask you to verify your identity with Stripe Identity. For a US cash-out check, Stripe checks your name, date of birth and a government ID number. For checks outside the US and for Verified Visits, Stripe asks for a photo of your government ID and a live selfie, and uses face-matching technology to compare them.

Stripe runs the check for us and also handles this data under its own Privacy Policy (stripe.com/privacy). We never receive or keep your ID images, selfie or face data. We keep only the result, your country, and a scrambled code (hash) made from your verified name and date of birth, so one person can't open several cash-out accounts. We keep these while your account exists and afterwards only as long as needed to prevent fraud and meet legal duties.

The check is your choice, and Stripe asks for your consent before it starts. Without it you can't cash out or take Verified Visits. If you can't complete it, email support@onlooker.io.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties.

We use your mobile number to verify your account and send the texts described in the Terms of Service, through our texting provider. If you opt in, a member of our team may also call or text you personally about your account or getting started.

You opt in to texts when you tap Send code to verify your number, or when you turn on texts in Settings > Notifications. You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any text from Onlooker, and opt back in by replying START. Reply HELP for help.

What we collect. With your permission, the app reads your device’s precise location (GPS) to show the map centred on you, to list nearby bounty requests by distance, to place the pin for a request you post, and to verify that an Onlooker is physically at the requested location when they submit media (geofence check).

When we collect it. Location is read only while the app is open and in use. Onlooker LLC does not track your location in the background and does not build a continuous movement history of you.

Job alerts. If you turn on job alerts (push or text) and have allowed location, Onlooker saves where you are while the app is open — on open, when you open Earn, and at most every 5 minutes if you have moved more than 200 m — so we can tell you about new jobs near you. It is saved roughly, rounded to about 100 m, never shown to anyone, and only a location saved within the last 48 hours is used for alerts. Turning job alerts off deletes it.

What is shared. The location attached to a request or an uploaded capture is visible to the other party in that transaction and can appear as an approximate area or place name in the public feed. Your live position is never shown to other users.

Your control. You may refuse or revoke the location permission at any time in your device settings. The app remains usable, but map centring, distance sorting and geofence-verified submissions will not work.

Filming a job needs camera access. Video capture also asks for microphone access, so clips can include sound; never record people's private conversations (see the Terms of Service). Media is captured only when you start a capture; the app does not record silently or in the background. If you use voice input to describe a job, the recording is sent to an AI provider only to turn it into text, and we don't keep the recording.

Photos and videos you submit are uploaded to our secure cloud storage together with the request they belong to, your user ID, the capture time, an auto-generated thumbnail image and the associated bounty amount. Media files are stored in a private bucket and are served only through short-lived signed links to people entitled to view them, or to anyone you deliberately send a share link to.

Photos and video frames attached to Discover posts are checked automatically by an AI service before they’re posted, and media that fails the check is deleted right away.

You keep ownership of your media. You grant us the licence described in the Terms of Service purely so we can store, process and display it inside the platform. We may review content reported as unlawful or unsafe and remove it.

People may appear in the background of clips. Anyone, including people who aren't members, can ask us to remove a clip they appear in by emailing support@onlooker.io.

We use the data above to operate accounts and sign-in, match requests with nearby Onlookers, verify that captures were taken at the right place, process bounties, boosts and payouts, calculate ratings and the Top Reporters ranking, provide customer support, detect abuse and fraud, and meet our legal obligations. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use your location or media for advertising or third-party profiling.

We use essential cookies and similar browser storage to keep sign-in secure, remember legal acceptance and onboarding progress, and retain preferences you choose in the app. These are necessary for requested functionality and remain available if you decline optional cookies.

Optional diagnostic reporting is disabled unless you accept it through our consent banner. It helps us identify and fix technical problems. We do not currently use advertising cookies or third-party behavioral tracking. Your consent choice is saved on your device so we do not ask on every visit; you may clear site data in your browser to reset that choice.

Do Not Track. We don't use advertising trackers or track you across other websites or apps, so we don't change how we work when your browser sends a Do Not Track signal. Some features load services from other companies (Google Maps, Cloudflare's human check, and a video player only after you press play). They may receive technical data such as your IP address under their own privacy policies.

We share only what is needed with service providers that run the platform for us: our cloud database, sign-in and file storage provider; Stripe (payments, cash-outs and ID checks); Google (Maps, Places and Google sign-in); Apple (Sign in with Apple); Cloudflare (human checks); Resend (email); our texting provider; AI service providers reached through Lovable's AI gateway, which may use models from Google and OpenAI (to check photos and videos, help write job descriptions and turn voice into text); and error tooling that receives technical diagnostics. These providers may use the data only to provide their service to us, except where their own privacy policies apply as described above.

We may disclose data where legally required by valid legal process, or where necessary to protect the rights, safety or property of users or the public. If Onlooker LLC is acquired or merged, account data may transfer to the successor entity under this policy.

Account and transaction records are kept for as long as your account exists and afterwards only as required for tax, accounting, dispute or legal purposes. Bounty media is retained indefinitely so you and the requester can replay past captures, unless you delete it. Once deleted, a video, its thumbnail and its database record are removed from active storage and purged from backups on our normal backup cycle.

Data is transmitted over encrypted HTTPS connections and stored with encryption at rest. Access rules at the database level restrict every record to the users entitled to it, and media is kept in a private bucket reachable only via expiring signed links. No system can be guaranteed perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password.

You can view and edit your name and profile photo, delete individual bounty videos, and delete your entire account from your profile settings. Deleting your account removes your profile, uploaded media and location records associated with you, other than records we must retain by law.

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR or the CCPA/CPRA) you may also request a copy of your data, ask us to correct or erase it, object to or restrict certain processing, and lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. We do not sell or share personal information as those laws define the terms. Contact us to exercise any of these rights.

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA) gives you the rights below, which you can exercise free of charge:

Right to know. You may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties it is disclosed to. In the preceding 12 months we have collected: identifiers (name, email, user ID); internet or other electronic network activity (sign-in timestamps, device/browser data); precise geolocation data (while the app is in use); audio/visual information (the bounty media you upload); and commercial information (wallet and transaction history). We also collect sensitive personal information: precise geolocation and, through Stripe, government ID details and face images used only to verify your identity.

Right to delete and correct. You may request deletion of your personal information, or correction of inaccurate information, subject to legal exceptions (for example transaction records we must keep for tax and accounting).

Right to opt out of sale or sharing. We do not sell your personal information for money and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of. If this ever changes, a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” control will be provided.

Right to limit sensitive data and to non-discrimination. Precise geolocation is a sensitive category and is used only to provide the service you request; we do not use or disclose it for other purposes. ID check data is used only to verify you and prevent fraud. We don't use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you. We will never discriminate against you for exercising any CCPA right. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf; we will verify the request as the law requires.

Location (precise, while in use), map centring, nearby request distances, pin placement, geofence verification of captures.

Camera, capturing the photo or video that fulfils a bounty request.

Microphone, recording audio as part of a bounty video.

Photos / storage, saving or selecting a profile photo where you choose to.

Each permission is requested at the moment it is needed and can be declined or later revoked in your device settings.

We will update this policy when our practices change and revise the date at the top. We will announce material changes in the app or by email before they take effect. Questions or privacy requests: email support@onlooker.io or write to Onlooker LLC, 15642 Sand Canyon Avenue, Unit 54425, Irvine, CA 92619. We respond within 45 days.