Privacy Policy

Where the Fork is a free tool that helps groups pick a restaurant. We collect as little as we can. This page explains what we keep, what other parties see, and how to reach us.

What we store

When you create or join a session, we store the session document in Google Firestore: a short code, the chosen mechanism, the location/radius you searched, the restaurant candidates pulled from Google Places, and each participant's votes or rankings. Sessions auto-expire 4 hours after creation (1 hour after a decision is reached) and a scheduled job deletes them shortly after.

We sign you in anonymously through Firebase Anonymous Auth so sessions stay tied to your device. We do not ask for your email, name, or phone number.

Google Places

Restaurant data (names, addresses, photos, ratings) comes from the Google Places API. When you start a session, we query Google Places on your behalf with the area you chose. We do not send Google any personal information beyond what is required to perform the search.

Ads and cookies

We show ads from Google AdSense on the landing page and on the result screen after a decision. AdSense and its partners use cookies and similar technology to serve and measure those ads. Where required (EU/UK), Google's consent prompt (Funding Choices) asks you to choose what's allowed before personalized ads run.

You can opt out of personalized advertising via Google Ad Settings.

Analytics

We do not run third-party analytics. Firebase Hosting logs basic request metadata (IP, user agent, timestamp) for operational reasons. Those logs are retained per Google Cloud's defaults.

Children

Where the Fork is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from them.

Contact

Questions about this policy: Contact us by email.