Listing information
The public name of the person or organization donating food, food description, quantity, general area, pickup window, storage condition, allergens, and other listing details are visible to people browsing Surplus.
What is public, private, and shared.
Surplus collects information needed to publish listings, coordinate local pickups, and respond to messages.
Your address is not a public listing field.
Pickup connection information
A person requesting pickup supplies a name, contact method, proposed arrival time, and optional note. Once a request is recorded, Surplus reveals the pickup contact, address, and instructions in that browser so the parties can coordinate directly.
Contact messages
The contact form records the supplied name, email, topic, subject, message, submission time, IP address, and browser user agent. Those details are used to respond, investigate misuse, and protect the form from spam. When reCAPTCHA is enabled, Google may also receive technical request data to distinguish people from automated submissions.
Sessions and service data
Surplus uses an essential session cookie to preserve listings, pickup requests, form security tokens, and temporary access to connection details. It does not use advertising cookies.
Third-party map requests
Listing pages can load an embedded Google map. Google may receive technical request data such as an IP address and browser information. The map shows only a general area until a pickup request unlocks the address.
Address suggestions when posting
The posting and edit forms can suggest addresses as you type. The text you type in the address field is sent to the Photon geocoding service (komoot.io), and the map showing the pin loads tiles from OpenStreetMap; both may receive technical request data such as an IP address. The point you mark is stored with the listing and shared exactly like the address itself — only with someone who has requested pickup. Choosing "Use my current location" asks your browser for permission first; the position is used to place the pin and, through the same Photon service, to suggest the nearest address. Typing an address without using the suggestions, the map, or the location button sends nothing to either service.
Questions and corrections
Use the contact page to ask about personal information, request a correction, or report an address or contact detail that should not be visible.