Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 25, 2026

1. Who We Are and What This Policy Covers

SideQuests is a Rhode Island local-task marketplace that connects people who need things done ("Posters") with people ready to earn ("Questers"). This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the controls you have.

It covers two surfaces:

the SideQuests website and web app at https://trysidequests.com; and
the SideQuests plugin for ChatGPT and other OpenAI surfaces (the "SideQuests plugin"), which connects to our read-only discovery server. Section 2.5 explains exactly what that plugin sends and receives.

Throughout this policy we keep four things separate: information processed by the ChatGPT plugin, information stored by SideQuests, technical and logging data, and information visible to other SideQuests users.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information you give us

Account information: your name, email address, and profile photo. A phone number is optional and is only collected if you choose to provide it. Your password is handled by our authentication provider and is never stored by us in readable form.
Quest content: the titles, descriptions, categories, reward amounts, town, and photos you provide when you post a Quest, and the details you provide when you request or complete one.
Communications: messages you exchange with other users through the app, and the contents of support requests you send us.

2.2 Location information

We collect the location information you provide, such as the town or municipality you select and, for a posted Quest, the location where the work is to be done. Exact street addresses are never included in public Quest listings: public listings show only the municipality. Search and the map use an approximate town-level view. We do not continuously track your device location in general use.

During an active Quest, the app lets the person performing the work record location check-ins (for example arrival and completion). Each check-in is stored as a latitude and longitude together with the Quest identifier and the type of event, so the Quest can be verified. These check-in records are private to the people involved in that Quest and to SideQuests. They are never part of a public listing and are never returned by the ChatGPT plugin.

2.3 Payment and identity information

Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. We do not receive or store your full card number. Card details are tokenized by Stripe and are not accessible to us. Where identity verification is required, it is performed by Stripe Identity using a government-issued document plus a matching selfie. We store only the resulting verification status and related timestamps; we do not receive copies of your identity documents.

2.4 Information collected automatically

When you use the app we automatically collect limited technical information needed to run and protect the service, such as your browser and device type, and security and error logs generated by our hosting provider.

If you enable push notifications, we store a notification token issued by our messaging provider with your account so we can deliver Quest and message alerts. The token is removed when you disable notifications or when the token is no longer valid.

We also use an error-monitoring service for the website and app, Sentry, which records application errors, a small sample of performance traces, and session replays for a minority of sessions (and for any session in which an error occurs). See sections 4 and 7.

2.5 What the SideQuests plugin for ChatGPT sends and receives

The SideQuests plugin is anonymous and read-only. It does not ask for, and does not accept, your name, email address, phone number, account, or password. It exposes three tools: search_quests, get_quest, and explore_map.

What the plugin sends (tool inputs). Only what is needed to answer your request:

search_quests: a search phrase, a Rhode Island municipality or town, an optional search radius in miles, an optional category, optional minimum and maximum reward amounts, a sort order, a result limit, and an optional pagination cursor.
get_quest: the public identifier of a single Quest.
explore_map: an optional Rhode Island municipality.

The plugin does not accept coordinates. It has no latitude or longitude inputs, it cannot access your device GPS, and it never asks the model for precise location. A radius search and distance sorting are performed around the Rhode Island municipality or town you name.

What the plugin returns (tool outputs). Only public, currently open information about Quests:

Quest title and description, category, reward amount, municipality (town-level location only), open status, approximate distance from the town you asked about, and public links to SideQuests pages.
A link to a public reference photo when the Quest includes one.
For map requests: the statewide map link and the town page link.

The plugin never returns exact addresses or coordinates, the name, email address, or phone number of any person, account or user identifiers, payment or card data, identity verification data, private messages, proof-of-completion photos, or unpublished, draft, or closed Quests. Nothing from a plugin request is stored as account data.

When you use the plugin, your request and the public Quest information returned pass through ChatGPT. OpenAI's handling of that data is governed by OpenAI's own terms and privacy policy.

3. How We Use Information

To create and manage your account and let you sign in.
To post, search, match, and complete Quests, and to show town-level results nearby.
To process payments, service fees, and payouts.
To confirm identity where verification is required.
To send notifications you have enabled, such as Quest and message alerts.
To verify that work was carried out, including the location check-ins described in section 2.2.
To keep the marketplace safe: fraud prevention, abuse detection, prohibited-work review, dispute handling, and enforcement of our Terms.
To comply with legal, tax, and regulatory obligations.
To maintain, troubleshoot, and improve the service, and to detect and fix errors.
For the ChatGPT plugin specifically: to answer the discovery request you made and to return public listing information.

4. When We Share Information

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

Stripe, Inc. for payment processing, payouts, and identity verification. Stripe is used by the website and app only; Stripe does not receive ChatGPT plugin requests or plugin data.
Google (Firebase and Google Cloud) for authentication, database, file storage, hosting, serverless functions, push notification delivery, and the discovery server that answers plugin requests, together with the operational logs that server produces in Google Cloud Logging.
OpenAI when you use the SideQuests plugin inside ChatGPT: your request and the returned public Quest information are processed through that surface.
Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.) as our error-monitoring provider for the website and app, including the session replay described in sections 2.4 and 7. Sentry is not part of the ChatGPT plugin path.
Other users only as needed to run a Quest: your public profile and the Quest details. Public Quest listings never include exact addresses.
Legal and safety where required by law, or where necessary to protect the rights, safety, and security of SideQuests, our users, or the public.

5. Data Retention

Plugin requests. Anonymous plugin requests are not stored as account data. Responses are cached in server memory for about 15 seconds by default so repeat lookups are fast, then discarded. Our plugin server keeps operational logs that record a request identifier, the tool name, an outcome, and timing only. These logs never contain your search text or any Quest content. The length of time those operational logs are retained is a setting of our Google Cloud project rather than a fixed period stated here.
Public Quest listings. A Quest is publicly discoverable only while it is open. When it closes, it is removed from public discovery and from the plugin's results.
Account and Quest records. Kept while your account is active, and afterwards only for as long as necessary to meet legal, tax, fraud-prevention, and dispute obligations, after which they are deleted or anonymized.
Location check-ins. Kept only while the Quest and any related claim or dispute records are needed, and then deleted or anonymized together with those records.
Payment and identity records. Held by Stripe in accordance with Stripe's own retention policies.
Notification tokens. Kept while notifications are enabled and the token is valid, and removed when you disable notifications or the token is invalidated.
Error-monitoring data. Held by Sentry under the retention settings configured for our project.
Support requests. Kept for as long as needed to resolve and document the request and any follow-up.

6. Your Choices and Controls

Access and correction. You can review and update your profile information in the app at any time.
Deletion. You can ask us to delete your account and associated personal data by emailing support@trysidequests.com. We will action the request except for records we are required to keep for legal, tax, or fraud-prevention reasons. There is no self-service deletion button in the app, so deletion is handled by request.
Notifications. You can turn app and message notifications on or off in your device and browser settings. When you turn them off we stop sending them and the stored notification token is removed.
The ChatGPT plugin. It requires no account and stores no profile, so there is nothing to disconnect. Simply stop using it, or remove the plugin in ChatGPT.

7. Cookies, Local Storage, and Error Monitoring

We use essential cookies and local storage for authentication and to keep the app working. We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not run advertising or audience-measurement trackers.

We do use an error-monitoring service, Sentry, on the website and app. It records errors, a small sample of performance traces, and session replays for a minority of sessions (and for any session in which an error occurs). It exists to find and fix faults, not to advertise to you or to build advertising profiles. It is initialized only after the page has finished loading, and it does not run inside the ChatGPT plugin.

The ChatGPT plugin does not set cookies in your browser and does not run any analytics or error-monitoring code on your device.

8. Security

We use encryption in transit (HTTPS) and the built-in security features of our hosting and database providers, and we limit the data our plugin can reach to public, currently open Quest information. No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure.

9. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

10. Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the date at the top and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.

11. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact support@trysidequests.com.