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CooHood

Safety & Trust

Your neighbourhood stays private. Here’s how we protect it.

CooHood connects people who genuinely live in the same area. Registration, residential address confirmation, and personal visibility settings help protect local content from public access. Here we explain openly which data we need, what we check – and what we do not.

Download CooHood for freeRead the privacy policy

  • Residential address confirmed

    A one-time GPS check while the app is open.

  • Privacy by default

    Your profile card and Hood inventory stay hidden until you choose to share them.

  • Chat without a phone number

    Communicate directly without publishing your number.

  • Report and block

    Protect yourself directly from unwanted content and contacts.

Why is registration required?

CooHood is not a public classified advertising platform. Your personal account helps us assign you to your building and Hood and protect local content from the public internet.

After registering, you can share posts with a chosen audience, ask for or offer help, share food and tools, chat with neighbours, and manage your own visibility.

CooHood is available to people aged 16 and over. Without a confirmed residential address, only limited guest features are available.

Residential address confirmation – not an ID or background check

For the protected building and Hood features, CooHood confirms once that your device is at the residential address you provided.

To do this, the app performs a GPS check within 50 metres of the registered address while the app is open.

  • Location access takes place only while the app is open.
  • CooHood does not create movement profiles.
  • Your location is not tracked in the background.
  • CooHood does not inspect identity documents or carry out background checks.
  • The confirmation shows that the device was within 50 metres of the stated address at the time of the check.

False addresses and manipulated location data are not permitted and may lead to account restrictions or suspension.

You decide what other people see

Your stored residential address is not automatically displayed publicly. Many visibility settings are disabled by default and are activated only when you expressly choose to do so.

You decide:

  • whether your profile card is visible to neighbours in your building whose residential address has been confirmed,
  • whether your shared items appear on the Hood map,
  • whether a post is intended for your building or the whole Hood,
  • which skills and items you publish,
  • how precisely you mark the collection point for a free item.

Chat messages are visible only to the people taking part. A phone number is not required for communication.

Your data is not an advertising product

We do not sell your personal data or disclose it to advertising networks for advertising purposes.

The Firestore database, files, and Cloud Functions are located in Google’s europe-west6 region in Zurich. Firebase Authentication processes sign-in data in the United States. Push notifications and map services also use international infrastructure.

Read the privacy policy

Reporting, blocking, and moderation

Disrespectful, fraudulent, discriminatory, or harassing behaviour has no place on CooHood.

  • You can report posts directly in the app.
  • You can block other people.
  • Reports are reviewed by the operator.
  • Content reported several times is automatically hidden until it has been reviewed.
  • Where rules are breached, content may be removed and accounts restricted, suspended, or deleted.

You can contact the CooHood operator using the email address shown here: Open the Impressum

Your account remains under your control

You can delete your account directly in the app at any time.

This removes, among other things, your profile, address and location details, inventory, requests, and push identifier.

Posts and conversation histories that also concern other neighbours may remain in anonymised form. The link to your account is replaced with an anonymous placeholder.

For questions or an additional deletion request, contact us at hello@coohood.com. Learn more about how we handle your data

Sharing safely

  • Food

    Anyone offering food must follow the information shown in the app about storage, shelf life, and known allergens. The person making the offer remains responsible for the safety and accuracy of the information.

  • Tools and other items

    Loans and handovers take place directly between the neighbours involved and at their own responsibility. Condition, use, and return should be agreed together before handover. CooHood does not provide its own insurance product for this.

  • Support for older people

    CooHood helps organise voluntary support between neighbours. The platform is not a substitute for medical, nursing, or professional care and is not an emergency service.

What CooHood is – and what it is not

CooHood puts neighbours in contact with one another. Arrangements are made directly between the people involved.

  • CooHood is not a party to arrangements between neighbours.
  • CooHood does not guarantee that a request will be fulfilled.
  • CooHood makes no promise of insurance cover for loaned items.
  • CooHood is not intended for professional or commercial services.
  • CooHood is not a medical, nursing, or emergency service.

Who is behind CooHood

CooHood is run by a small team you can contact personally. The operator can be reached at a contact address in Zurich:

CooHood is a working app for iPhone and Android and is currently operated as a private, non-commercial pilot project.

Meet our teamOpen the Impressum

Frequently asked questions

Why do I need an account?
A personal account assigns you to your building and Hood and protects local content from public access. Without a confirmed residential address, only limited guest features are available.
Why does CooHood need my location?
Your location is used once to confirm that your device is within 50 metres of the registered residential address.
Does CooHood check my identity?
No. CooHood does not inspect identity documents or carry out background checks. It only confirms that the device was near the stated address at the time of the check.
Can other people see my exact address?
Your stored full address is not automatically displayed publicly. Other members can see that you belong to their building or Hood. You choose the collection point for a free item.
Does CooHood track my location in the background?
No. GPS access for residential address confirmation takes place only while the app is open. CooHood does not create routes or movement profiles.
Do I need to provide my phone number?
No. You can use the integrated chat without publishing a phone number. A phone number in your profile is optional.
What happens if someone behaves inappropriately?
You can report posts and block people. Reports are reviewed; where rules are breached, content may be removed and accounts restricted, suspended, or deleted.
Where is my data stored?
Firestore, files, and Cloud Functions are located in Google’s europe-west6 region in Zurich. Sign-in, push notifications, and map services also use international infrastructure.
Can I delete my account?
Yes. You can delete your account directly in the app. Personal account data is removed; posts and conversations relevant to other people may remain in anonymised form.
Is CooHood a care or emergency service?
No. CooHood organises voluntary support between neighbours and is not a substitute for medical, nursing, or professional care or an emergency service.

Ready for your Hood?

Register for free, confirm your residential address once, and decide what you want to share with your neighbourhood.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Free · For iPhone and Android · Ages 16 and over