Privacy policy

What we collect

If you share a story: your first and last name, email, phone number, city, state, age, optional social links, an optional written note, and the videos you record.

If you back stories: your account email if you sign in, a random device identifier, and a one-way hash of your network address used only to stop vote manipulation. We never store your raw IP address.

We also record basic activity — which stories you viewed, backed or followed — to build your feed, streak and weekly recap.

What is public and what is not

Public on an approved story page: first name, city, state, age, the approved videos, and backing counts.

Never public: your last name, email address, phone number, exact address, IP hash, and any video that hasn't been approved. Those are visible only to the review team.

Video storage

Videos are stored in a private bucket. They can't be listed or browsed, and playback links are short-lived and issued only for videos a moderator has approved. Rejected submissions are deleted after the review is finished.

Consent records

When you submit, we keep an immutable record of the exact consent wording you accepted, the timestamp, a hashed network fingerprint and your browser string. This exists to protect you as much as us, and only the review team can read it.

No one under 18

This site is for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that a minor has submitted, we delete the submission and all associated data. If you're a parent or guardian and believe your child submitted something, contact us and we'll remove it right away.

Who we share with

We don't sell your data. We share it only with the service providers that run this site — hosting, database and storage, email delivery, and analytics — and with the Zero to Hero team reviewing submissions. Approved public content may of course be reproduced in the book and in marketing, as described in the media release.

Your choices

You can ask for a copy of your data, correct it, or have your story and personal information deleted at any time. Reply to any email from The Next Hero team, or use the report link on your story page, and we'll handle it.

Cookies and local storage

We use your browser's local storage to remember your session, your device identifier for backing, your streak, cached video clips for smoother playback, and any invite code that brought you here. No third-party advertising trackers.