Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 18, 2026

Bar Scene Chicago is a Chicago bar discovery app that lets you rate bars, save favorites, connect with friends, and contribute information about happy hours. This policy explains what we collect, what we do with it, and what we don't.

What we collect

Account information

When you sign up, we collect:

• Your email address, for sign-in and password recovery.
• A username you choose, visible to other signed-in users for friend search.

Activity data

When you use the app, we store:

• Bars you rate (1–100 score).
• Bars you save to favorites.
• Reviews you write.
• Friend requests you send and accept.
• Happy hour suggestions and verifications you submit.
• Issue reports you file.
• Photos you attach to happy hour submissions.

Location

If you grant location permission, we use your device's location to sort bars by distance from you (the "Near me" filter). Your location is not stored on our servers — it stays on your device and is used only to compute distances client-side.

Photos

Photos you upload (e.g., menu photos with happy hour submissions) are stored in our Supabase storage and visible to admins and other signed-in users when reviewing your submission.

Analytics

We use PostHog to measure how the app is used in aggregate (which screens are popular, where users drop off, how often the app is opened). PostHog receives an anonymous device identifier and, once you sign in, your account's user ID. We do not send PostHog any reviews, ratings, personal messages, or photos.

How we use your information

• To provide app functionality — sync your ratings/favorites across devices, connect you with friends, show admins your submissions for review.
• To improve the catalog — aggregated rating data informs the leaderboard rankings.
• For account recovery — your email is used to send password reset links.

We do not:

• Sell your data to third parties.
• Share your data for advertising purposes.
• Track you across other apps or websites.

Third-party services

The app uses these services to function:

• Supabase (database, authentication, file storage) — your account and activity data is stored on Supabase. Their privacy policy: supabase.com/privacy
• Google Places API (bar metadata and photos) — used server-side to enrich the bar catalog. Google does not receive your personal information through the app.
• PostHog (product analytics) — receives anonymous usage events and your account ID once signed in. Their privacy policy: posthog.com/privacy
• Sentry (crash reporting) — receives crash stack traces and basic device info. No personal data attached. Their privacy policy: sentry.io/privacy
• Apple App Store (distribution) — Apple may collect installation and crash data per their policies.

Visibility of your data

• Your username is visible to any signed-in user via friend search.
• Your ratings and reviews are visible to other users (public on the bar's detail page and via leaderboards).
• Your saved bars are private to you.
• Your friends list is visible only to you and your friends.
• Friend ratings/reviews are visible to you on a friend's profile (because all ratings are public app-wide).

Your rights

You can:

• Edit your username by contacting us (email below). Username changes are restricted to prevent friend-list confusion.
• Delete your account at any time via Account Options → Delete Account inside the app. This permanently removes your profile, ratings, reviews, favorites, friend connections, and submissions. This action cannot be undone.
• Withdraw location permission at any time in iOS Settings → Bar Scene Chicago → Location.

Data retention

• Your account data is retained until you delete your account.
• Aggregated rating data (e.g., a bar's average score) may persist after individual rating deletion, but won't be tied back to you.
• Photos you've uploaded are deleted from storage when your account is deleted.

Children

The app is intended for users aged 21 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 21. If we learn that a user under 21 has created an account, we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we materially change this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date and notify users via the app.

Contact

Questions about this privacy policy or your data:

Email: privacy@barscenechicago.com

Bar Scene Chicago is an independent project. The author makes no commercial use of your data.