Privacy Policy

Effective: 6 November 2026. Previous version: 25 October 2026.

Who we are

Hexology is a geospatial platform that lets people place stories, images, audio and collections into objects, spaces and places for others to discover. It is provided through our free iOS and Android apps; the Hexology Viewer at app.hexology.co, a public website for reading content without the app, and its camera scanner wherever it is offered; and our websites at hexology.co, about.hexology.co and blog.hexology.co (together, the “Services”).

The Services are operated by EoID Ltd, trading as Hexology, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 08555581) with its registered office at 10 Shingle Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5RH, United Kingdom. EoID Ltd is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, who we share it with and what your rights are. A shorter plain-language summary is on our Privacy 101 page. If anything here is unclear, please email hello@hexology.co.

What personal data we collect

Information you give us

• Account details. When you create an account we ask for your name, a @userhandle (your display name) and an email address, which we verify by sending you a confirmation email. You choose a password.
• Signing in to Studio. We email you a link to sign in, and keep a record of your session while you are signed in. Cloudflare checks that the sign-in page is used by a person.
• Invitations. If we invite you to Hexology, we hold your email address to send the invitation, and delete it if the invitation is not used.
• Optional public email. You may add a second email address to be shown on your profile so that other people can contact you directly. This is optional and is public if you add it.
• Content you post. Posts, comments, collections, sources, images and any links you include, together with the location you attach the content to. Everything you publish is public.
• Reports. If you report a post, we record that the post was reported so that we can review it.
• Messages to us. Anything you send to hello@hexology.co or through the contact form on about.hexology.co (your name, email address, the reason for contacting us and your message), or by email in reply to a message from us.
• Newsletter sign-up. If you subscribe to our newsletter using the form on our websites, we collect your email address, and Buttondown records basic details of the sign-up (see Our newsletter).

Information collected automatically

• Device identifier (browsing without an account). You can use the app to browse content without creating an account. To make this work we assign your device an anonymous identifier. It is not linked to your name or email. If you log out or uninstall the app, anything you collected while browsing anonymously is lost.
• Location. The app asks your device for its precise location while you are using the app. We use it only to show you content that has been placed nearby and, if you post, to let you place your content in the world. We do not store your location, keep a history of where you have been, use background location or track you. The only location we keep is the one you attach to a post, which is part of that public post. You can turn off location access in your device settings; the app cannot show nearby content without it.
• Crash reports. If the app crashes, a report is sent to us so that we can fix the fault. It contains technical information about your device (model, operating system version, app version), the state of the app when the problem occurred, and an installation identifier. It does not contain your name, email or content. We receive these reports through Google and, if you have opted in on your device, through Apple’s and Google’s own crash reporting.
• App usage statistics. The app uses Google to record basic events, such as when the app is first opened and how long it is used, together with your device model, operating system, app version, approximate country, an identifier for your installation and, on Android, the device’s advertising identifier where the device makes it available. We do not use this to show advertising or to build a profile of you, and it contains no name, email, content or precise location.
• Notifications. The app uses Google to deliver notifications, which gives your installation a token. The token carries no name, email or content.
• Website logs. When you visit our websites, your request is handled by Cloudflare, which hosts our pages and protects them from attack. Cloudflare keeps routine records of requests, including your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the time, to run and protect the service; we keep no log of website visits ourselves. To count visits to our websites and the Viewer we use Cloudflare, which sets no cookies, stores no personal identifiers and gives us aggregated figures only; it does not identify you or track you across sites.

The Hexology Viewer

The Viewer at app.hexology.co lets anyone read public content in a web browser, without an account or the app. Content can only be created in the apps. When you use the Viewer:

• Our servers receive your request. Cloudflare, which runs the Viewer, receives each page request with your IP address and browser details. It may keep routine records of requests, including your IP address and the address requested (which, when you look for sources near you, contains the approximate area described below), to run and protect the service. We keep no log of requests ourselves, and our own diagnostic messages contain no personal data. The Viewer uses your IP address briefly to limit excessive requests and protect the service. It fetches content from our platform without passing on anything that identifies you.
• No cookies or trackers. The Viewer sets no cookies, stores nothing in your browser, shows no advertising and has no analytics or trackers other than the visit counting described above.
• The map. The Viewer’s map uses two independent services built on OpenStreetMap data, which your browser contacts directly (see Who we share your data with). Map images come from OpenFreeMap, which sees your IP address and roughly which area you are looking at; OpenFreeMap states that it does not log IP addresses in normal operation. Place names come from komoot, to which your browser sends, with your IP address, only the text of a place search as you type it and the coordinates of a point you have chosen (one you searched for, set by hand away from where your device says you are, or arrived at by a link), so that its town name can be shown. komoot never receives your own position, or a point you set close to it.
• Around Me and your location. The Viewer uses your device’s location only when you ask it to, for example by pressing Around Me, and only after your browser has asked your permission. Your precise position stays on your device: it is never saved, never sent to us and never put in a link unless you choose to share it (see below). To find sources near you, your browser sends us only an approximate, neighbourhood-sized area around you, and our platform does not learn who asked. If you refuse location access, the map still works.
• Sharing and links to places. Share buttons copy a link or open your phone’s own share options; nothing is sent to us. A point you choose on the map is kept in the page’s address so that reloading, going back or copying the address returns you to it; that part of the address is not sent to us or to anyone else (what komoot receives is described above). Links made before 13 October 2026 are an exception: the point is sent to Cloudflare once, when the link is opened. A link you share carries the point you chose. It contains your own position only if, on desktop, you press Share after using Around Me, and the Viewer tells you so before you copy it. Nothing is shared unless you press Share, and this is the only way your position is revealed.
• Reporting a post. Each post has a “Report this post” button, which opens our contact form. The form asks for your name, email address and a message, so that we can respond; it is handled like any other message to us (see Messages to us above and Web3Forms under Who we share your data with).
• The camera scanner. The Viewer can use your phone’s camera to recognise a QR code or an enrolled artwork and open its page. The camera starts only when you tap Scan, after your browser has asked your permission, and stops when you close the scanner or a page opens. A QR code is read on your phone and nothing leaves it. If there is no QR code, the picture is sent over an encrypted connection to our own server in the United Kingdom, where it is compared with the artworks we have enrolled and then discarded. We never store pictures from your camera, and the scanner does not recognise faces or people. For each scan our server keeps only a short technical record of the result, with nothing about you or your device, for a short period. To stop abuse, the server uses IP addresses briefly and never stores them. Cloudflare carries the request as it does every Viewer request. You can withdraw camera permission at any time in your browser’s settings. The same rules apply wherever the scanner is offered.

We do not collect your phone number, date of birth, home address, contacts or any data from social media accounts. The only images we receive are the ones you choose to upload in the app and, if you use the Viewer’s camera scanner, the pictures it sends for recognition. We do not offer login through any third-party account.

Why we use your data, and our legal basis

UK data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for each use of personal data.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling or automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you. We do not sell personal data.

Content moderation

Every image you upload is checked automatically for content that breaches our standards. If an image is flagged, the post is not published and is held for review by a member of our team. Any user can report a post from within the app; a reported post is removed promptly and reviewed, after which it is either restored, kept in quarantine or deleted. Moderation decisions are always reviewed by a person. If you report a post through the Viewer, we use your email address only to confirm the report and tell you the outcome. If your post is removed and you think that was wrong, you can contact us and we will review it.

Our newsletter

Our newsletter is sent through Buttondown. When you subscribe, Buttondown sends you a confirmation email; if you do not click the link in it, you are not added to the list and receive nothing further. Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing takes effect immediately. Your email address is used only to send the newsletter. For each sign-up Buttondown also records the IP address, the approximate country worked out from it and the website the sign-up came from, and checks the IP address to filter spam. We do not add app users to the newsletter. We do not track whether you open the newsletter or which links you click.

Who we share your data with

Everyone. Your name, @userhandle, short biography, website (if you give one), any public email you add, and everything you post — including the location you attach to it — are public. Anyone using the app or the Viewer can see them, and they may be indexed by search engines. In the Viewer, each contributor has a public page showing these details and their public posts, except the public email, which is shown in the apps but not on the Viewer; contributor pages are marked so that search engines do not index them. Please think before including anything private in a post, and remember that a location attached to a post can reveal where you have been.

Service providers who process data for us. We use a small number of companies to run the Services. They act on our instructions and may not use your data for their own purposes.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosts our platform and the content and images in it, in Germany; provides our sign-in system; sends our service emails; and scans uploaded images.
• Google. Google Maps draws the map in the app and receives your device’s coordinates to do so, and Google receives crash reports, app usage statistics and notification tokens. The app uses Google Maps, and Google’s Privacy Policy (policies.google.com/privacy (opens in a new tab)) applies to Google’s use of that data.
• Apple and Google (app stores) distribute the apps and provide their own crash reporting where you have opted in on your device. Their handling of your data is governed by their own policies.
• Cloudflare hosts, delivers and protects our websites; hosts and runs the Viewer and delivers its images; keeps routine records of requests; and counts visits.
• Web3Forms (Web3Creative, India) operates the contact form on about.hexology.co. It receives your name, email address, reason and message and passes them to us by email. Its own hosting and spam-filtering providers may receive your IP address and email address to check that the submission is not automated.
• Buttondown (Buttondown, LLC, United States) stores the email addresses and sign-up details of newsletter subscribers, filters spam sign-ups, sends the confirmation email and the newsletter, and handles unsubscribes.
• Our email provider receives the messages you send to hello@hexology.co and our replies.

Independent services your browser contacts. The Viewer’s map uses OpenFreeMap (Hyperknot Software Kft., Hungary) and komoot (komoot GmbH, Germany), as described under The Hexology Viewer above. They process your data under their own privacy policies and are not acting on our instructions.

Others. We may disclose personal data if the law requires it, to respond to a lawful request from a court, regulator or law-enforcement body, to enforce our Terms of Service, or to protect the rights, property or safety of Hexology, our users or others. If Hexology is sold or merges with another business, user data may be transferred to the new owner, who will be bound by this policy.

We do not share your data with advertisers, and we have no advertising partners.

Where your data is stored and international transfers

Our platform and your data are hosted by AWS in Germany. The UK government has recognised the European Economic Area as providing adequate protection for personal data, so transfers between the UK and Germany do not need additional safeguards. Google, Cloudflare, Buttondown and Web3Forms may process data outside the UK and EEA, including in the United States and India; where that happens, the transfer is covered by the UK–US Data Bridge or by standard contractual clauses approved for use in the UK. OpenFreeMap and komoot are within the EEA. The camera scanner’s server is in the United Kingdom. If you use the Services from outside the UK, your data will be transferred to and processed in the locations above.

How long we keep your data

• Account and content: for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, your account details and content are removed from the Services immediately and automatically.
• Copies on the Viewer: the Viewer keeps copies of public content for up to a day, so a post that is deleted or removed may remain visible on the web for about a day, and copies of its images held by our delivery network may take time to expire.
• Backups: our systems are backed up; deleted data may persist in backups for a limited period before being overwritten.
• Anonymous device identifiers: until you log out, uninstall the app or clear its data.
• Crash reports and app usage statistics: retained by Google for the period set by Google.
• Website and Viewer logs: Cloudflare keeps routine records of requests for a short period; our visit counts are aggregated figures only.
• Messages and enquiries: for as long as needed to deal with your enquiry and any follow-up. Contact-form submissions are also held by Web3Forms for 7 days and then deleted.
• Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe; after that, only your address marked as unsubscribed, so that you are not sent the newsletter again, unless you ask us at hello@hexology.co to delete it.
• Moderation records: we keep a record of removed content and moderation decisions for as long as needed to meet our legal duties and to deal with any dispute.

We may keep data for longer where the law requires it or where it is needed to resolve a dispute.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you, and receive a copy of it.
• Download your data. You can request a copy of your account data and content; we will provide it within 28 days.
• Correct inaccurate data. You can update your account details in the app. Posts and collections cannot be edited once published, but you can delete them and post again.
• Delete your data. You can delete individual posts and collections, or delete your whole account, from within the app. Deletion is immediate.
• Object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and ask us to restrict processing in some circumstances.
• Withdraw consent at any time: location and camera permission in your device or browser settings, and the newsletter through the unsubscribe link in any issue.
• Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab) (ico.org.uk (opens in a new tab), 0303 123 1113) if you are unhappy with how we handle your data. We would appreciate the chance to resolve your concern first.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@hexology.co or use the contact form on about.hexology.co. We may ask you to confirm your identity before acting on a request. We will respond within one month.

Children

You must be at least 13 years old to create a Hexology account. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us and we will remove it.

Security

Your data is encrypted in storage and in transit. Access to our systems is restricted, and passwords are stored in a form we cannot read. No system is completely secure, so please choose a strong, unique password and tell us straight away if you think your account has been accessed without your permission.

Cookies

Our websites and the Viewer set no cookies for visitors and use no advertising tools, and our visit counting (described above) sets none either. We also use a Google service that tells us how our pages appear in Google Search; it sets no cookies. Our apps store account and session information on your device so that you stay logged in, and Google keeps an identifier for your installation. Details are in our Cookie Policy.

Links to other sites

Posts may contain links to other websites, and our websites link to services such as LinkedIn, the App Store and Google Play. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites; please read their policies.

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when our Services or the law change. The current version is always at about.hexology.co/privacy-policy, with its effective date at the top, and every Viewer page links to it. If we make a significant change, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.

Contact

Email: hello@hexology.co
Contact form: about.hexology.co
Post: EoID Ltd, 10 Shingle Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5RH, United Kingdom