Privacy Policy
Last updated: 16 October 2026
This is an English translation of the Turkish original. If you use Espi
in a language other than Turkish or English, this English text applies
to you. If the two versions differ, the Turkish version prevails.
Espi does not store the raw coordinates where a photo was taken.
At the moment of sharing, the location is converted into a district-level
place record and the coordinates themselves are discarded. The database
has no latitude/longitude field.
1. Data controller
Espi is operated by an individual doing business as OFO Studio.
It is not a company.
| Data controller | Ömer Faruk Özkan — OFO Studio |
|---|
| Contact | [email protected] |
|---|
| App | Espi (com.espi.app) |
|---|
2. What data we process
Account
| Data | Why |
|---|
| Email address | Sign-in, password reset, account verification |
| Password | Stored as an encrypted hash; we never have the plain password |
| Username, display name | To identify you |
| Birth year | Age gate — Espi is closed to anyone under 16. Only the year is kept, not the full date of birth |
| App language | To send your sign-up and password emails and your notifications in your language |
Shots you share
| Data | Why |
|---|
| Three sizes of the photo | Small, feed and large display |
| Place record (district level) | The product’s guarantee: showing where the shot was taken |
| Capture time | The same guarantee: when it was taken |
| Caption and topic tags | What you wrote |
| Result of the rule engine | The assessment the “no people as subject” rule made for that shot |
Raw coordinates and EXIF data are not stored.
The latitude/longitude taken from the device is used only to find the
nearest district and is then discarded — the server has no coordinate field.
The photo’s EXIF information (device model, location tag, camera settings)
is dropped completely when the image is re-encoded to produce the sizes.
Interactions
Likes, comments, follows and blocks are stored together with who did what
and when. Counters and notifications don’t work without them.
Notifications
If you allowed notifications, a notification token for your device, platform
information, the device’s language and the last-seen time are stored. Your
notification preferences (which kinds you want) are kept separately.
Reports and moderation
When you report a shot or a comment, the report, the reason you chose, any
explanation you wrote, and your identity as the reporter are recorded.
Moderation decisions are stored with their reasons — both for your right
to appeal and because the law requires it.
What we don’t process
- Contacts, address book, phone number
- Advertising ID; Espi has no ads
- Third-party analytics or tracking tools — there are none in the app
- The photos in your gallery — Espi doesn’t access the gallery, it only takes the shot captured in the moment
- Background location — location is requested only when sharing, while the app is open
There is one exception, and we’re writing it down on purpose:
if you appeal a shot whose sharing was stopped, that photo is stored on the
server without being published. Details below, under “How long we keep data”.
3. Legal basis
| Processing | Basis |
|---|
| Account, sharing, interactions | Performance of a contract — needed so you can use the service |
| Notifications | Explicit consent — you can turn them off at any time |
| Age gate, moderation, report records | Legal obligation and legitimate interest — a safe environment |
Under the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), processing relies on
the conditions in Article 5: “establishment or performance of a contract”,
“legal obligation” and “legitimate interest”; under the GDPR, on points
6(1)(b), 6(1)(c) and 6(1)(f).
4. Where data is kept and who it is shared with
Espi does not sell your data and does not share it for
marketing. The following providers are used to run the service:
| Provider | For | Where |
|---|
| Supabase | Database, photo storage, authentication, emails | EU — Frankfurt (AWS eu-central-1) |
| Google Firebase | Sending notifications | USA |
| Google ML Kit | Downloading translation language packs — only the first time you tap “See translation”. The translated text is not sent; translation happens on the phone | Your IP address is visible to Google while the pack downloads |
| OpenFreeMap | Map images | Your IP address is visible to this service when the map is opened |
| Cloudflare | Hosting this website | Global |
Transfers abroad are made on the basis of standard contracts under KVKK
Article 9 and GDPR Chapter V. If an authority sends a lawful request, we
record the request and our response.
Translations
The app’s “Translate with Google” button translates captions and comments
with Google’s on-device translation model; the translated text never leaves
the phone. Google’s required disclaimer:
THIS SERVICE MAY CONTAIN TRANSLATIONS POWERED BY GOOGLE. GOOGLE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATED TO THE TRANSLATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
5. How long we keep data
| Data | Period |
|---|
| Account and posts | As long as the account is open |
| A deleted shot | The record and the three photo sizes are deleted together |
| When the account is deleted | Your shots, place records, comments and interactions are deleted |
| Moderation and report records | May remain for as long as legal obligations and the right to appeal require |
| A shot you appealed that hasn’t been published | Deleted 7 days after the decision; 30 days later if no decision is made |
| A shot removed after a report | Leaves the feed right away. If you don’t appeal, the photo is deleted after 7 days; if you appeal it waits for the decision, and if your appeal is rejected it is deleted 7 days after the decision. The record of the decision and the notification sent to you remain, without the photo |
Why we keep a photo that isn’t published
If a face clearly stands out in the frame, sharing stops. At that point you
can appeal; if you do, the photo is uploaded to the server
and waits there until a person reviews it. This is the only case on Espi in
which a photo is stored without being published, so we
describe it separately:
- No one sees it — it isn’t in the feed, on the map or on your profile. Only you and the reviewing moderator see it
- Along with the photo, the reason you wrote, the capture time, the location and the numbers measured by the automatic assessment are stored
- You can withdraw at any time; when you do, the photo and its three sizes are deleted together
- If accepted, the decision to share is yours; if you don’t share it, it is deleted automatically after 7 days
- If you delete your account, these shots are deleted too
6. Your rights
Under KVKK Article 11 and GDPR Articles 15–22, you have the right to:
- Learn whether your data is processed and request information
- Ask for it to be corrected if it is wrong
- Ask for it to be deleted
- Export your data
- Object to processing
You can close your account with Settings → My data → Delete my account;
the account becomes invisible right away, permanent deletion completes after
30 days, and you can change your mind within that time by signing in.
Individual shots and comments can also be removed inside the app. For export
and other requests, see the
account and data deletion page — everything is explained there.
You also have the right to complain to the Turkish Personal Data Protection
Authority (KVKK) in Türkiye, or to the relevant data protection authority in the EU.
7. Children
Espi is closed to anyone under 16. Your birth year is asked
at sign-up and the age gate is enforced both in the app and in the database.
If we find an account belonging to someone under 16, we close it.
8. What is kept on your device
Espi doesn’t use cookies. The app keeps your session, your preferences
(including the app language) and small settings such as which shots you’ve
seen in your device’s own storage. They go away when you
uninstall the app.
9. Security
Data is encrypted in transit. Row-level security rules are enforced in the
database: a user can only access the rows they are allowed to see, and that
rule lives on the server, not in the app.
10. Changes
If this text changes, the date above is updated. For important changes you
will also be informed inside the app.