Privacy & Terms
Last updated October 7, 2026
The Vinyl Vine is a free companion for people who love collecting vinyl. This page explains, in plain language, what we keep, who sees it, and the ground rules for using the app and posting to the community.
The short version
- There are no sign-ups. We never ask for your email or a password to use the app.
- Your crawls, want list, and finds are tied to a private sign-in that your browser creates automatically, not to your name, and nobody else can see them.
- Your location is used only when you tap "Use my location," and it isn't saved.
- Anything you submit for the community (stores, crawls, challenge ideas, reports) is shared with other users after review.
- We use a handful of outside services, listed below.
What we keep, and where
On your device (in your browser):
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| A private sign-in token, created automatically when you first open the app | Identifies your browser to our database, finds your crawls and want list again when you come back, and keeps your data separate from everyone else's |
| Challenge progress, road trip hotel picks, the name you use when hosting a crawl | So you don't have to re-enter them |
| A short-lived copy (about 12 hours) of nearby coffee, food, bar, and hotel results | Speed, and fewer requests to the places service |
In our database, linked to your private sign-in: your crawls and their stops, the finds you log (including prices, notes, and any photos you attach), your want list, your dig kit checklist, the group crawl codes you've joined, your "Still open?" reports, crawl RSVPs, and your votes on challenge ideas.
Shop claims (private): if you claim a record store, the name, role, contact details, and note you send are used only by moderators to verify the shop. They are never shown to the public. Once verified, the shop shows a public "Verified" or "Founding Store" badge.
Shared with other people: store listings you submit (once approved), reports about a listing, crawls you host (title, city, date, meet-up spot, and the name you enter), challenge ideas (with the name you enter), and anything in a group crawl you share, which is visible to people who have the code. Please don't put private information in any of these.
No email or password means no recovery. If you clear your browser data or switch devices, you won't be able to get your personal crawls and lists back.
Location
If you tap "Use my location" or "Near me," your browser asks for permission and uses your position on your device to sort things by distance. We don't save it in our database. When you search for coffee, food, bars, or hotels near a crawl, the coordinates of that crawl's stops are sent to the OpenStreetMap Overpass service to find places nearby.
Outside services we use
- Supabase hosts our database.
- Cloudflare hosts the website, and may provide aggregate visit statistics. If turned on, Cloudflare Web Analytics is designed not to use cookies or track you across other sites.
- OpenStreetMap (Overpass) supplies nearby places, as described above.
- Cloudflare Turnstile, if we switch it on, runs a brief check when you first open the app to tell people from automated bots. It's designed to be a privacy-friendly alternative to puzzle CAPTCHAs.
- Google Fonts and jsDelivr deliver typefaces and a code library, which means your browser contacts them when a page loads.
- Google Maps, Amazon, Dead Format, and social networks only receive information when you choose to follow a link to them.
Each of these has its own privacy policy, and we don't control what they do with information they receive.
Affiliate links
Some links on our "Things We Love" page may be affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Where this applies it's labeled, and we only recommend things we use or would happily recommend anyway. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Keeping the community safe
To protect the app and the people who use it, there are limits on how much one person can post in a day, links are not allowed in public text, and everything submitted to the community is reviewed by a moderator before anyone else sees it. Moderators are named individuals who sign in with their own email and password. Reports that a shop is closed or wrong are counted once per person. We may block a sign-in that is used to send spam or abuse.
Community rules
- Be honest and kind. Don't post harassment, hate, spam, anything illegal, or anyone's private information.
- Only upload photos you have the right to share, and don't post photos of people without their permission.
- Moderators review submissions and may edit, hide, or remove anything, and may stop accepting posts from a device.
- By submitting something, you give us permission to display it in the app and on this site. You're responsible for what you post.
Public crawls and meeting people
Public crawls are organized by the people who host them. The Vinyl Vine doesn't organize, supervise, or vouch for any crawl or any person who attends. Meet at public places like record stores, use your own judgment about meeting people you don't know, and join or host at your own risk.
Accuracy and "use at your own risk"
Store details, hours, prices, and "open now" labels come from community contributions and outside sources. Shops move, change hours, and close, so please call ahead. Distances, drive times, and map routes are estimates. The app is provided as is, and we aren't responsible for closed shops, wrong details, or how a trip turns out. The grading guide is general information, not a professional appraisal.
Children
The Vinyl Vine isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.
Your choices
- To remove your local data, clear this site's data in your browser settings.
- To have something you posted, or a listing about your shop, corrected or removed, contact us using the details below.
Changes
If we change this page in a way that matters, we'll update the date at the top.
Contact
Reach us through the links in the footer of this page.