Overview
NoWaitsy is a restaurant wait-time app. The current MVP does not require an account. The app uses an anonymous device identifier so wait updates, cooldowns, feedback, and notification preferences can work without showing your identity in the app.
Information We Collect
- Location permission, if you allow it, to show nearby restaurants and improve local search around you.
- Selected addresses or recent address choices saved on your device so you can browse around a chosen area.
- Restaurant wait updates you submit, including wait minutes, restaurant id, timestamp, and optional crowd or wait-area context.
- An anonymous device identifier used for cooldowns, duplicate prevention, feedback, push notification preferences, and support diagnostics.
- Push notification tokens and notification preferences if you opt in to notifications.
- Feedback messages you send from the app, plus app version and build details that help us debug issues.
- Basic technical logs or diagnostics produced by the app platform and services used to operate the app.
Location
If you allow location access, NoWaitsy uses your location to show restaurants near you and improve local search results. Precise location may be processed temporarily depending on the feature, such as nearby browsing, search, directions, or provider lookups. Your precise location is not publicly displayed in NoWaitsy.
You can deny location permission and still search manually or choose an address. You can also change location access later in iOS Settings.
How We Use Information
- To show nearby restaurants, search results, wait estimates, confidence, and freshness.
- To save and aggregate wait updates so other diners can make faster decisions.
- To prevent one device from over-influencing a restaurant's current wait estimate.
- To remember local app choices such as pinned restaurants, selected addresses, contribution activity, and notification preferences.
- To send opt-in contribution-impact notifications after a successful wait update, subject to quiet hours and daily caps.
- To respond to support requests and improve reliability.
Information Sharing
We do not sell your personal information. NoWaitsy uses service providers to operate the app, including Supabase for app data, Expo services for push notifications and app tooling, Vercel for this website, and place/map providers such as Foursquare, OpenStreetMap/Nominatim, Apple Maps, or Google Maps depending on the feature you use. These providers process information according to their own terms and privacy policies.
Public Wait Data
Wait updates are used to calculate restaurant wait estimates and recent update history. Public app surfaces should not expose your anonymous device identifier. Raw backend records may include that identifier so NoWaitsy can validate cooldowns, dedupe updates, and investigate abuse or support issues.
Your Choices
- You can deny location permission and still search or choose an address manually.
- You can disable location access later in iOS Settings.
- You can skip push notifications or turn contribution-impact notifications off in the app.
- You can choose not to submit wait updates or optional crowd context.
- You can contact support to request help with privacy questions or deletion requests.
Deletion Requests
You can email nowaitsy@gmail.com to request deletion of support messages or identifiable operational records associated with your device where reasonably possible. Some records may be kept when needed for security, abuse prevention, legal, or operational reasons.
Data Retention
Local preferences and contribution activity remain on your device unless you remove the app or clear app data. Backend wait updates, support messages, notification records, and related operational data are retained only as long as reasonably necessary to operate, secure, debug, and improve NoWaitsy.
Security
NoWaitsy uses reasonable safeguards to protect information handled by the app and its service providers. Still, no electronic storage or transmission method is 100% secure, so NoWaitsy cannot guarantee absolute security.
Children
NoWaitsy is not directed toward children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided information to NoWaitsy, contact us so we can review it.
Changes
We may update this policy as NoWaitsy changes. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new date.
Contact
For privacy questions, email nowaitsy@gmail.com or visit the support page.