Is Postcrossing safe?

The privacy of your personal data, including your address, is important, so we designed Postcrossing to be safe. Here is what we do to keep your data secure:

• The addresses stored in Postcrossing are only used for the purpose of exchanging postcards in the project.
• It is not possible for anyone to intentionally get a specific address from the system. In Postcrossing, the destination of a postcard is selected randomly among all accounts in the system, so your address is shared only with the few selected members that will be sending you a postcard. To learn more about this, see how Postcrossing works.
• Any member can only request a small number of addresses from the system. This is by design so that no one can get all the addresses from our database. Several other safety measures are also in place to prevent this.
• All maps displayed in Postcrossing are only approximate and are not calculated from actual addresses. The coordinates used show the geometric center of the nearest large city, as selected by you in your account. The lack of precision is intentional and aims to protect your privacy.
• Your private data stored in Postcrossing is not sold or traded with third parties. No one will have access to your data without your explicit permission, as specified by our Privacy Policy.
• Access to Postcrossing's website is only possible over HTTPS. All communications transmitted between your device and our website are encrypted.

Please note that your address will be shared with the few members that will be sending postcards to you (as explained above), since that is the only way you can receive postcards. Also, the information you publish in your profile such as the about text and your Postcrossing username are public. Most profile fields are optional though, so only share what you're comfortable with.

If you wish to maximize your privacy, consider using a PO box in your local post office (or your work/school address) instead of your home address and avoid including a return address on the postcards you send.

Please read Postcrossing's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for more information, and if you still have any questions, feel free to contact us.