Privacy policy

PHQR (Phone Home QR) helps lost things and pets get home. Owners put PHQR stickers and tags on their belongings; whoever finds one scans it and can contact the owner through PHQR without either side seeing the other's contact details unless they choose to share them. This policy explains what we collect to do that, why, who helps us, and how long we keep it. PHQR is a service of Ascend Networks LLC (“we”, “us”), which runs phqr.app and phqr.org.

What we collect

If you own items (an account)

• Email address, to sign you in (with a one-time code or with Google) and to send you scan alerts and messages. With Google sign-in we receive only your email address and the fact that Google has verified it, not your Google name or photo.
• First name, if you add one. Finders see it as “Belongs to …” and in chat. You can leave it blank.
• Items and their details: names, descriptions, notes to finders, reward notes, pet details (breed, color, birthday, medical notes) and item photos. Finders see the photo, the note to finders, the reward note in lost mode, pet breed, color and medical notes. They never see a pet's birthday.
• Contact details you choose to show (a phone number or email) on specific items. They are hidden unless you tick them for an item.
• Your time zone, from your browser, so times in our emails make sense.
• Sign-in sessions: the IP address and browser of each signed-in device, kept with the session.

If you find something (no account needed)

• Your messages to the owner, and theirs to you.
• Your phone number, only if you enter it. It is saved so we can text you when the owner replies (texts are coming soon). The owner sees it only if you tick “Let the owner see my number”.
• Your precise location, only if you choose to share it. It goes to the owner and stays in PHQR; we never pass it to anyone else.

Every scan

• Scan details: the sticker, the time, how it was opened (QR, NFC tap or code lookup) and your browser type.
• Approximate location (city, region, country), estimated from the IP address by our analytics service (see below).
• A shortened IP address (the last part removed: IPv4 to /24, IPv6 to /48). We keep only the shortened form with the scan.

Why we use it

• To run the service: claim stickers, show the found or lost page, deliver chats.
• To alert owners by email when their stickers are scanned or a finder writes.
• To keep PHQR safe: rate limits and bot checks against people trying to guess codes or spam owners, and reports of abusive chats.
• To understand how stickers are used (scan counts and rough locations).

Who else processes it

We use a small number of service providers, who process data only on our behalf:

• AQRHub, our QR code and analytics service. It creates our sticker codes and records each scan: the code, time, how it was opened, browser type and IP address. AQRHub uses the full IP address only to estimate the approximate location and to filter out bots, then stores a shortened IP.
• An IP location provider (IPinfo), which AQRHub asks for the approximate location of a scan's IP address.
• Hosting and infrastructure: Render (servers), Neon (database), Cloudflare (network, bot checks with Turnstile, and photo storage), Resend (email).
• Google, if you choose “Continue with Google”.
• OpenStreetMap: maps in the owner's view load map tiles from OpenStreetMap, which sees the owner's IP address.

We don't sell your data

We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not use it for advertising. We share it only as described here, or if the law requires it.

How long we keep it

• Finder phone numbers are deleted 30 days after a chat closes (marked returned or blocked).
• Full IP addresses are kept only briefly: until the scan has been passed to AQRHub (normally seconds, at most 7 days if AQRHub can't be reached), and in our abuse limits for up to 2 days.
• Items, photos and chats stay until you delete the item or your account. Deleting an item deletes its photo and chats; its scan history stays with your account without the item.
• Your account stays until you ask us to delete it at [email protected].

Your choices and rights

• Edit or delete items, photos and contact details at any time in the app.
• Turn scan and message emails on or off in Settings.
• Ask for a copy of your data, a correction, or deletion of your account by emailing [email protected]. Depending on where you live you may have further rights; we will honor them.
• Finders can leave a chat on a shared device (“Not you?”), and can ask us to delete their messages or phone number at [email protected]. Tell us the sticker code and roughly when you wrote, so we can find the chat.

Cookies

We use only the cookies PHQR needs: one that keeps owners signed in, and one that lets a finder's browser return to their chat. Cloudflare Turnstile may set its own cookie to tell people from bots. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

Children

PHQR accounts are for people aged 18 and over. Finders don't need an account. PHQR is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If we learn that we have personal information from a child under 13, for example a finder's message or phone number, we delete it. If you think a child has given us information, contact [email protected].

Changes

If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for significant changes, email account holders.

Contact

Privacy questions and data requests: [email protected]
Ascend Networks LLC, Davie, Florida [full mailing address to be added]

For general help with PHQR, write to [email protected].