How we handle your data.

We collect three kinds of information:

• Information you give us. When you subscribe to our newsletter, submit a partner inquiry, send us a contact-form message, or save an event or deal, we collect the details you provide (name, email address, phone number, business name, message body, and saved-item IDs).
• Information collected automatically. When you visit the site we log basic technical information: IP address, browser type, device type, referring URL, the pages you view, and the timestamps of those views. We use this for security, debugging, and aggregate analytics.
• Information from local storage. Some features — saved events, saved deals, recently viewed venues, family-page audience preference, scroll position on the Family page — are stored in your browser’s localStorage or sessionStorage. This data stays on your device and is not transmitted to our servers unless you sign up for a related feature (e.g. event reminders).

• To deliver the editorial guide — events, deals, dining, outdoors, family content.
• To send the WHSU newsletter and partner alerts you’ve opted into.
• To respond to contact-form, partnership, and tip-line messages.
• To detect abuse, prevent fraud, and keep the site secure.
• To improve the product through aggregate, non-identifying analytics.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not run third-party display advertising on this site.

WHSU is built on top of a curated set of third-party services. When you use the site, some data is shared with these providers under their own privacy terms:

• Mapbox — interactive maps on the Explore and detail pages.
• Google Places & Google Maps — venue data, photos, hours, and directions links.
• YouTube (Google) — embedded video players on the Videos page and detail pages.
• Instagram (Meta) — embedded reel previews on the Family page (collab content with @stgeorge_kids).
• Email delivery — transactional and newsletter email sent via our email service provider.

We don’t control how these providers operate, but we only share the minimum information needed to make their features work.

Much of what you see on WHSU — event listings, venue hours, restaurant photos, outfitter pricing — comes from partner data feeds (Greater Zion, Utah Tech, City of St. George, Tuacahn, Black Desert Resort, and others) or from public sources like Google Places. We may combine that public data with our own editorial notes, photography, and curation. When a listing is sponsored or part of a paid partnership, we label it as such.

We use a small number of first-party cookies and localStorage entries for functional purposes — keeping you logged in to admin tools, remembering saved items, recording your family-page audience choice, and persisting scroll position. We do not use cross-site advertising trackers. See our Cookie Policy for a full breakdown.

WHSU is a general-audience guide. Our Family section is written for parents and caregivers — not for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information, please contact us and we will delete it.

If you use What’s Happening Marketplace in the app, we also handle:

• Your phone number, to verify you before you post. It’s never shown to other users. The verification text is sent by Twilio.
• Your listings — photos, title, description, price, condition, and the town you pick up in. We remove location data embedded in photos before they’re stored. Listings are public to Marketplace users while they’re up.
• Your first name and profile photo, if you choose to add them, shown on your listings.
• Your messages with other users. They’re stored so both people can see the conversation. We read a conversation only when someone reports it, or when we must for safety or legal reasons.
• Views, saves, and how often a listing is shown, counted per device. Totals may be shown on listings; we don’t show who viewed what.
• Reports and blocks you make, and moderation decisions about your listings.
• Your device’s push notification token, so we can tell you about new messages and your listings.

Marketplace data is stored with Supabase (database and photo storage). Listing text may be checked by an AI model, run through our app platform provider, to screen for items that aren’t allowed and to help draft listings from your photos. Push notifications are delivered through Expo and Apple or Google. We don’t sell Marketplace data or use your messages for advertising.

When you delete your account in the app, we delete your listings, photos, saved items, phone verification, and every conversation you were part of, except where we must keep something for safety, fraud prevention, or legal reasons.

• Newsletter. Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link.
• Saved items. Clear your browser’s localStorage to remove saved events, saved deals, and audience preferences.
• Access / deletion. Email hello@whatshappeningsu.com to request a copy of, correction of, or deletion of the personal data we hold about you. We’ll respond within 30 days.

We use industry-standard safeguards including HTTPS in transit, encrypted data at rest on our hosting provider, role-based access controls for our admin tools, and audit logging on sensitive operations. No system is perfectly secure — if you believe your account or data has been compromised, contact us immediately.

We may update this policy as the product evolves. When we make a material change we’ll update the “last updated” date at the top and, for newsletter subscribers, notify you by email.

Questions about this policy or your data?

• Email: hello@whatshappeningsu.com