Last updated: October 7, 2026
Why Not Prosper ("we", "our", or "us") operates the Why Not Prosper mobile application (the "App"). This policy explains what information the App collects, how it is used, and your rights.
There are no user accounts. Saved resources and cached resources stay on your device. Optional notifications use a push service. Optional voice search uses your device's speech service, which may process speech over the internet. These features are described below.
The App stores the following data locally on your device only using your device's built-in storage (AsyncStorage). Saved resources, cached locations, and the directory are not accessible to us. Subscribed notification topics are also sent to our server if you enable updates, as described below.
| Data | Purpose | Shared with us? |
|---|---|---|
| Saved organization IDs | Remember organizations you bookmarked | No |
| Notification category preferences | Filter which topics you receive updates about | Only if you enable updates — see below |
| Push notification history | Display a log of received notifications (max 100) | No |
| Subscribed push topics | Register your notification preferences with the push service | Yes, if updates are enabled — see below |
| Cached organization directory | Allow the app to work offline | No |
| Last requested location | Remember your location on this device for nearby resources | No |
The App periodically fetches a publicly available JSON file of Philadelphia reentry organizations from app.why-not-prosper.org/data.json. This is an unauthenticated request that contains no personal information. Standard server access logs (IP address, timestamp, user-agent) may be retained by our hosting provider, Vercel, under the hosting provider's own policies.
If you grant notification permission, your device generates a push token managed by your device's operating system (Apple APNs on iOS, Google FCM on Android) and the Expo push notification service. We use this token only to send you organization updates you have opted into. If you turn on notifications, we store your device's push token and the channels you chose on our server (hosted on Vercel, with Upstash Redis) so we can send the updates you asked for. This token is an app-scoped identifier — not your name, email, location, or an advertising ID, and it is not linked to the organizations you save or search. Turn notifications off in the app to delete it from our server.
You can opt out at any time by disabling notifications for Why Not Prosper in your device Settings, or by toggling off all categories in the app's Preferences screen.
When you request nearby resources, the App asks for permission to use your location while you use the App. It uses that location to sort resources by distance and center the map. The last requested location is cached only on your device. It is not sent to our servers. You can turn off location access in your phone's Settings and remove the cached location by clearing app storage or uninstalling the App.
Voice search is optional. When you tap "Say what you need," the App asks for microphone permission and, on iOS, speech-recognition permission. Your device's speech service turns your words into a search. Depending on your device, browser, and settings, that service may send audio to its provider over the internet. The provider's own privacy policy applies. The App does not save audio recordings or send recordings or search transcripts to Why Not Prosper's servers. Search words stay in the current search field until you change them or close the App.
You can stop listening, leave the search page, or put the App in the background to end recording. You can turn off microphone and speech-recognition permission in your device settings. Typed search and resource buttons are available without those permissions.
Read-aloud uses your device's text-to-speech service to speak page text. It does not need microphone permission. Why Not Prosper does not store recordings of read-aloud playback.
The App uses the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policies:
Clear app storage or uninstall the App to remove saved resources, cached locations, and other local data. Before uninstalling, turn off all notification topics in the App to remove the push token from our server. Device speech-service data is governed by that provider's deletion controls. See our data deletion page for local-data instructions.
The App is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will take steps to delete it.
We may update this policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted at this URL with a revised date. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Questions or concerns about this policy? Contact us at info@why-not-prosper.org.