İstanbul Help — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-08-03

İstanbul Help ("the app") helps tourists find trustworthy shops in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. This page explains what data we collect, why, and how you can control it.

Information we collect

• Account information: when you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and a unique identifier from Google. We do not receive or store your Google password.
• Content you create: reviews you write (trustworthy/suspicious rating, optional comment, optional reason tags) are stored and shown publicly together with your display name.
• Subscription status: whether you have an active subscription and its expiry date. Payment is handled entirely by Apple/Google — we never receive your card details.
• Business data: we display information about shops (name, rating, phone number, photos) sourced live from Google Places. Per Google's terms, this data is cached briefly and is not stored long-term.

We do not collect your device's GPS location. Search is based on a fixed area (Sultanahmet), not your real-time position.

How we use your information

• To authenticate you and keep you signed in.
• To let you write and see reviews of businesses.
• To verify your subscription status.
• To operate and improve the app.

Third parties

We use Google Sign-In for authentication and the Google Places API to show business information. These services are subject to Google's own privacy policy. If you subscribe, Apple or Google processes your payment under their respective privacy policies.

Data retention

Your account and reviews are kept until you delete your account. Business data sourced from Google is cached briefly only and refreshed automatically.

Your rights

You can permanently delete your account and all your reviews at any time from the app: tap your profile icon in the top right corner, then "Delete Account". This action is immediate and cannot be undone.

For any other request (access, correction, export), contact us at istanbul.help34@gmail.com.

Children

İstanbul Help is not directed at children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect data from them.

Security

Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and access to the app's data requires authentication.

Changes to this policy

We may update this page from time to time. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the update.

Contact

istanbul.help34@gmail.com