Privacy Policy

FriendlyEncounter ("we," "us," or "our") is a location-based social app that helps people meet others nearby with shared interests. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data.

By using FriendlyEncounter, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Account information. When you create an account, we collect your email address. Your email is used solely to identify your account and send sign-in links. We do not share it with other users.

Profile information. We collect the information you choose to provide in your profile: your first name, a short bio, your stated interests, and your written responses to interest verification prompts. This information is visible to other users of the app.

Photos. We collect a profile photo that you upload or take with your camera. When you go live, we also collect a live selfie. Your profile photo and live selfie are stored securely and used to verify your identity and help other users find you in person. Selfies are deleted from our servers when you go offline.

Location data. When you use the app, we collect your precise GPS location to show you nearby users and display your current venue. Your exact coordinates are stored temporarily while you are live and are not shared with other users in raw form — they only see an approximate distance and venue name.

Usage data. We collect standard technical information such as device type, browser type, and interaction logs to help us improve the app. This information is not linked to your identity.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and maintain your account
• To show your profile to nearby users with shared interests
• To verify your identity through photo comparison when you go live
• To enable waves and in-app chat between matched users
• To send you push notifications about waves and connections
• To determine your location and display nearby users
• To improve the app and fix technical issues

3. Photo Verification

When you go live, we use AWS Rekognition to compare your live selfie to your profile photo to confirm you are physically present. This comparison happens in real time. The confidence score is shown to you. We do not store facial recognition data or biometric identifiers — only the comparison result is used, and your selfie is deleted from our servers when you go offline.

4. Information Shared With Other Users

Other users of FriendlyEncounter can see:

• Your first name and bio
• Your stated interests and verification responses
• Your live selfie (only when you are live, only after a mutual wave)
• Your profile photo (only after a mutual wave)
• Your approximate venue name (e.g. "Nako")

Your email address, exact GPS coordinates, and device information are never visible to other users.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate the app:

• Supabase — database, authentication, and file storage. Privacy policy
• AWS Rekognition — facial comparison for live verification. Privacy policy
• Foursquare — venue name lookup from GPS coordinates. Privacy policy
• OpenStreetMap Nominatim — fallback venue name lookup from GPS coordinates when Foursquare is unavailable. Privacy policy
• Vercel — app hosting and serverless functions. Privacy policy
• Anthropic Claude API — AI processing of the text you submit for AI-powered features: scoring your interest verification responses, categorizing custom topics you add, and generating replies in chats with clearly labeled demo personas. You are asked for permission in the app before any of this text is sent. Anthropic processes it only to provide the feature and does not use it for advertising or to train AI models. Privacy policy

6. Data Retention

• Profile data — retained until you delete your account
• Live selfies — deleted immediately when you go offline
• Location data — presence records are cleared when you go offline; stale records older than 2 hours are automatically removed
• Chat messages — retained for 24 hours then automatically deleted
• Push notification subscriptions — retained until you unsubscribe or your device subscription expires

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data by editing your profile in the app
• Delete your account and all associated data directly in the app (My Profile → Delete account), or by contacting us
• Withdraw consent for location access or notifications at any time through your device settings
• Export your data upon request

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address below.

8. Children's Privacy

FriendlyEncounter is not intended for users under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Security

We use industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption, secure cloud storage, and row-level access controls on our database. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.