Nearby Right Now is operated as an independent project from the State of Maryland, United States. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and what you can ask us to do about it. Write to us at [email protected].
The short version: we collect what the service needs to introduce you to people nearby, we run no advertising or analytics trackers, we do not sell your data, and the location you see for someone else is deliberately imprecise.
What we collect
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your email address | To sign you in (we email a code) and to contact you about your account |
| Your profile: display name, biography, photos | To show other people who you are |
| Your location | To show you people nearby, and to show them roughly where you are -- see below |
| Messages and photos you send | To deliver them, and to investigate reports of abuse |
| Your phone number, if you verify one | To carry out the SMS check |
| Identity check outcome, if you do one | To show the ID Verified badge and record the result |
| Connection details: IP address, browser information | Security, fraud prevention and rate limiting |
| Actions on the site: reports, blocks, ratings, purchases | To run the service and keep it safe |
How we use it
We use this information to run Nearby Right Now and nothing else:
- to create your account and sign you in, including when you choose Sign in with Google;
- to show you what is nearby, and to show other people an approximate distance to you;
- to deliver the messages and photos you send;
- to operate the listings, ratings, blocks, reports and payments you start;
- to keep the site secure, to limit abuse, and to answer a lawful request;
- to contact you about your account when we need to.
We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell it.
Information from Google
If you choose Sign in with Google, you leave this site for Google's own sign-in page and then come back. Google tells us that the sign-in succeeded. From that sign-in we receive only:
- the email address on the Google account, and whether Google has confirmed it;
- Google's own account id for that account.
We use those two facts only to find your Nearby Right Now account, or to create one, and to recognise you the next time you sign in with Google. We do not receive your Google password. We do not copy your Google profile name, photo, contacts, or anything else onto your profile. We do not use information received from Google for advertising, and we do not sell it or give it to data brokers.
Nearby Right Now's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Location, in detail
Location is the part of this product most worth being careful about, so here is exactly what happens.
We store your coordinates. When we show your distance to another person we do not compute it from your real position: we displace it by a fixed distance -- 500 feet by default -- and round the result. We also work out each pair's distance only once every few minutes and repeat that same number in between, so nobody can narrow your position down by taking many readings.
The result is that the distance someone sees is a rough band rather than a fix. That protects you from other users. It does not protect you from us: we hold your real coordinates. We do not sell your location, and we do not give other users your real coordinates.
What we do not do
- We run no third-party advertising or analytics trackers on this site -- no advertising pixels, no analytics scripts, no social plugins.
- We do not sell your personal information.
- We do not publish your messages.
- We do not give other users your real coordinates.
- We do not populate the site with fake accounts to simulate activity. The software contains a simulated-account mode used only for testing, and it refuses to run when the site is in production.
Cookies
We set cookies only so the site can work. We set no advertising or tracking cookies, and we do not use them to follow you across other sites.
nrn_sessionkeeps you signed in.nrn_adminis set only for an operator who has opened the admin console.- An age-check cookie records that this browser already confirmed it is at least 21. It does not store the date of birth.
- A short-lived cookie is set while a Google sign-in is in progress, so we can tell that the return from Google belongs to the same browser that started it. It is removed when the sign-in finishes.
Who else sees your data
We use a small number of service providers. Each processes data on our instructions and sees only what its job needs:
- Cloudflare -- sits in front of the site and passes your requests to our server, so it sees your connection and traffic. It also holds our DNS.
- Our hosting provider -- the server the site and its database run on, in the United States.
- Twilio -- if you verify a phone number, Twilio handles the check and sees the number.
- Didit -- if you do an identity check, Didit handles your identity document and face video and sees the name and date of birth on that document. We do not store the document or the video: we receive and keep the outcome of the check and a reference to the session.
- Google -- if you choose Sign in with Google, Google receives that sign-in. We receive the email address Google confirms and the Google account id. We do not copy your Google name or photo onto your profile.
- A transactional email provider -- when real email delivery is switched on, an email provider will deliver our mail for us.
We may also disclose data where the law requires it, to protect someone from harm, or to enforce our Terms. If the project is ever taken over or sold, your data may transfer with it, and we will say so here if that happens.
How long we keep it
While your account is open we keep your data so the service works. You can delete the account in Settings. Deletion takes effect immediately. We then keep the record for 30 days so a lawful request can still be answered, and after that we delete the profile, photos, messages and the account. Signing in again during those 30 days cancels the deletion. A report someone else filed can remain. Backup copies may persist briefly after the final deletion. A photo you send to be opened once is removed after it has been opened and its short display window has passed.
Your choices and rights
You can edit your profile in Settings, and you can delete the account there. To ask for a copy of your data, write to [email protected]. We will respond as quickly as we can.
Depending on where you live you may have specific legal rights over your data -- for example under California law, or, if you are in the UK or the EU, under data protection law. Those rights usually include access, correction, deletion, portability and objection. We will honour lawful requests wherever you live, and the address above is how to make one.
Security
We protect your data with access controls, encrypted connections, and by not collecting more than we need. No system is perfect, and this is a beta run by a small operation. If you find a security problem, please tell us rather than using it.
Children
Nearby Right Now is for adults. You must be at least 21. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 21, and if we learn we have, we will remove it.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes materially we will point it out on the site rather than quietly editing it, and the date below will change.
Last updated: 21 September 2026.