Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-08-30

Samewhere ("we") helps travelers make friends. This policy explains what we collect, why, and your choices.

What we collect

• Account: email address; authentication is handled by Supabase Auth.
• Profile you build: display name, age, gender, home city/country, languages, bio, photos, and social media handles you choose to add.
• Travel intent you share: trip city and date ranges; map pins (a venue name, category, and date). Pins expire and are permanently deleted within 72 hours.
• Messages: first-message requests and chats with people who accepted.
• Verification selfie (optional): a biometric face comparison. The selfie is compared automatically against your profile photos to check they are of the same person, which is what awards the verified badge. The selfie is deleted after review, and the comparison result is the only thing kept. Under GDPR this is Article 9 special-category data and we process it only with your explicit consent, given by choosing to start the check; it is optional, and nothing else in the app is withheld if you skip it. Apple classifies it as Sensitive Info, so it must also be declared on the App Store privacy card. NEEDS LEGAL REVIEW - biometric disclosure added 2026-08-30
• Usage analytics: app events (screens viewed, features used) via PostHog, tied to your user ID.

What we deliberately do NOT collect

• Your device location. Never. The app has no location permission. The map shows only venue-level future plans you type in yourself.
• Your birthdate (we store an age number only), contacts, or photos beyond the ones you pick.

How your information is shared with other users

• Your profile (name, age, photos, bio, languages, verified badge) is visible to any signed-in traveler who can reach it: someone whose trip overlaps yours, someone who taps one of your pins, or someone opening your profile from a chat or a group you share.
• Your social handles are hidden until you and another traveler both accept a chat. This is enforced by the database, not just by the app.
• Your upcoming trips are part of your profile, so any signed-in traveler who can open your profile can see them. Trips that have finished are private to you.
• One traveler at a time is shown to signed-out visitors. The Travelers tab shows a single featured card — name, age, photo, bio, languages, city and dates — to people who have not made an account, chosen automatically from whoever in that city other travelers are messaging most. Posting a trip is what makes you eligible. Nobody can message you without an account, and there is currently no way to opt out of being featured; if you would rather not be, delete your trip or your account.
• Heatmap data is aggregated and anonymous; areas with very few pins are never shown to others.

Content moderation

To keep the app safe, first messages, photos, and verification selfies are screened automatically (including by an AI classifier run server-side via Anthropic's API). Moderation decisions and reports are logged. We never use your content to train AI models.

Where your data lives

Data is stored with Supabase (Postgres + storage) in the EU (REGION - confirm in the Supabase dashboard). Push notifications are delivered via Expo and Apple.

Retention & deletion

• Pins: deleted within 72 hours, always.
• Verification selfies: deleted once reviewed.
• Delete your account any time in Profile → Delete account: your profile, photos, trips, pins, requests, and chats (for both sides) are permanently deleted. Anonymized moderation records (with your identity removed) are retained as required for safety.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (including the EU/GDPR), you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete your data. Use Contact us in the app, or write to the support address on our App Store listing.

Children

This app is for adults 18+. We remove underage accounts.

Changes

We'll notify you in-app about material changes to this policy.

Contact: the in-app Contact us form, or hello@samewhere.io · LEGAL ENTITY NAME AND ADDRESS - required for GDPR