Dumplings Finder helps users share and view recent shopper-reported sightings of squishy dumpling toys. Sightings may include store, product, price, shelf spot, notes, confirmations, reports, and an optional photo.
Dumplings Finder is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any store or product manufacturer. Store and product names are used only to describe shopper-reported sightings, and availability is never guaranteed.
Information We Collect and Use
Anonymous account identifier: The app signs in through Firebase Authentication without asking for an email address or password. Firebase assigns an anonymous user identifier so the app can read and submit community data and associate posts, events, reports, action receipts, deletion requests and short-term posting limits with that account. This is a persistent guest account, not data that is unlinked from you simply because no email address is requested.
Sighting content: When you post, the app stores the store location, product details, price, stock description, shelf spot, notes, nickname shown on the post, posting time, confirmations, gone status, and related report details. These sightings are visible to other app users. Event posts also include a title, retailer, location, date, details, source note, confidence and community responses.
Location: If you grant permission or choose a location manually, the app uses coordinates to suggest nearby stores, place sightings on the map and give directions. Browsing-area choices stay on the device. The store coordinates you approve for a posted sighting are stored with that report. Earlier versions could separately save chosen alert-area coordinates and preferences to Firebase.
Photos and photo details: If you choose a photo, the app creates and stores a reduced thumbnail with the sighting. It can read the photo's date, location and visible text on the device to suggest report details. Scout Scan and supported Apple Intelligence suggestions run on the device, not a cloud AI service. You review suggestions before posting. The original full-resolution photo and its embedded metadata are not stored with the sighting; an approved photo date or extracted text may be included as separate report fields.
Notifications: If you allow notifications, the Tuesday 3 PM reminder is scheduled locally on your phone. Nearby remote alerts are unavailable in version 1.1.4, and that version does not save new nearby-alert subscriptions. Apple Push Notification service and Firebase Cloud Messaging may still process registration tokens, installation identifiers and app configuration for an active installation; this processing is not limited to local token storage. Older subscriptions may contain an account identifier, token, area coordinates and preferences until deleted.
Operational events: The app records limited events when a sighting is posted or a sighting or lead share button is tapped. These events include the event type, screen context, sighting identifier, report confidence, location-quality category, gone status, and time. They help evaluate whether core app features are working. Sighting IDs and account-linked posting-limit records can associate these events with the guest account. Confirmation and event-action receipts also retain the responding account identifier, action and time to operate community features and limit duplicates.
Content reports: If you report a sighting, the or event, the app stores its identifier, a limited copy of the reported content, report time, reason and review status. Newer reports include the reporter's guest-account identifier. Reports are available to the operator for review, not published in the community feed or shown to the reported author.
Information kept on your device: Profile name and nickname, alert choices, hidden-sighting choices, disclaimer acceptance, review-prompt timing, blocked authors, cached sightings and notification tokens may be stored locally. Saved unsent posts can include a photo until sent or removed. Firebase may also cache documents, including thumbnails, for offline use. A pending deletion stores its status code on this phone so the app can check completion without recreating the account.
How We Use Information
- Show recent shopper-reported sightings
- Help users post sightings quickly
- Suggest nearby stores, map reports, and open directions when allowed
- Schedule the optional local Tuesday reminder and manage existing notification registration
- Let the community confirm reports or mark them gone
- Review reports of inaccurate, inappropriate, or unsafe content
- Measure whether posting and sharing features are being used
- Improve app reliability and safety
- Process account deletion and confirm its completion
Sharing and Tracking
Community sighting and event content is shared with other app users. Service providers process information only as needed to operate the app.
Dumplings Finder does not sell personal information and does not use information to track you across apps or websites owned by other companies.
Dumplings Finder does not guarantee that any item is available at a store.
User-Posted Content
Sightings are submitted by users. Do not post personal contact information, faces without permission, license plates, private notifications, inappropriate photos, or misleading reports. Use the report option in the app if content appears inaccurate, inappropriate, or unsafe.
Retention and Deletion
Feed expiry hides old sightings; it does not erase the server record. Public posts, related activity, reports and older alert preferences may remain until individually removed or processed through account deletion. Uninstalling the app does not delete the guest account or its server records, and may make access to the original guest account difficult to recover.
In version 1.1.4, open Profile, choose Delete account and data, and confirm the request. No email or phone call is required. Requests are processed within 7 days. Posting is paused while deletion is pending, and this screen lets you check for completion. The operator uses a protected cleanup process to remove the account's associated posts, events, photos, locations, reports, activity and saved alert preferences, then deletes the Firebase Authentication account.
During processing, a temporary request and cleanup checkpoint prevent new writes and allow recovery from interrupted cleanup. They are removed on completion. A random status code held on your phone can retrieve a completion receipt containing only status and time, not your account ID, posts or location. Do not share that code. The app also clears its local saved posts, caches, preferences and reminders and requests removal of its Firebase messaging and installation registration. Firebase may retain its own diagnostic or installation records for the periods described in its privacy documentation.
If your installed version does not yet have the in-app option, or you have lost access to an earlier guest account, contact support. We may need information to verify ownership. A matching nickname alone is not sufficient to delete another person's records. Individual public-post deletion is also available in version 1.1.4 without deleting the entire account.
Children
Dumplings Finder is a general-audience shopping and collector app. It is not designed to collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child submitted personal information, contact us so we can review and remove it.
Third-Party Services
Dumplings Finder uses Google Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Firebase Cloud Messaging to operate anonymous sign-in, community data, limited operational events and notification registration. Firebase SDKs also process technical diagnostics and app/installation information for functionality and analytics. These providers control their own service-side retention. See the Firebase Privacy and Security page.
The app also uses Apple services and frameworks such as Maps, Photos, Camera, notifications, and App Store review prompts. See Apple's Privacy Policy.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy when the app or its services change. The date at the top will show the latest revision.
Contact
For privacy questions or deletion requests, contact dumplingsfindersupport@gmail.com.