Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Huddle Nearby ("Huddle", "we", "us") collects, uses and shares information about you when you use our mobile application (the "App") and the website huddlenearby.com. Please read it together with our Terms of Service.

1. Who we are

Huddle Nearby is operated by Aurica Rodica Vartolomei, an independent developer established in Barcelona, Spain, in the European Union. She is the data controller of your personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For any privacy question, to exercise your rights, or as our single point of contact under the EU Digital Services Act, write to iwant2025dev@gmail.com.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you provide

• Account information — when you sign in with Apple or Google we receive your name, your email address (or the private relay address if you chose "Hide My Email" with Apple) and, with Google, your profile photo. We create a username for you, which you can change.
• Profile content — the profile photo you upload, your bio, and links to your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or Linktree profiles.
• Content — the text of your posts and the public place you attach to each post, your comments, likes, bookmarks, and who you follow.
• Safety information — reports you submit about posts, comments or accounts, users you block, and messages you send to our support.
• Preferences — your notification settings. Your theme and language choices are stored only on your device.

2.2 Information collected automatically

• Location (only while you use the App, never in the background). With your permission, your device location is used to show how far posts are from you and to load the posts around you. For that purpose the area of the map you are looking at is sent to our servers. When you search for a place, the text you type and your approximate position (rounded to about 100 m) are sent to our place-search provider. Your most recent location is also saved in your profile (refreshed at most every 30 minutes) so we can send you the "nearby" notifications described below and rank people near you. If you deny location access, you can still browse the map manually.
• Post location. A post is attached to a public place that you choose from search (a café, a park, a beach…). The exact coordinates of that place are stored with the post and are visible to everyone. Posts do not record your own position.
• Device and diagnostics — a push-notification token, your app version, device model and operating system version, crash reports and error logs (Firebase Crashlytics), and a device attestation that proves the App is genuine (Firebase App Check, using Apple App Attest / DeviceCheck on iOS and Google Play Integrity on Android). Our servers also keep short-lived security logs (for example request counts used for rate limiting) that include your IP address.
• Map tiles. The base map is loaded from OpenFreeMap; when the map is displayed, your device requests tiles from that service, which sees your IP address and the map area you view. Post markers are served by our own servers.

We do not use advertising identifiers, we do not track you across other apps or websites, and the App contains no advertising or analytics SDKs.

3. How we use information

• To operate the App: sign-in, your profile, posting, comments, likes, bookmarks, follows and search.
• To show you posts near you and the distance to each post.
• To send push notifications when someone follows you, comments on your post or replies in a conversation you joined, when a new post appears near you, and as a periodic "nearby" digest. You can turn off follow and comment notifications in the App's settings and all notifications in your device settings.
• To keep the community safe: every post is screened automatically by an AI model (Google Cloud Vertex AI, Gemini) and a profanity filter before or shortly after it is published, reports are reviewed by us, and we keep records of moderation decisions to handle appeals and legal obligations.
• To translate posts and comments written in another language when you choose to read them in yours (Google Cloud Translation).
• To find public places when you create a post (Geoapify).
• To secure the App, prevent abuse and fraud, enforce our Terms, and keep backups so we can recover from failures.
• To answer your support requests.

4. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it with advertisers. We use the following service providers (processors), strictly to operate the App. Each of them is bound by a data processing agreement, processes your data only on our instructions and provides the same or equal protection of your data as described in this policy:

• Google LLC / Google Cloud — Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Cloud SQL, Cloud Messaging, Crashlytics, App Check, Remote Config, Vertex AI (content moderation) and Cloud Translation. Our database, files, functions and backups are stored in the European Union; a few Google services (authentication, crash reporting, translation and moderation models) may process data in the United States under the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
• Apple Inc. — Sign in with Apple, the Apple Push Notification service and App Attest.
• Geoapify GmbH (Germany) — place search: receives the text you type and your approximate position.
• OpenFreeMap — base map tiles: receives your IP address and the map area you view.

Public content. Other users can see your display name, username, profile photo, bio, social links, posts (text, place and its coordinates), comments, likes, and your followers and following counts. Posts can also be opened by anyone on the web through share links (huddlenearby.com/wish/…), including people who do not use the App, and a preview of the post (text, place and your name) may be shown in messaging apps when a link is shared. Do not put in a post anything you would not share publicly.

We may disclose information when required by law, to respond to valid requests from authorities, or to protect the rights and safety of our users.

5. Legal basis (GDPR)

• Performance of a contract — to provide the App's features you signed up for.
• Legitimate interests — to keep the App secure, prevent abuse, moderate content, improve the service and keep backups.
• Consent — for location access and push notifications, which you can withdraw at any time in your device settings.
• Legal obligation — to keep moderation records and respond to lawful requests.

Your name and email address (from Apple or Google) are necessary to create an account; without them the App cannot be used. Everything else — profile photo, bio, links, location access and notifications — is optional. Automated screening may hide or flag a post, but decisions to suspend or ban an account are always taken by a person, and you can contest any moderation decision as described in our Terms of Service.

6. Data retention

• We keep your account data for as long as your account exists.
• When you delete your account from the App, it is scheduled for deletion. You have 30 days to change your mind by signing in again; after that your profile, photos, posts, comments, likes, bookmarks, follows and notifications are permanently deleted.
• Content removed by moderation is kept for up to 30 days to handle appeals, then deleted.
• Backups are kept for 30 days (daily) and 90 days (weekly), then purged.
• Crash reports and security logs are kept for up to 90 days.

7. Your rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate data — you can edit your profile directly in the App.
• Delete your account and associated data — from the App, at any time.
• Receive a copy of your data in a portable format — from the App's settings ("Download my data"), or by email.
• Restrict or object to processing, and withdraw consent at any time.
• Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority — in Spain, the AEPD (aepd.es), or the authority of the country where you live.

To exercise any of these rights, email iwant2025dev@gmail.com. We respond within 30 days.

8. Minors

Huddle Nearby is for people aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

9. Security

We protect your data with encryption in transit (HTTPS) and at rest, Firebase Security Rules, device attestation (App Check), rate limiting and access controls. No system is 100% secure; if you find a vulnerability, please report it to iwant2025dev@gmail.com.

10. Website

huddlenearby.com does not use cookies, advertising or analytics. Like any website, our hosting provider (Firebase Hosting) records standard server logs including your IP address.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of the page reflects the most recent change. Significant changes will be announced inside the App before they take effect.

12. Contact

Questions, complaints, or data requests:
iwant2025dev@gmail.com