Privacy Policy

• Friends-only by default. Every usual you save is private or friends-only unless you choose otherwise.
• We don't sell your data. We show non-intrusive ads in the feed through Google AdMob, but we don't sell your data and we don't share your usuals, friends, or messages with advertisers.
• You control your data. View it in-app, delete your account anytime, and we'll honor data requests. We only show non-personalized ads.
• Real humans answer. Email us at [email protected] with any privacy question.

We collect only what we need to make Usuals work.

• Account info — your email or Apple ID, plus any display name and avatar you choose.
• Phone hash — only if you opt in to "Let friends find you." We store a peppered SHA-256 hash of your phone number, never the raw number.
• Location — only when you actively use the map or drop a usual. We don't track you in the background.
• Contacts — only when you tap "Find Friends." We hash phone numbers locally on your device and send only the hashes to look for matches. Raw contact data never leaves your phone.
• Photos — only the photos you attach to usuals you post.
• Push notification tokens — to deliver messages, friend requests, and activity notifications.
• Ad-related data — to show non-personalized ads in the feed, Google AdMob processes your approximate location (from your IP address), basic device info, and ad interactions. We don't ask to track you, so the app doesn't use your advertising identifier (IDFA / AAID) to profile you across apps. See the "Advertising" section below.

To run the app you signed up for — showing you usuals, connecting you with friends, and delivering messages and notifications.

We don't sell your data. We don't share your usuals, friends, messages, contacts, or photos with advertisers.

The third parties we share data with are essential infrastructure (hosting, push delivery, error monitoring) and Google AdMob for showing ads in the feed. Each receives only the minimum it needs to do its job. See the "Advertising" section below for what AdMob specifically receives.

Every usual has one of three visibility levels, enforced server-side at the database layer with PostgreSQL Row-Level Security:

• Public — visible to anyone using Usuals.
• Friends-only — visible only to people you've accepted as friends.
• Just for you — never visible to anyone else.

Friends-only usuals are invisible to non-friends at the database layer — even a shared link from a friend lands on a "this usual is friends-only" card without disclosing details.

Your usuals are the friends you pair with for presence and Moments. By default, friends become usuals automatically when a friend request is accepted — you can turn that off, remove anyone, or hide yourself at any time from inside the app. Presence works only between mutual usuals. We check your location only while the app is open in the foreground — never in the background.

We store your most recent foreground location and timestamp on our servers solely to compare with your usuals' check-ins, and that data is wiped 24 hours after each open. When a mutual presence is detected, the app offers to capture a Moment together. Joining is always your choice — your photos appear on the shared card only if you join and add them. Finished cards can be shared outside the app; cards containing a group photo can be shared externally only once every participant allows it, and anyone can revoke that at any time.

You can remove your own photos from a Moment at any time — the card is rebuilt without them — and a Moment's creator can delete it for everyone. Removing a usual immediately stops presence detection and Moments between you.

Usuals shows occasional ads in the feed through Google AdMob. Ads sit inline as you scroll — you can scroll past them like any other card. We don't interrupt you with pop-ups, video pre-rolls, or full-screen takeovers.

We request non-personalized ads. We don't ask iOS for permission to track you across other companies' apps and websites, so the app shows no App Tracking Transparency prompt and doesn't use your device's advertising identifier (IDFA / AAID) to profile you across apps.

What AdMob still receives from your device:

• Approximate location (country / region, from your IP address)
• Basic device and OS info (e.g., "iPhone 14, iOS 17")
• The ads you saw and tapped, so AdMob can serve, frequency-cap, secure, and measure ads and pay publishers

What AdMob does not receive: your name, email, phone number, contacts, usuals, friends, messages, or photos.

Your controls:

• iOS — because we don't track you, there's no tracking prompt to manage. You can still limit or reset your advertising identifier in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking and Apple Advertising.
• Android — turn on "Delete advertising ID" in Settings → Privacy → Ads.
• Google Ad Settings — manage ad personalization across Google services at adssettings.google.com.

Google's handling of this data is governed by the Google Privacy Policy.

Usuals data is stored on Supabase (managed PostgreSQL + object storage), encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256). Our primary region is us-east-1.

From inside the Usuals app:

• View your data — every usual, friend, message, and setting is visible in your Profile and Settings.
• Delete your account — Profile → Settings → Delete Account. This is a hard delete: your usuals, photos, and profile are permanently removed.
• Revoke contacts / location access — turn off in iOS / Android settings any time.

For data export or any privacy request, email [email protected] with "PRIVACY" in the subject line.

Usuals is for users 13 years of age and over (16+ in the European Economic Area). We don't knowingly collect data from younger users; if you believe we have, contact us and we'll remove it.

We'll notify you in the app for any material changes to this policy. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent revision.

Privacy or data questions: [email protected]— please mention "PRIVACY" in the subject so it routes correctly.