This privacy policy governs your use of the Flint Eats software application ("App") on a mobile device. The App was created by researchers at Michigan State University through funding that was provided in part by the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Michigan State University Extension, and the Michigan Department of Education. The App provides its users with a way to share information about food in Flint, MI. This privacy statement is intended to inform you of the ways in which this App collects information, the uses to which that information will be put, and the ways in which we protect information you choose to provide us.
Use of this App is subject to terms of the end user license agreement and all applicable state and federal laws.
This App will only collect personal information that you provide when you download the App and register or update your profile. Registering is optional, but please keep in mind that you may not be able to use some of the features offered by the App unless you register. Specifically, you will not be able to post any content or customize your feed.
When you register, you will provide contact information (email and / or phone number) so that we can provide you with your login credentials if you lose or forget them. We may also use this information to contact you from time to time with important information (such as an update to this privacy policy), to ask for your feedback on the app itself, or to invite your participation in surveys.
We will not share your contact information with anyone else, except as may be required by applicable law, court order, or subpoena. This information will not be used for research.
Although this App has security measures in place to protect personal information provided to us by users, users should also take steps to protect personal information by, for example, protecting your mobile device with a passcode.
The App collects all information disclosed in posts (such as reviews, tips, deals, or recipes) or comments, as well as any social actions you take in the App, such as 'following' others or 'liking' specific content. All of this information is also visible to anyone who has downloaded the App, and should be considered to be public. You should therefore exercise caution before disclosing personal information in these contexts. You are solely responsible for the opinions expressed as Publicly Shared Information. You agree that you will not submit any material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, graphic or gratuitously violent, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, encourages conduct that would give rise to criminal or civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate to the App.
This App collects information about when and how you use the App, and what content you look at or interact with. The App will also collect non-precise information about your location if you enable location tracking for this App. The App will only collect information at 1/4 square mile resolution, and will only collect information about your location at most once per hour.
Automatically collected data and publicly shared information will be used in two ways:
Any collected data that is used for research will be de-identified. When we report on this research, we may occasionally use quotes and / or photos from user-provided posts or comments. This data will not be attributed to specific individuals, and any user-generated content will be fully anonymized; for example, pseudonyms will be used if actual names incidentally appear in user-generated posts, and pictures of specific people or places will have identifying details obscured.
De-identified data that is used for research will be stored indefinitely (see the Data Retention Policy below).
Opt-out of all information collection by uninstalling the Application You can stop all collection of information by the Application easily by uninstalling the Application. You may use the standard uninstall processes as may be available as part of your mobile device or via the mobile application marketplace or network.
Opt-out of location tracking You may at any time opt-out from further allowing us to have access to your location data by revoking access to location information from your control panel. However, revoking access to location information will prevent us from providing you with a context sensitive map.
We will retain User Provided information for as long as you use the App, and for a year after that if not notified prior to that. We will retain de-identified information that is Publicly Shared and Automatically Collected indefinitely.
If you’d like us to delete any or all of your data please contact us at flinteats@gmail.com, which will be regularly monitored by an App administrator, and we will respond in a reasonable time.
We do not use the App to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with information without their consent, he or she should contact us at flinteats@gmail.com. We will delete such information from our files within a reasonable time.
We are concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. We provide physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect information we process and maintain. For example, we limit access to this information to authorized employees and contractors who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our App. Please be aware that, although we endeavor to provide reasonable security for information we process and maintain, no security system can prevent all potential security breaches.
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to our Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy at https://app.flinteats.org/privacy-policy.html (also accessible from the “About” page the “Settings” screen of the App) and informing you via email or text message. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes.
By using the App, you are consenting to our processing of your User Provided Information, Publicly Shared Information and Automatically Collected Information as set forth in this Privacy Policy now and as amended by us. "Processing," means using this information in any way, including, but not limited to, collecting, storing, deleting, using, combining information, all of which activities will take place in the United States. Except as may be required by law, court order, or subpoena, we will not disclose your User Provided information in any circumstances. If you reside outside the U.S. your information will be transferred to the U.S., and processed and stored there under U.S. privacy standards. By using the App and providing information to us, you consent to such transfer to, and processing in, the US.
If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about our practices, please contact us via email at flinteats@gmail.com.