Privacy Policy

Proteus · Last updated 29 October 2026

Proteus is an app for keeping a collection of the works of art you see in museums and galleries. This policy explains what we collect, why, who helps us run the service, and the choices you have. We do not sell your information, show advertising, or track you across other apps and websites.

What we collect

• Your account: your name, email address and password. Passwords are stored only as a secure hash.
• Your profile: a profile picture and a short bio, if you add them, and your theme and visibility settings.
• Your collection: the photos you take or choose of works of art, the works they are identified as, when you added them, and the museum or gallery you were in when you added them (if you allow location). Your rank, points, sets, milestones and the works you save to your list are worked out from these.
• What you share: posts, captions, photos, comments and likes, and your friends and friend requests.
• Reports and blocks: content or collectors you report, and collectors you block.
• Notifications: a push notification token for your device, and your notification preferences.

Location

If you allow location, your precise location stays on your phone. The app uses it to centre the map on you and to notice when you are in a museum or gallery. To show places on the map, the app asks our server for the places in the area of the map you are looking at. When you add a work, only the museum or gallery you are in is saved with it. You can turn location off at any time in your phone’s settings; the app still works without it.

Photos and identification

When you photograph a work, the photo is sent to our server to identify it. We compare it with our catalogue, and some photos are also sent to OpenAI’s vision service to help identify the work, under OpenAI’s API data usage policies. Your photos are stored with your collection and are private unless you choose to share them.

To keep collections honest, the app also tells our server whether a photo came from the camera or your photo library, and whether it carries a camera’s details or is a screenshot. It never sends where a photo was taken. A collection that looks gathered from screens or the web may be reviewed by the Proteus team.

How we use it

• To run your account, identify works, and keep your collection, rank and sets.
• To show what you share to the people you share it with, and to send the notifications you have turned on.
• To send account emails, such as verification and password reset codes.
• To keep Proteus safe: to review reports, remove content that breaks our rules, and prevent abuse such as spam.

Who helps us run Proteus

• Railway hosts our server and database.
• Cloudflare R2 stores photos.
• OpenAI helps identify works from photos.
• Resend delivers account emails.
• Expo delivers push notifications.
• OpenFreeMap provides the map; your phone loads map images from it directly.

Catalogue information about works of art comes from public sources such as Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons.

Who can see what

Your name, picture and rank are visible to other collectors. Your collection and stats are visible to everyone or only to your friends, as you choose in Settings. Posts are seen by the audience you choose when you post. Blocked collectors cannot see your profile, posts or comments, and you cannot see theirs.

Keeping and deleting your information

We keep your information while you have an account. You can delete your account at any time in Settings → Delete account. This permanently deletes your account, collection, photos, posts and comments. Reports you made may be kept, without your name, to help keep Proteus safe.

Security

All connections between the app and our server use HTTPS. Sign-in tokens are kept in your phone’s secure storage.

Children

Proteus is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

Your rights

You can see and change most of your information in the app, and delete your account there. To ask for a copy of your information or for anything else about your privacy, contact us.

Changes and contact

We will update this policy when what we collect changes, and say so in the app. Questions: projectproteusllc@gmail.com.