Healing Al Hajar

Photo Policy

v1 policy — periodically reviewed.

Effective date: 2026-07-18 Last updated: 2026-07-18

1. Photographs you submit

When you photograph a trash spot or a cleanup, your photo passes through our verification pipeline:

  • Photos are uploaded to our backend (Supabase Storage)
  • The original is retained briefly for moderation (see §3)
  • Derived versions (smaller, EXIF-stripped) are generated for public display
  • Our stewards review submitted photos before they appear publicly

By submitting a photo, you grant Healing Al Hajar the rights described in our Terms of Use §5 to display and process the photo for these purposes.

2. What we promise about your public photos — LOCKED

These are commitments enforced in code:

  • No EXIF on public photos. Photos are re-encoded on your device before upload, which removes timestamp, GPS, and camera/device metadata — the original file with metadata never leaves your phone.
  • Derived only, never the original. Public versions are resized to a maximum 1600px on the longest edge. The original capture is never publicly accessible.
  • Admin-only originals are short-lived. The full original (with EXIF) lives only in an admin-only bucket and is automatically deleted after 90 days. After that, no one — including admins — can access the original.
  • Admin access to originals is logged. Every time an admin views an original, the access is recorded in our admin audit log.
  • No reverse-image search. We do not run your photos through any third-party image search service to identify or compare them against the open web. Duplicate detection uses our own internal hash database only.

3. What you must NOT photograph — LOCKED (Addendum §A.9.3)

We rely on you to use good judgment. Do not photograph:

  • People (anyone identifiable, including yourself unless you intend to be public)
  • License plates of vehicles, even if the vehicle is unattended
  • Private homes, residential gates, or personal property in a way that identifies the home
  • Military or restricted areas — violation may be a criminal offense under UAE law
  • Minors (under 18) under any circumstance

If you find waste in any of those settings, mark the spot in the app, add a description, and our admin will follow up with the relevant authority instead of attempting volunteer cleanup.

This policy is summarised in a notice that appears on the Camera screen every time you take a report photo.

4. What happens if you accidentally photograph something you shouldn't

If you realise after submission that your photo includes a face, license plate, or other restricted content:

  • Use the Report-a-problem flow on your own spot to flag it for admin removal
  • Or email healingalhajar@gmail.com with the spot ID

We will remove the photo (or the entire spot if necessary) and log the takedown in the admin audit trail. You retain credit for the report; only the photo is removed.

If another user's photo appears to violate this policy, report it via the same flow — we treat these as priority moderation cases.

5. Photo retention — LOCKED

Public photos:

  • Photos for spots that have been updated, healed, or marked authority-support-needed are retained forever. The community record stays intact.
  • Photos for stale spots (no activity for 365 days) are auto-deleted at the 365-day mark.
  • The spot record itself survives; only the photos go. The timeline becomes text-only.
  • Reporters of stale spots receive a push notification 5 days before expiry, suggesting they re-photograph if the spot is still there.

Admin-only originals:

  • Retained for 90 days maximum, then auto-deleted.

Achievement share cards (PNG snapshots from completed heals):

  • Cached forever so old social media shares don't break.

6. Face and license-plate detection — LOCKED

We do not run automatic face or license-plate blurring on photos in v1. We rely on:

  • Your judgement at capture time (the warning copy on the Camera screen)
  • Steward review of submitted photos
  • Community reporting via the Report-a-problem flow

v2 candidate: automatic face/plate blurring on upload. If this is implemented, this policy will be updated.

7. Avatar photos

If you upload a profile photo:

  • It is square-cropped and compressed to 256×256 JPEG, max 50KB
  • The original is discarded after processing
  • It is subject to the same steward moderation process
  • Avatars containing nudity, hate symbols, or violent content are not allowed and are removed

You can revert to the auto-generated initial-on-gradient avatar at any time.

8. Children's photographs

Do not photograph minors. If you submit a photo that includes a minor, our admin will remove it. We do not retain images of minors regardless of consent.

9. Contact

Photo-related concerns: healingalhajar@gmail.com General privacy concerns: healingalhajar@gmail.com