Volunteer & Mobile App Privacy Policy

Volunteer & Mobile App Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 23, 2026

Plain-Language Summary (This Box Does Not Replace the Full Policy Below) When you use the TrueTag app, we collect your first name and the photos you take of thrift-store items. We keep those photos indefinitely to train our AI. Your store manager can see your activity and photos. We use automatic face-blurring on all photos before storage. You must be at least 13 years old to use this app. We do not collect your email address. We do not sell your information.

This Privacy Policy explains how Quilt Thrift Optimization LLC, doing business as TrueTag ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), collects, uses, discloses, and retains information about individuals who use the TrueTag mobile application as a Volunteer. This policy covers Volunteer accounts and the mobile app only. Manager accounts are governed by the separate TrueTag Manager & Administrator Privacy Policy.

By using the TrueTag mobile app, you --- or, if you are under 18, your parent or legal guardian --- agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

1. About TrueTag

TrueTag is an AI-powered pricing tool for thrift stores. Volunteers use the TrueTag mobile app to photograph items and receive AI-assisted pricing suggestions. Operated by:

Quilt Thrift Optimization LLC d/b/a TrueTag

5650 E Grove Dr SE, Kentwood, MI 49512

Email: truetagforthrift@gmail.com

2. Age Requirement

The TrueTag mobile app is intended only for users who are at least 13 years of age. Before you can access the app, you must confirm via an on-screen checkbox that you are 13 or older. If you indicate that you are under 13, you will not be permitted to use the app and no information will be collected from you.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If we learn that a user under 13 has accessed the app, we will terminate that account and delete associated information as required by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and applicable law.

If you are between 13 and 17 years old, your store's Manager is responsible --- under the TrueTag Terms of Service --- for ensuring that a parent or legal guardian has consented to your use of the app before issuing you a Store PIN. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child is using TrueTag without your consent, please contact us immediately at truetagforthrift@gmail.com.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Account Information

To log in, Volunteers provide only:

A first name or display name
The Store PIN issued by their Manager

We do not collect your email address, last name, date of birth, phone number, or any government identifier. Because login requires only a name and PIN, your account is not linked to a verified real-world identity in our systems.

3.2 Photographs

When you price an item through the app, it captures and uploads:

A photograph of the whole item
A photograph of the item's brand or tag

You should photograph only items owned or possessed by your store. You must not intentionally photograph other people.

3.3 Automatic Face Blurring

Automatic Face Detection and Blurring We recognize that accidental capture of people's faces can occur in a busy store environment. To protect bystanders, we apply automated face-detection and blurring to all photographs before they are stored on our servers or used in AI training. Any detected face is algorithmically blurred prior to storage. This technology is not perfect. If you believe a photo containing an identifiable person was uploaded without blurring, please notify your Manager or contact us at truetagforthrift@gmail.com.

3.4 Activity Metadata and Session Index

We collect operational data associated with your sessions:

Which store organization your session is associated with
Timestamps and session duration
Number of items priced
Pricing outputs and AI confidence scores
Processing time per item

We also maintain a session index --- an internal log that maps each session to the store, date, display name, and the specific image IDs uploaded during that session. This index is used solely for operational purposes, including fulfilling targeted deletion requests. It is not used for marketing or sold to third parties. Because Volunteers log in with only a display name and PIN --- not an email address or verified identity --- the session index does not link your sessions to a verified real-world identity.

3.5 Technical Data

We may automatically collect device type, operating system version, app version, error reports, and IP address at the time of upload.

4. How We Use Your Information

4.1 To Provide the Service

Photographs and metadata are used to generate AI-assisted pricing suggestions, which is the core function of the app.

4.2 AI Training

Important: Your Photos Are Used to Train Our AI Photographs you upload through the TrueTag app may be retained indefinitely on TrueTag's servers and used to train, fine-tune, and improve TrueTag's proprietary AI and machine learning models. Images are stored and referenced by session identifier. Before being used in AI training, session-identifying metadata (display name, date) is stripped from images, so training data is not linked to any individual. Images remain associated with the store for quality-assurance purposes. No additional compensation is paid to you or your store for this use. TrueTag claims ownership of all images uploaded to the platform. By using the app, you --- or your parent or guardian on your behalf --- grant TrueTag a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide license to use uploaded images as described in this policy and our Terms of Service.

4.3 Manager Visibility

Your activity data --- items priced, session metrics, pricing outputs, and uploaded photographs --- is visible to the Manager of your associated store through the TrueTag web dashboard.

4.4 Service Improvement

We use aggregated, de-identified data from all Volunteers to improve app performance and develop new features.

4.5 Legal Compliance and Safety

We may use your information to comply with applicable law, respond to legal process, or protect the safety of our users and the public.

5. Third-Party Processing of Photographs

5.1 OpenRouter / Gemma AI

Photographs are transmitted in real time to an external AI API (OpenRouter, using the Gemma model) to generate a pricing suggestion. We use OpenRouter's Zero Data Retention (ZDR) setting, which means:

OpenRouter does not retain your photographs after the real-time API call
Your photographs are not used to train OpenRouter's or Gemma's models
Transmission is encrypted in transit

TrueTag retains the master copies of all photographs on its own servers independent of the API call.

5.2 Cloud Infrastructure

TrueTag uses third-party cloud hosting providers to store and serve data. These providers operate under confidentiality and security agreements with us.

6. Image Retention and Deletion

Photographs uploaded through the TrueTag app are retained indefinitely on our servers. We do not automatically delete them after a pricing session ends. Images are retained for AI model training, analytics, quality assurance, and legal compliance.

6.1 How Deletion Requests Work

Because TrueTag maintains a session index (see Section 3.4), we are able to fulfill targeted deletion requests for images from a specific Volunteer's sessions --- without needing to delete all images from an entire store.

To request deletion of your session images, you or your parent or guardian may email truetagforthrift@gmail.com with the following information:

The name of your store
The display name you used in the app
The approximate date range of the sessions you want deleted

TrueTag will use the session index to identify the specific image IDs associated with those sessions and delete them from active storage. Your Manager can also submit deletion requests on your behalf through the same process.

6.2 Limitations on Deletion

Please note the following limitations:

Residual copies may remain in encrypted backups for a period following deletion and will be purged on the next backup cycle
Data that has already been incorporated into trained AI model weights in a stripped, anonymized form cannot be retroactively removed from those model weights
We may retain data required for legal compliance, fraud prevention, or dispute resolution
Deletion of session data from active storage does not constitute a waiver of any rights TrueTag has already exercised under this policy

7. Who Can See Your Information

Your store's Manager(s): activity metrics, session data, and uploaded photographs via the TrueTag dashboard
TrueTag staff: for AI training, quality assurance, and support purposes
OpenRouter/Gemma: photographs in real time for pricing (no retention under ZDR)
Cloud hosting providers: as infrastructure processors
Law enforcement or courts: if required by legal process or to protect safety

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with advertisers.

8. Your Rights and Choices

8.1 Access and Deletion

You or your parent or guardian may request a summary of session data we hold, or request deletion of uploaded photographs, by contacting your store's Manager or emailing truetagforthrift@gmail.com. See Section 6 for deletion limitations.

8.2 Parental Rights Under COPPA

For any user who is under 13 and has accessed the app in violation of our age restriction, parents or guardians have the right under COPPA to review information collected from their child, have it deleted, and refuse further collection. Contact truetagforthrift@gmail.com immediately.

8.3 Stopping Use

You may stop using the app at any time. Ceasing use does not automatically delete data already uploaded. See Section 6 for deletion requests.

9. Data Security

We implement commercially reasonable security measures including encrypted transmission, access controls, and secure cloud storage. Automated face blurring reduces but does not eliminate the risk that a photograph may contain personally identifiable information. If you are aware of a security concern, contact truetagforthrift@gmail.com immediately.

10. Governing Law

This policy is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. It is designed to comply with applicable federal law, including COPPA (15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.). If you are a California resident, additional rights may apply under California law --- contact us to learn more.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to your store's Manager via the TrueTag dashboard and posted within the app. Continued use of the app after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact Us