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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3 June 2026

Overview

circle(s) is a presence app for small, trusted groups of people. We collect only what is necessary to make the app work, we never sell your data, and we never use it for advertising. This policy explains what we collect, why, and how you can control it.

What we collect

  • Account data: Your phone number, used to authenticate you via SMS OTP. We store a derived identifier — not your raw number — after sign-in.
  • Profile data: Your display name, initials, and optional profile photo.
  • Presence signals: Mood and activity check-ins you explicitly submit. These are shared only with members of your circles.
  • Nudges: The nudge type (e.g. "thinking of you") and optional short message or photo you send to another person. Nudges are end-to-end encrypted where supported.
  • Location (optional): A coarse location signal, fuzzed to approximately 1 km, used to show friends a soft presence context. Never shared precisely. You can disable this at any time in iOS or Android settings.
  • Motion (optional): Device motion data inferred locally to detect broad activity context (walking, still, etc.). Raw sensor data never leaves your device.
  • Device token: An APNs or FCM push token used to deliver nudge notifications to your device.
  • Contacts (optional): Used only to find friends already on circle(s). Phone numbers are hashed before leaving your device and are never stored in plain text.

What we do not collect

  • We do not track usage behaviour or build profiles for advertising.
  • We do not read your messages, photos, or calendar.
  • We do not share data with third-party advertisers.
  • We do not use cookies or tracking pixels on this website.

How we use your data

Data is used solely to provide the circle(s) service: connecting you with your trusted circles, delivering nudges, showing presence signals, and sending push notifications. We use Supabase (EU region) as our backend infrastructure provider. Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest.

Data sharing

Your presence signals and nudges are visible only to people in the same circle as you. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third party except as required to operate the service (e.g. our cloud infrastructure provider) or as required by law.

Data retention

Nudges fade automatically after 8–12 hours. Presence signals are retained for up to 30 days to support freshness calculations, then deleted. Account data is retained while your account is active. You may request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time.

Your rights

Depending on your jurisdiction you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, or to withdraw consent. To exercise these rights, contact us at the address below. We will respond within 30 days.

Children

circle(s) is not intended for users under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about privacy? privacy@circlesapp.io