Trust & Privacy

Built on real presence — not on selling you out.

Hoot is verified, location-aware, and real-time. Which is exactly why we're obsessive about what we don't do — and clear about what we do.

Our commitments Legal & policies
Our commitments

Three things you should know.

Hoot's whole value comes from real, verified presence. So we treat your data the way we want to be treated.

Your location is yours.

Hoot uses live location to verify presence at a place. It's a feature, not a product. We never sell it.

  • Used only while the app is open
  • Live sharing always opt-in
  • Never sold to advertisers

Your camera roll is yours.

Hoot only sees the photos you capture inside the app, in the moment. Your library never gets uploaded.

  • In-app capture only
  • Echoes auto-delete
  • No camera roll uploads, ever

Your identity is verified.

Verified presence means real people, really there. The bots, scams, and fake check-ins stop here.

  • SMS or campus email required
  • One account per person
  • No shadow profiles
In plain English

What we do. What we never do.

What Hoot does Yes

  • Verifies that you are really thereSo Canopies, Landings, and HootDeals are powered by real people in real places.
  • Lets you share live location — when you chooseHootMates sharing is opt-in, time-limited, and visible only to people you pick.
  • Encrypts data in transit and at restIndustry-standard cryptography for messages, photos, and account data.
  • Forgets by defaultEchoes, voice notes, and live photos disappear. Keeps are the few moments you choose to save.
  • Gives you one-tap data export and deletionDownload everything we know. Delete everything we know. From inside the app.

What Hoot never does No

  • Sells your location dataNot to advertisers. Not to data brokers. Not to anyone. It's not a product line.
  • Uploads your camera rollOnly photos and videos captured inside Hoot are ever sent to our servers.
  • Tracks you in the backgroundNo silent SDKs, no shadow profiles, no following you across other apps.
  • Trades personal data for partner accessPartners see aggregate, anonymized signals — not individual user data.
  • Allows under-13 accountsYou must be 13+ to use Hoot. Hoot for Business venues with age requirements honor them.
Still have questions?

Talk to a real person.

Our humans read every reply. Privacy, safety, or anything else — drop us a line.

support@thehootapp.com