Privacy Policy

(1) Account information (if you sign in)

• Your Google account’s display name, email address, profile image URL, and account identifier
• Information used to keep you signed in (session identifier and expiry, the IP address you connect from, and your browser type)

You can sign in only with a Google account. The Service never holds your password.

(2) Saved cafes and lists (if you sign in)

• Cafes you have saved (the cafe, when you saved it, and whether it is marked “Visited” or “Favorite”)
• Cafes you have removed from your saved cafes (the cafe only, not when you removed it; so that older saves left on another device or browser are not carried over)
• Lists you have created (the list name, the cafes in it and their order, when it was created, whether it is public or private, and the identifier contained in its sharing URL)
• The number of times you saved cafes or changed lists that day, to prevent excessive load (this does not include what you changed; the count resets when the date changes)

If you set a list to “public”, anyone who knows its sharing URL can see the list name and the cafes in it without signing in. The shared page does not show your name, email address, or account identifier. The shared page is set not to be indexed by search engines, but we cannot prevent someone who has received the URL from passing it on to others.

You can unpublish, change, or delete a public list at any time from the list screen. Once unpublished, the list can no longer be viewed from that URL, but the sharing URL itself does not change, so if you make the list public again it becomes viewable at the same URL. If you want a URL you shared earlier to stop working, regenerate the sharing URL from the list screen.

(3) What you send us (corrections and cafe requests)

• Correction reports: the cafe and field concerned, what you reported, the supporting URL, any additional comment, and when you reported it
• Requests to add a cafe: the cafe name, area and nearest station, a reference URL, any additional comment, and when you sent it
• If you send them while signed in, your account identifier (used to track their status and to prevent a large number of submissions in a short time)
• A code derived from the IP address you connect from, which changes every day (used to prevent a large number of submissions in a short time)

For these submissions, we do not store the IP address itself. The code is produced from the IP address and the date by a calculation that cannot be reversed, so the IP address cannot be recovered from the code. Because the code is different on each day, submissions made on different days cannot be linked to each other; the code is used only to associate submissions received on the same day.

We do not copy the content you send (the correction, the cafe name, comments, and URLs) into places the Operator works in, such as GitHub Issues. However, to check the status of submissions and to create database backups, it is handled temporarily on GitHub’s servers (see 5 below), and it is included in database backups (see 5 and 6 below).

(4) Usage records

To understand which features are used and where people stop using the Service, and to improve the Service, we record on the Operator’s servers, together with the date and time, actions such as the following in the Service, whether or not you are signed in. The same content is also sent to Google Analytics (see 4 below).

• Opening a page (including whether the Service was launched from a home screen icon, opened in a browser, or opened in the in-app browser of an app such as a social media app [whether Threads, Instagram, Facebook, or another app], and the general type of OS and browser [iOS, Android, or other; Safari, Chrome, Samsung Internet, or other — not including versions]. We record only these categories, determined from the device and browser information your browser sends, and not that information itself. It also includes, when opened from a link, the referral identifiers attached to that link. We record only the identifiers the Operator attaches to links it posts on social media, in profiles, or elsewhere (which social network, campaign, and post the link was for), the identifiers on links opened from the notifications in 1(7) below (that it was opened from a notification, and which kind), and the service names that some services, such as AI assistants, automatically add to their links — and only values and forms the Operator has registered in advance. Any other text attached to the link is not recorded. When you open a page of the Service that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, this includes which post’s page it was)
• Searches (the type of search, the number of results, when you searched by area, which area, and, when you opened a theme page, which theme)
• Showing recommendations and lists (which section showed how many cafes, and, on the home screen, the cafe shown first in each themed list)
• Opening a cafe’s details (the cafe, which screen, list, or map action you opened it from, and whether you opened it directly from outside CafePicks; when opened from a themed list on the home screen or on the themes page, which theme’s list it was in and at which position; when opened from a theme page, which theme; when opened from a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, which post’s page it was and whether the cafe was one introduced in the post, a nearby one, one of our editors’ picks, one in a themed list, or one shown on the map)
• Actions on a cafe’s details (sharing, links to the cafe’s Instagram or official website, links to the cafe’s page on Google Maps; for Google Maps links pressed on a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, also which post’s page it was), saving and unsaving (for saves, also that the save was actually stored and whether it was stored in this browser or in your account; for saves on a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, also which post’s page it was and whether the cafe was one introduced in the post, one nearby, one of our editors’ picks, or one in a themed list), marking “Visited” or “Favorite”, and actions related to lists — each including the cafe concerned
• Actions for reopening a page from an app’s built-in browser, such as a social media app, in your usual browser (that “Open in your usual browser” was shown, on which page (and which post, for a post’s page), where it was placed (below the cafe, on the map, or in the notice shown after saving on a post’s page, below the save button on a cafe’s page, at the top right of the Map screen, at the top right of the SCAJ Map screen, at the top right of the Yokohama Coffee Fest Map, Sumida Coffee Fest Map, Hitachinaka Coffee Fest Map, Kawagoe Coffee Fest Map, Nagoya Coffee Fest Map and Okayama Coffee Festival Map screens, in the bar fixed to the bottom of the SCAJ 2026 exhibiting cafes page, or in the tip at the top of the screen shown once when a page opens inside Threads’ built-in browser), and whether you have cafes saved in that browser; that you opened the steps, and where; that you copied the link for moving saved cafes; that you pressed “Open in your usual browser” inside Threads’ or Instagram’s built-in browser, on which page and where; and that the steps were shown because the page was still displayed after you pressed it inside Threads — each including which app’s built-in browser it was), that the page reopened in your usual browser could confirm this (whether it received your saved cafes, whether it received booths saved on the SCAJ 2026 exhibiting cafes page, or only the marker described in 3 below, the kind of marker (whether you pressed “Open in your usual browser”, opened a copied link, or reopened the page from the app’s menu), whether you pressed “Open in your usual browser” in Threads or in Instagram, the place written in the marker (where you pressed the button, or where you opened the steps), which page it was, and which browser), and that you added cafes saved in another browser (how many, and whether they were added to this browser or to your account)
• Actions on the SCAJ 2026 exhibiting cafes page and on the map of the exhibiting cafes’ shops (SCAJ Map) (saving and unsaving a booth, saving and unsaving a cafe on SCAJ Map [including removing it on the Saved screen; which cafe is not included], saving a cafe from the SCAJ Map list without opening it [which cafe is included only for cafes that have a page on the Service], opening an exhibitor’s details or a cafe, and pressing a link to Google Maps, Instagram, the cafe’s official website, the venue map, or the cafe’s page on the Service [which link] — each including which exhibitor [the publicly listed exhibitor number] and the exhibitor’s category [cafe, roaster, and so on]; and switching between cafes only and all exhibitors; and pressing a share button and opening the page from an exhibitor’s link [both including which exhibitor and the exhibitor’s category, except when sharing the whole page]; and that the page reopened in your usual browser added booths saved in another browser [how many, not which ones]. On SCAJ Map: opening the page [whether the map was shown, and the area if you opened a link for a specific area], narrowing by area [the area chosen and the number of cafes after narrowing], opening the search box, searching [the number of cafes found], expanding the list [with the button or from the top of the panel], the result of pressing the current location button [whether your location was obtained, permission was not given, or it could not be obtained; your location itself is not included], and the map finishing loading. Words typed in the search box are not included)
• Actions on the map of the shops exhibiting at YOKOHAMA COFFEE FESTIVAL 2026 (Yokohama Coffee Fest Map), the map of the shops exhibiting at Sumida Coffee Festival 2026 Autumn (Sumida Coffee Fest Map), the map of the shops exhibiting at HITACHINAKA COFFEE FESTIVAL 2026 (Hitachinaka Coffee Fest Map), the map of the shops exhibiting at Kawagoe Coffee Festival 2026 (Kawagoe Coffee Fest Map), the map of the shops exhibiting at NAGOYA COFFEE FESTIVAL at NORITAKE COFFEE GARDEN 2026 (Nagoya Coffee Fest Map), and the map of the shops exhibiting at OKAYAMA COFFEE FESTIVAL 2026 (Okayama Coffee Festival Map) (opening a cafe, pressing a link to Google Maps, Instagram, the cafe’s official website, the cafe’s page on the Service, directions to the venue, the Service’s home page, or, on the Hitachinaka Coffee Festival map’s exhibitors’ coffee beans page, an exhibitor’s official online store, or a link between that map and that page [which link; for a product card of the online store, which product (a number the Service assigns to each publicly listed product) and whether it was shown as sold out], opening and closing the product preview by pressing a product card on that page [how it was closed] and saving a cafe from that preview [each including which exhibitor and which product (a number the Service assigns to each publicly listed product), and when opening, whether it was shown as sold out], and saving and unsaving a cafe on these maps [including removing it on the Saved screen; which cafe is not included], saving a cafe without opening it from these maps' lists or from the Hitachinaka Coffee Festival map's exhibitors' coffee beans page, and saving with the save button on an exhibitor's card opened on the venue booth layout [where it was saved from; which cafe is included only for cafes that have a page on the Service], and automatically saving the cafe opened from the QR code on the cards handed out at the Yokohama Coffee Festival and the Sumida Coffee Festival, or from the NFC tag on a booth's sign [which cafe] — each including which festival and which exhibitor [a number the Service assigns to each publicly listed exhibitor], except that the links to directions to the venue and to the Service’s home page, the entry to the exhibitors’ coffee beans page on the map, and that page’s link back to the map do not include an exhibitor; and opening the page [which festival, the first screen shown (the photo list, an exhibitor’s list of shops, the map, the map with a cafe opened, the venue booth layout, or the venue Taste Map), and, for the map screens, whether the map was set to load]; opening the exhibitors’ coffee beans page [which festival, and whether it was opened from a cafe card on the map]; choosing an exhibitor on the venue booth layout [whether from a list row, a number on the venue map, or a number on the enlarged venue map, and which exhibitor when chosen from a list row or when only one exhibitor is at that number]; enlarging the venue map; filtering by type [the type selected, including saved, and the number of results]; searching [the number of results; the words typed are not included]; and switching the screen tabs [which tab], and tapping or dismissing the “Back to <festival>” link shown on other screens of the Service after opening one of these maps [on which screen] — each including which festival. Words typed in the search box are not included)
• Actions on the coffee festival list page (opening the page [which side was shown first — ongoing and upcoming, or ended — and, when opened from a link that specifies a region, that region], filtering by region [the region selected, which side, and the number of festivals after filtering], and tapping a link to a festival’s map page or the organizer’s official site [which festival, which link, and which side])
• The “add to home screen” prompt being shown and tapping its button
• Showing a prompt to receive updates about your saved cafes (1(7) below) (which prompt), tapping “Get notifications” or close (×), and turning updates on or off in “Notifications” in the top-right menu (when turning them on, whether updates were turned on, were refused in the browser’s permission prompt, or could not be turned on)
• Signing in with a Google account (whether it was your first sign-in or a later one)
• Showing the map and filtering the map (the type of filter, the items chosen, the number of cafes after filtering, and pressing the current location button), and, on a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, enlarging the map (which post’s page it was) and pressing the current location button (which post’s page it was, and whether your location was obtained, permission was not given, or it could not be obtained — not your location itself)
• The map, search, recommendations, cafe details, or saving failing to load or to be applied (which feature)

When you perform one of the actions above on a cafe while its details are open, we also record where you opened those details from (this is not attached to actions on other cafes). We do not record removing a “Visited” or “Favorite” mark.

To count whether the Service is used repeatedly from the same browser, when you first perform one of the actions above we issue a random identifier that carries no meaning, store it in a cookie, and attach it to the records. Because this identifier is different for each browser, what we can count is “return visits from the same browser”, not the number of people. If you delete your browser’s site data, or use another device or browser, you are counted as a different one.

The following information is not included in these records.

• Which account performed the action (even for actions while signed in, we record only whether you are signed in and, when you sign in, whether it is your first sign-in or a later one; we also do not link the identifier to your name, email address, or account)
• Search terms, your name, and your IP address
• Location information (including your current location and the position or range you viewed or moved on the map), and the date and time specified in a map filter
• List names and sharing URLs, the URLs of links, and the content or URL of errors when something failed to load

For access from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we do not make these records and do not issue the identifier. We also do not record when the region cannot be determined. When you open a screen of the Service from these regions and an identifier issued earlier remains in your browser, we delete that cookie and also delete the usage records made with that identifier.

You can stop this recording yourself at any time (see 7 below).

(5) Current location

On the Map and Saved screens, we use your device’s location to show your current location on the map and to show the distance to cafes. We also use it on the map of a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, to show your current location on the map. On the map of the shops of the cafes that exhibited at SCAJ 2026 (SCAJ Map) and on the maps of the shops exhibiting at YOKOHAMA COFFEE FESTIVAL 2026 (Yokohama Coffee Fest Map), Sumida Coffee Festival 2026 Autumn (Sumida Coffee Fest Map), HITACHINAKA COFFEE FESTIVAL 2026 (Hitachinaka Coffee Fest Map), Kawagoe Coffee Festival 2026 (Kawagoe Coffee Fest Map), NAGOYA COFFEE FESTIVAL at NORITAKE COFFEE GARDEN 2026 (Nagoya Coffee Fest Map) and OKAYAMA COFFEE FESTIVAL 2026 (Okayama Coffee Festival Map), we use it to show your current location on the map and to list the cafes nearest to you first.

• We start getting your location only when you press the current location button (or, if you have already given permission, when you open the Map or Saved screen). We never ask for permission just because you opened a screen. On a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts and on the SCAJ Map, Yokohama Coffee Fest Map, Sumida Coffee Fest Map, Hitachinaka Coffee Fest Map, Kawagoe Coffee Fest Map, Nagoya Coffee Fest Map and Okayama Coffee Festival Map screens, we do not get your location until you press the button, even if you have already given permission.
• Once started, we keep getting your location while that screen is displayed, to update the display as you move. We stop when you move to another screen or send the browser to the background.
• We neither send your current location coordinates to, nor store them on, the Operator’s servers. Distances to cafes are calculated entirely within your browser.
• When the map is shown around your current location (when you press the current location button, and when you open the Map or Saved screen with permission already given), the map data for that area is obtained from Google. As a result, the area of the map being shown is conveyed to Google, and Google may be able to tell your approximate current location (see 4 below).
• Your current location coordinates themselves are not stored on your device either. However, after the map on the Map or Saved screen has been moved to your current location, the map position around it remains on your device as “the map position last shown” (see 3 below).
• You can withdraw location permission at any time in your browser settings.

(6) Access logs

Records of access (IP address, date and time of access, browser type, and so on) remain for a certain period on the servers of the Service’s hosting provider (Vercel, see 5 below). The Operator refers to them only to investigate failures and to respond to large volumes of access.

(7) If you receive updates about your saved cafes (notifications)

If you choose “Get notifications” on the Saved screen and allow notifications in your browser, we send you updates about your saved cafes (new cafes that match your taste, a saved cafe you could visit this weekend, and notices from the Operator such as events), at most once a week. For this, we hold the following information on the Operator’s servers.

• Where to send notifications (an address issued by the push server of your browser’s provider, and keys used to encrypt the content of notifications), and the display language
• Your saved cafes (the numbers the Service assigns to each cafe; even if you are not signed in, we hold the numbers of the cafes saved on that device; they are sent again each time your saved cafes change)
• When we last sent a notification and which kind, and how many notifications have been sent without being opened (used to avoid sending too many, and to delete addresses that are no longer used)

This information is not linked to your name, email address, account, or the identifier in 1(4) above. Even if you turn on updates while signed in, we do not hold which account it is. It is not included in database backups.

You can stop receiving updates at any time in “Notifications” in the top-right menu or in your browser’s settings. When you stop, we delete the information we hold (if you stop in your browser’s settings, we delete it the next time we try to send an update, or when the period in 6 below has passed).

Google Analytics (Google LLC)

• Information sent: the URL and title of the pages you view (on shared list pages, with the sharing identifier and the list name removed); the site you were viewing just before coming to the Service (major search engines, social media, AI assistants and similar sites are sent by site name only, and others as “other site”; the location of the page, search terms, and the content or identifiers of conversations with AI assistants are not sent); the actions in 1(4) above and the cafe, screen, where the cafe’s details were opened from, whether they were opened directly from outside CafePicks, whether the page was opened in the in-app browser of an app such as a social media app (and which app), and, on a page that gathers the cafes introduced in one of our social media posts, which post’s page it was, and, on the SCAJ 2026 exhibiting cafes page and the SCAJ Map page (including removing a cafe saved on SCAJ Map on the Saved screen), which exhibitor, and on the Yokohama Coffee Fest Map, Sumida Coffee Fest Map, Hitachinaka Coffee Fest Map, Kawagoe Coffee Fest Map, Nagoya Coffee Fest Map and Okayama Coffee Festival Map pages (likewise including removing a cafe on the Saved screen), which festival and which exhibitor, and, on SCAJ Map, Yokohama Coffee Fest Map, Sumida Coffee Fest Map, Hitachinaka Coffee Fest Map, Kawagoe Coffee Fest Map, Nagoya Coffee Fest Map and Okayama Coffee Festival Map, whether a cafe was saved from the list without opening it, and, on Yokohama Coffee Fest Map, whether the cafe opened from the QR code on a card was saved automatically (for failures to load, only which feature and which screen); scrolling to the end of a page; pressing a link to an external site (the URL of the link pressed, which is limited to public links the Service shows, such as a listed cafe’s official website, social media, and the cafe’s page on Google Maps); the type of device, browser and OS, screen size, and language; whether you are signed in and, when you sign in, whether it is your first sign-in or a later one; the Google Analytics identifier in 3 above; and the IP address that accompanies the communication (Google estimates an approximate region from the IP address and, according to Google, discards the IP address after the estimate without storing it)
• Information not sent: your name, email address, or anything that identifies which account you use; search terms; location information; list names and sharing URLs; and the content of errors
• The Operator’s purpose: to understand the relationship between where visitors come to the Service from and which features they then use, and to improve the Service
• Google’s purpose: to provide and maintain Google Analytics. For details, see Google’s “How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services” and the Google Privacy Policy
• In the Google Analytics settings, we have turned off all advertising features (Google signals and ads personalization) and the settings that allow Google to use Google Analytics data for its own products and services (data sharing settings)
• For access from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom or Switzerland, Google Analytics is not loaded and no information is sent to it. The same applies when the region cannot be determined. For this check, we look up the approximate region (country) of the access at the time of the communication (for how the result is stored, see 3 above). Communication with Google for showing maps and for sign-in is not covered by this
• Besides 7 below, you can also stop the sending with Google’s browser opt-out add-on

Notification delivery (your browser’s provider)

• If you choose to receive updates about your saved cafes (1(7) above), your browser registers with the push server of its provider (one of Apple Inc., Google LLC, Mozilla Corporation, or Microsoft Corporation). The Operator sends updates through that push server
• Information passed to the push server: where to send the notification, and communication information such as when it was sent and its size. The content of updates is encrypted, so the push server cannot read it
• The Operator’s purpose: to deliver updates
• Handling on the push servers is governed by each provider’s privacy policy

Google Maps (Google LLC)

• Information sent: on screens that show a map, the information in the communication needed to show the map (including the area of the map being shown; when the map is shown around your current location, that area is also conveyed; see 1(5) above)
• The Operator’s purpose: to show maps
• Google’s purpose: to provide its map service. For details, see the Google Privacy Policy

Sign-in with a Google account (Google LLC)

• Information sent: when you choose to sign in, the information needed for the sign-in process
• Information not sent: the content of cafes and lists saved in the Service, and usage records
• The Operator’s purpose: to confirm your identity and provide sign-in
• Google’s purpose: to authenticate Google accounts. For details, see the Google Privacy Policy

You can stop measurement from the browser on this device. When you stop it, we delete the identifying cookie and also delete the usage records made with that identifier. Sending to Google Analytics also stops, and we attempt to delete the cookies Google Analytics has set on this site (information already sent to Google is not deleted retroactively by this action). This is a setting for each device and browser. On a shared device, it also stops measurement for other people using the same browser.

Current status: Measuring