This policy took effect on November 11, 2026. It covers the Here My Story website at heremystory.com and the Here My Story map at app.heremystory.com. "We" and "us" mean Here My Story. You can reach us at hello@heremystory.com.
The short version
- Your map is private unless you choose to share it. How sharing works.
- We collect what you give us to make your map: your name, your email address, your stories, photos and the places you pin.
- We don't sell your personal information, and we don't show advertising.
- The map itself carries no analytics or advertising scripts. The website at heremystory.com uses Google's analytics tools to count visits.
- You can ask us to export or delete your data at any time by writing to hello@heremystory.com.
What we collect
Your account
- The name you give, which is shown on your map.
- Your email address.
- Your password, which is stored only in scrambled (hashed) form by our sign-in provider. We can't read it.
- A profile picture, if you add one.
- If you sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook where that is offered, we receive your name, email address and profile picture from that company. We don't receive your password for it.
Your map
- The stories you write: titles, text and the date you give each one.
- The photos you attach.
- The exact location of each pin you place.
- Your settings: whether your map is private or public, and whether a story is marked "Only readable at this place."
The people you invite
When you invite someone to read your map, we store their email address so that only they can open it, and we send them one invitation email. If you invite someone, please make sure they would be happy to hear from you this way.
Your location
We use your device's location only when you ask us to, and your browser asks your permission each time it is needed.
- "Use my location" when adding a story. Your position is used on your device to move the map. It becomes part of your map only if you save a pin there.
- Unlocking a story marked "Only readable at this place." When you choose "I'm here, unlock it," your position is sent to our server once, to measure how far you are from the pin. We don't store it and we don't show it to the map's owner.
We never track your location in the background.
Technical information
Like every website, our hosting providers record technical details when your browser connects: your IP address, the type of browser and device, and the time. These records are used to keep the service running and secure. To keep you signed in, the map stores a sign-in token in your browser's local storage.
Website analytics
The website at heremystory.com uses Google Tag Manager to load analytics tools such as Google Analytics. They record which pages are visited, which site a visitor came from, and general information about the device and the region it is in. Google's advertising features are switched off. For visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, analytics cookies are switched off as well, and visits are counted without them.
The map at app.heremystory.com does not use these tools. What you write there is never sent to an analytics service.
What we don't collect
We don't collect payment details, because Here My Story is free. We don't read your contacts, and we don't buy information about you from anyone.
How we use it
- To run your map: to store your stories, show them to you, and show them to the people you have chosen.
- To send you email: to confirm your address, reset your password, deliver invitations you send, and tell you about important changes to the service or this policy.
- To keep the service secure, and to find and fix faults.
- To understand how the website is used, so we can improve it.
We don't use your stories or photos for advertising, and we don't use them to train artificial intelligence models.
Where the law asks for a legal basis, ours are these: we handle your account and your map to provide the service you signed up for; we keep security records and count visits because we have a legitimate interest in a service that works and is safe; and we rely on your consent for your device's location and for analytics cookies where consent is required.
Who can see your map
Only you, unless you choose otherwise. If you invite someone by email, that person can read your map. If you make your map public, anyone with the link can read it without an account, and a preview of the link shows your first name, your profile picture, the number of stories on your map and a simple picture of where your pins sit in relation to each other. Nobody but you can change your map, and nobody you share with can see your email address. The details are in how privacy works.
What you write about other people is your responsibility. Please think about the people in your stories before you share a map widely.
Who else handles your data
We use a small number of companies to run Here My Story. They handle data on our behalf and only to provide their service to us.
| Company | What it does for us | What it handles |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, sign-in, photo storage, and the server code that sends invitations and unlocks stories | Your account, your map, your photos and the email addresses you invite |
| Google (Firebase and Google Cloud) | Hosts the website and the map, and creates link previews for public maps | Technical information, and the public details of public maps |
| Google (Tag Manager and Analytics) | Counts visits to heremystory.com | Pages visited on the website, and technical information |
| Google Fonts | Supplies the typefaces | Your IP address, when the fonts load |
| Mapbox | Draws the map | Your IP address, the areas of the map you look at, and basic usage information |
| Resend | Delivers our email | Your email address, and the addresses you invite |
If you sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook, that company also learns that you use Here My Story.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety or our legal rights. If Here My Story is ever taken over by another organization, your data would pass to it under this policy, and we would tell you beforehand.
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it with anyone for advertising.
Where your data is kept
Here My Story is run from Utah, in the United States, and the companies above may store and handle data in the United States and other countries. If you use Here My Story from elsewhere, your data will be transferred to and handled in those countries, which may have different data protection rules from yours.
How long we keep it
- Your map and account are kept until you delete them or ask us to.
- A story or photo you delete is removed from your map straight away.
- An invitation you remove is deleted, along with the email address.
- When you ask us to delete your account, we delete your account, your stories, your photos and your invitations within 30 days. Copies may remain in our providers' backups for a short time before they are overwritten.
- Technical records are kept by our hosting providers for the limited periods they set.
Your choices and rights
You can change your name, picture, stories, photos and sharing settings in the map at any time.
Whoever you are and wherever you live, you can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your data, including your stories and photos;
- correct something that is wrong;
- delete your account and everything in it.
Write to hello@heremystory.com from the email address on your account, so we know the request is yours. We will act on it within 30 days, and we don't charge for it.
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you also have the right to object to or restrict how we use your data, to withdraw consent you have given, and to complain to your data protection authority.
If you live in a United States state with a privacy law, such as California, you have the right to know what we collect, to correct it, to delete it, and not to be treated differently for using these rights. We don't sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
You can stop your browser sharing your location, or block cookies, in its settings. The map will still work, although "Use my location" and unlocking location-locked stories need your location.
Children
Here My Story is for people aged 16 and over. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger. If you believe a child under 16 has made an account, write to us and we will delete it.
Adults often write about children in their stories. If you are a parent and want something about your child removed from someone's map, write to us and we will look into it.
Security
Connections to Here My Story are encrypted. Your stories can be read only by you and the people you have allowed, and that rule is enforced in the database itself. Photos are kept in private storage and shown through temporary links. No service can promise perfect security, so please use a password you don't use elsewhere.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will change the date at the top of this page. If a change affects how we use your data in an important way, we will email you or show a notice in the map before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions, requests and complaints about privacy go to hello@heremystory.com.