Legal

Privacy policy

LostLo exists to reunite people with what they lost. That only works if you can trust us with the details you share. This policy sets out exactly what we collect, why we collect it, who can see it and how you stay in control.

Effective 26 July 2026 Applies to the LostLo app and website privacy@lostlo.com

01 Overview

LostLo is a lost and found platform. When you report an item, some of what you write is meant to be seen by other people, because that is the only way a match can happen. Everything else stays private by default.

This policy covers the LostLo mobile application and the website at lostlo.com. It explains our practices as the controller of your personal data. Wherever this policy says "we" or "LostLo", it refers to the operator of the LostLo service.

The short version

We collect the minimum needed to match lost items with found items. We never sell your data. Your phone number and email are never published on a listing. Location is captured only when you attach it, never in the background. You can delete your account and its data at any time from inside the app.

02 What we collect

Information you give us

Account details. Your name or display name, email address, and a securely hashed password. If you sign in through a third party provider, we receive the basic profile that provider returns.
Item reports. The title, category, written description, colour, brand, distinguishing marks, and the date and time window you provide for a lost or found item.
Images. Photographs you upload of an item, and any reference image generated from a description you wrote.
Location you attach. The place you pin for where an item was lost or found, and any search radius you set.
Messages. The content of conversations you have with other users through the app.
Support correspondence. Anything you send us by email, including reports about other users.

Information collected automatically

Device and technical data. Device model, operating system version, app version, language, and a device identifier used for push notifications.
Usage data. Which screens you open and which actions you take, used to find bugs and understand where the product is failing people.
Log data. IP address, timestamps and error traces, retained for security and diagnostics.

What we deliberately do not collect

We do not run continuous or background location tracking.
We do not read your contacts, call logs, SMS messages, or the photo library beyond the images you explicitly choose to upload.
We do not collect payment card details, because the core service is free.
We do not build advertising profiles or sell data to advertisers or data brokers.

03 How we use it

To publish and run your reports so other users can see and search them.
To generate matches by comparing your report against other open reports using image similarity, description text and geographic proximity.
To notify you when a credible match appears, when someone messages you, or when a report you follow changes state.
To enable communication between a person who lost an item and a person who found it, without either side exposing personal contact details.
To keep the platform safe by detecting fraud, false ownership claims, spam, harassment and abuse.
To improve the product through aggregated analysis of how features are actually used.
To meet legal obligations where we are required to retain or disclose information by law.

We do not use your personal data to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you. Match suggestions are recommendations for you to accept or ignore.

04 Lawful basis for processing

Where data protection law such as the GDPR applies to you, we rely on the following grounds:

Performance of a contract. Processing your account, reports, matches and messages is necessary to provide the service you signed up for.
Legitimate interests. Keeping the platform secure, preventing abuse, and improving the product, balanced against your rights and freedoms.
Consent. Accessing device location, sending push notifications and any optional communications. You may withdraw consent at any time in your device or app settings.
Legal obligation. Retaining or disclosing information where the law requires it.

05 What other users can see

This is the part worth reading twice, because a lost and found network is public by nature.

Visible on a listing

Your display name and profile picture, if you set one.
The item title, category, description and any photographs or generated reference images.
The general area you pinned and the approximate time the item was lost or found.

Never visible to other users

Your email address, phone number or home address.
Your precise device location.
Your account settings, saved searches or notification preferences.
Conversations you have with anyone other than that person.

Write listings carefully

Anything you type into a public description is visible to everyone using the app. Do not include identity document numbers, card numbers, passwords or your home address in a report. If you are reporting a found wallet or document, describe it generally and keep the identifying details back so they can be used to verify the real owner.

06 AI and image processing

LostLo uses artificial intelligence in two ways, and both are worth being precise about.

Image generation

Most people have no photograph of the item they lost. You can write a description and LostLo will generate a reference image from that text to help others recognise the item. The description you submit is processed to produce that image. Generated images are clearly labelled inside the app and are never presented as an authentic photograph of your property.

Matching and recommendations

Reports are compared against one another to surface likely matches. This analysis looks at visual features of uploaded images, the meaning of written descriptions, and the distance between two pinned locations. Similarity based recommendations are being introduced in a staged rollout after the initial release.

How your content is handled

Images and descriptions are processed only to operate the features described above.
Where a third party AI provider is used, they act as our processor under contract and are not permitted to use your content to train their general purpose models.
We do not use your private messages for AI training.
Automated analysis produces a suggestion. A human, meaning you, always decides whether to act on it.

07 Location data

Location is central to how LostLo works, so we handle it narrowly.

Location is captured at the moment you attach it to a report or search nearby listings. There is no continuous or background collection.
You can decline location permission entirely and type an area name manually instead. The app remains fully usable.
Public listings show a general area rather than an exact coordinate, so a pin does not reveal a doorstep.
Location permission can be revoked at any time in your device settings without affecting your existing account.

09 How long we keep things

Account data is kept while your account is active.
Item reports are kept while open. Once you mark a case recovered or closed, the listing is removed from public search and is no longer used for matching.
Messages are kept for the life of the account so you can refer back to an arranged handover.
On deletion, your profile, reports, uploaded images, messages and location pins are permanently removed. See the delete account page for the exact process.
Encrypted backups are purged on the normal rolling cycle and no later than 90 days after deletion.
Safety records relating to abuse reports may be retained in minimal form to protect other users, and anonymised operational logs that cannot be linked back to you may be kept indefinitely.

10 Security

We apply industry standard measures to protect your information, including encryption of data in transit, hashed password storage, access controls that limit who on our side can reach production data, and regular review of our infrastructure.

No system is perfectly secure, and we will not claim otherwise. You also play a part: use a strong and unique password, do not share your login, and keep the app updated. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at support@lostlo.com.

11 Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Correct anything inaccurate, most of which you can edit directly in the app.
Delete your account and associated data, available in app at any time.
Export a copy of your data in a portable format.
Object to or restrict certain processing based on legitimate interests.
Withdraw consent for location access or notifications, without affecting processing carried out before withdrawal.
Complain to your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these, write to privacy@lostlo.com from the address registered to your account. We respond within 30 days and never charge a fee for a reasonable request.

12 Children

LostLo is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. Where local law sets a higher age of digital consent, that higher age applies. If you believe a child has created an account, contact privacy@lostlo.com and we will remove it promptly.

13 International transfers

LostLo runs on cloud infrastructure that may store or process data in countries other than your own. Where personal data is transferred outside your jurisdiction, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or an adequacy decision, so that your data continues to receive an equivalent level of protection.

14 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the product develops or the law changes. The effective date at the top of this page always reflects the current version. If a change materially affects how we handle your data, we will notify you inside the app or by email before it takes effect. Continuing to use LostLo after a change means you accept the updated policy.

15 Contact us

Questions, requests or concerns about privacy can go to privacy@lostlo.com. For anything else, including account trouble and safety reports, use support@lostlo.com. We aim to reply within five working days.

Email the privacy team Read the terms