Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

When you use YellOut, we collect the following types of information:

• Account information: Name, email address, and password (stored encrypted)
• Location data: Your preferred suburb/area and GPS coordinates (when you grant permission)
• Content you create: Posts, comments, photos, and reactions
• Device information: Push notification tokens and platform type
• Usage data: App interactions to help us improve the service
• Support messages: Messages you send through the in-app contact form
• Business & payment details: If you run business advertising, your business profile details and payment records (payments are processed by Stripe — we never see or store your full card number)

2. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used to:

• Provide location-based incident reports relevant to your area
• Send push notifications about nearby incidents (when enabled)
• Display your posts and comments to other users in the community
• Send account emails (email verification, password reset) and, if enabled, a weekly community digest email — you can opt out of the digest at any time
• Respond to messages you send via the in-app contact form
• Process business advertising payments and manage ad campaigns
• Improve the app experience and fix issues
• Enforce our Terms of Use and moderate content

3. Location Data

Location is central to how YellOut works. We use your location to show you nearby reports and filter content by distance. You can set your preferred location manually by searching for a suburb, or use GPS detection. Location data is stored securely and used only for app functionality — we do not sell or share your location with third parties for advertising purposes.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share information in the following circumstances:

• With other users: Your posts, comments, and display name are visible to the community
• With service providers: Partners who help run the app — cloud hosting and database providers, Cloudflare (photo storage), Resend (transactional email delivery), Stripe (payment processing for business advertising), and Expo (push notification delivery)
• When required by law: In response to valid legal requests from Australian authorities

5. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored in secure cloud databases. Passwords are encrypted using industry-standard hashing (bcrypt). All data transmission uses HTTPS encryption. While we take reasonable measures to protect your data, no system is 100% secure.

6. Your Rights

Under the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), you have the right to:

• Access your personal information held by us
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Delete your account and all associated data
• Opt out of push notifications at any time

You can delete your account at any time through the Settings screen in the app. This permanently removes all your posts, comments, and personal data.

7. Third-Party Government Data

YellOut aggregates publicly available data from Australian government sources, including:

• Queensland: TMR (Transport and Main Roads) traffic events and QFES (Queensland Fire and Emergency Services) emergency incidents
• Victoria: Emergency Management Victoria (VicEmergency) incidents and Transport Victoria (VicRoads) road disruptions
• New South Wales: NSW Rural Fire Service major incidents and Live Traffic NSW (Transport for NSW) road hazards

This data is publicly accessible and subject to the respective agencies' own terms and conditions.

8. Children's Privacy

YellOut is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that such data has been collected, we will delete it promptly.

9. Cookies & Tracking

The YellOut mobile app uses session cookies for authentication purposes only. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking tools. Session data is stored securely on our servers.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated through the app. Your continued use of YellOut after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.