Privacy Policy

How SceneLink collects, uses, and protects your information.

Last Updated: May 3, 2026
Applies to SceneLink web and app experiences

What's Inside

  1. Introduction
  2. Information We Collect
  3. How We Use Your Information
  4. AI Features
  5. Cookies & Local Storage
  6. Information Sharing
  7. Third-Party Services
  8. Data Security
  9. Data Retention
  10. Your Choices & Rights
  11. Children's Privacy
  12. Changes to This Policy
  13. Contact Us

1. Introduction

SceneLink ("we," "us," or "our") is a Boston-based discovery and social platform for restaurants, bars, nightlife, and events. We care about your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and the choices you have — written in plain language and organized by section so you can find what you need.

By using SceneLink at https://scenelink.app or through our apps, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information

  • Name, email address, and username you provide at sign-up
  • Password (stored only as a secure hash — we never see your plaintext password)
  • Profile information you choose to add, such as bio, avatar, or social links

Activity You Create on SceneLink

  • Saved venues and favorites
  • Lists you build (and lists shared with you)
  • Plans, invitations, and group activity you participate in
  • Check-ins, reviews, ratings, photos, and comments
  • Friend connections and follows

Business & Venue Owner Information

  • Business account email and venue claim details
  • Venue listing content you manage (hours, photos, descriptions, tags)
  • Communications related to your business account

Messages You Send Us

  • Contact form submissions (name, email, subject, message)
  • Support requests and newsletter sign-ups

Device & Log Data

  • Browser type and version, operating system, and screen size
  • IP address and approximate region (derived from IP)
  • Pages visited, referring URLs, and timestamps
  • Error logs needed to diagnose issues and keep the service running

Location Data

  • Approximate location only if you grant your browser or device permission for location features (for example, to see venues near you)
  • You can decline or revoke location access at any time through your browser or device settings
We do not collect: payment card numbers, government IDs, biometric data, or precise background location. SceneLink does not currently process payments; reservation and ticketing flows are handled by third-party partners you choose to visit.

3. How We Use Your Information

  • Create and secure your account, sign you in, and keep your session active
  • Power discovery across venues, events, and "Tonight's Picks"
  • Save your favorites, lists, plans, and check-ins so they persist across devices
  • Power social features like friend activity, shared lists, and group planning
  • Generate responses from our AI concierge and AI support assistant based on your prompts
  • Manage business accounts and venue claims for partner operators
  • Send transactional and account-related emails (confirmations, replies, security notifications)
  • Send optional newsletters and updates if you opt in, with an unsubscribe link in every message
  • Measure product usage to improve performance, reliability, and new features
  • Detect abuse, enforce our Terms, and keep the community safe
  • Meet legal or regulatory obligations where they apply

4. AI Features

SceneLink offers AI-powered features, including the AI Concierge (venue and event recommendations) and the Contact Support Assistant (help with using the app). When you use these features:

  • Your prompt and recent message history may be sent from your browser to our backend, which forwards it to a third-party AI provider (currently OpenAI) to generate a response
  • Your prompts may also be stored temporarily to improve reliability and rate-limit abuse
  • Responses are generated on the fly and may be imperfect, incomplete, or occasionally incorrect
  • AI responses are for informational and discovery purposes only, and are not professional, legal, medical, or financial advice
Please avoid: entering sensitive personal information (passwords, full home addresses, government IDs, financial account details, or anything you would not want a service provider to process) into any AI chat on SceneLink.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

SceneLink uses browser storage (cookies, localStorage, and sessionStorage) to run core functionality:

  • Authentication tokens — to keep you signed in (sl_jwt_token for consumer accounts, sl_biz_token for business accounts)
  • Preferences — selected filters, map/list view, recent searches, theme, and UI state
  • Local cache — a copy of your favorites, lists, and plans for fast loading and offline resilience, synced with our backend
  • Reliability — error and performance signals to help us spot and fix issues

You can clear this data at any time from your browser settings. Doing so will sign you out and reset preferences.

6. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only in these cases:

  • With other users when you choose to — your profile name and activity may be visible to friends or in shared lists/plans you create
  • With venue partners and business operators only for claimed-venue management and aggregate analytics; individual user PII is not shared
  • With service providers that help us operate (see Third-Party Services below), bound by contractual confidentiality
  • For legal reasons if required by law, subpoena, or to protect rights, safety, or the integrity of the service
  • In a business transfer such as a merger, acquisition, or asset sale — users will be notified

7. Third-Party Services

SceneLink uses the following categories of third-party services to run the product. Each processes only the minimum data needed for its role:

  • Hosting & Backend: Netlify (static frontend) and Render (API backend and managed PostgreSQL database)
  • Maps & Tiles: OpenStreetMap and CARTO for base map imagery; Leaflet as the open-source map client
  • Email Delivery: Gmail SMTP (via Google Workspace) for transactional and contact-form email
  • AI Provider: OpenAI, which receives prompts and conversation history to generate Concierge and Support responses
  • Reservation & Ticketing Partners: OpenTable, Resy, and official venue or event pages — we link out to their sites and do not control their data handling
  • Analytics (if used): privacy-respecting, aggregate-only product analytics

When you click a reservation, ticket, or external link, you leave SceneLink and that provider's privacy policy applies.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable measures designed to protect your data, including:

  • HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit across the entire product
  • Password hashing with modern one-way algorithms (we never store plaintext passwords)
  • Scoped authentication tokens with server-side validation
  • Separate consumer (sl_jwt_token) and business (sl_biz_token) authentication contexts
  • Rate limiting, input validation, and protection against common web abuse patterns
  • Restricted administrative access, protected by a separate admin secret

No online system is 100% secure. If you suspect unauthorized access to your account, contact us right away at privacy@scenelink.app.

9. Data Retention

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. When you delete your account, we remove or anonymize your personal profile data, saved items, and social activity. Some records — such as contact-form submissions, business claims, and basic log data — may be retained for a limited period for security, fraud prevention, and legitimate business needs.

10. Your Choices & Rights

  • Update your profile any time from the Profile page once you're signed in
  • Log out on any device to clear the session
  • Request correction or deletion of your personal data by emailing privacy@scenelink.app from the email associated with your account
  • Manage browser permissions — revoke location, notification, or storage access through your browser or device settings at any time
  • Unsubscribe from marketing emails using the link at the bottom of any newsletter; transactional emails (e.g., password resets) will still be sent
  • Decline AI features — simply do not use the AI Concierge or Contact Support chat; the rest of SceneLink works without AI

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local laws (for example, to access, port, or restrict processing of your data). We will honor valid requests in accordance with applicable law.

11. Children's Privacy

SceneLink is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us information, please contact us at privacy@scenelink.app and we will delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as SceneLink evolves. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you in-app or by email. Continued use of SceneLink after changes means you accept the updated policy.