Terms of Use
Effective · Operator ESBE Inc · Barklee Sanders
ImproveBayArea is an independent civic-tech tool. These terms govern (a) how residents may use ImproveBayArea, and (b) the public commitments ESBE Inc makes to every city whose 311 channels we file reports through.
For residents
Use ImproveBayArea to file legitimate 311 service requests for issues you have personally observed in the Bay Area. Submitting deliberately false reports wastes city resources and may be a violation of your local ordinance.
- No account is required to submit a report.
- If you sign in to track your reports, we store your email address and your reports' case IDs. Nothing else.
- Photos are uploaded to the destination city's submission system. EXIF metadata is stripped before upload to protect your location privacy beyond what you explicitly attach.
- Once a report leaves ImproveBayArea, the destination city owns it. Their privacy policy and retention rules apply.
- ImproveBayArea makes no warranty about whether the city will act on your report, how quickly, or whether the issue will be resolved. We are a faster front door, not a service guarantee.
For cities — public commitments to upstream 311 providers
The following six commitments mirror the Open311 Terms of Use that the City of San Francisco executed with Woah Finally LLC on January 21, 2025 (per California Public Records Act release 25-4037). ESBE Inc pre-agrees to these terms verbatim for any city that operates a 311 API or public submission form ImproveBayArea relies on:
- San Francisco 311 (and any other city's 311) cannot be held liable for the accuracy or availability of the underlying service, and we make no claims to accuracy, completeness, availability, or any other warranty or guarantee on top of theirs.
- Attribution to ImproveBayArea is appreciated but not required. We do not imply or claim endorsement by any city.
- The text and images used in ImproveBayArea will not be like those used by any city's official 311 brand; nor will they imply ownership, endorsement, or approval by that city.
- Where city APIs require API keys, those keys are used only by the individual or organization to which they were issued. Sharing or distribution of API keys is not permitted.
- Where city APIs publish rate limits, we honor them. Excessive usage is monitored and may be grounds for termination of service by the upstream provider.
- Service may be terminated at any time at the discretion of the upstream city or API provider. We will inform users immediately if any submission channel becomes unavailable.
One additional commitment, beyond the City of San Francisco's stock terms:
- ImproveBayArea will provide written notice to upstream city contacts at least 14 days in advance of any user-facing rebrand (name, primary domain, app icon, or marketing copy that affects how users perceive who we are).
Signed
Barklee Sanders, on behalf of ESBE Inc, on . These terms are version-controlled in the ImproveBayArea source tree; any future change is committed publicly with an updated effective date.
How to reach us
City staff, accessibility issues, security disclosures, or general feedback: contact page · barkleesanders@gmail.com.
Mailing address
1070 Bridgeview Way #310, San Francisco, CA 94158