Effective date: October 4, 2026 App: Docent Operated by: Aneesh Harwalkar Contact: [email protected]

Docent ("we," "us") is a mobile app that builds personalized walking routes through museums. This policy explains what we collect, why, and your choices. We keep it short and plain because we collect very little.

The short version

• You can use Docent without an account — no sign-up required to browse museums and get routes.
• If you create an account (optional), we collect only your email address and first name, used to sign you in and save your data.
• If you tap "Near me," Docent reads your location on your device only, to sort museums by distance. Your location is never stored and never sent to us or anyone else.
• If you add a friend, some of your account data becomes visible to that friend — by default your saved works and the museums you've visited. You control this per-section, and you can turn it all off. See Friends and sharing below.
• We do not use passwords, run ads, sell your data, or track you across other apps or websites.

Information we collect

If you use Docent as a guest (no account):

• Your survey answers and saved items are stored only on your device. We do not receive them.

If you create an account (optional):

• Email address — used to send your one-time sign-in code and to identify your account.
• First name — used to personalize the app (e.g., "Good morning, [name]").
• Your saved content and activity — the artworks and museums you save, and the museums you mark as planned or visited. This is stored so it syncs to your account.
• Your route preferences — how long you like to visit, any accessibility preferences (step-free routing, frequent seating), artists you've typed in, and the free-text note you can write in the "In your own words" step of the survey. These are stored so your next route remembers them. The note is free text — please don't put anything sensitive in it.
• A display name — if you use the Friends feature, the name your friends see. You choose it, and it can be anything.

Location — only when you tap "Near me":

• When (and only when) you tap "Near me" in the museum picker, Docent asks your device for your current location and uses it entirely on your device to sort the museum list by distance.
• Your location is used but never collected: it is not stored, not saved to your account, and not transmitted to our servers or any third party. It leaves nothing behind once the list is sorted.