Privacy Policy

At Cuddler, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, how we share it, and the choices you have regarding your information.

By using the Cuddler mobile application and related services (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. This policy should be read alongside our Terms of Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

When you create an account or use the Service, you may provide us with:

• Account and sign-in information: Your email address and basic identity information from Firebase Authentication

• Public profile information: Your display name, bio, selected roles, community values, visible social links, and profile photo

• Private profile information: Information such as your phone number, date of birth, and exact location when you choose to provide it

• Pet information: Names, species, photos, and care-related details for pets you add to the Service

• Support and communications: Information you share when contacting support or responding to product notices

1.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use the Service, we may automatically collect:

• Device and app information: Device type, operating system, app version, and diagnostic identifiers

• Log and security information: IP address, request metadata, timestamps, and security-related events

• Usage information: Features you use, screens you open, and interactions needed to operate and secure the Service

• Location information: Approximate or precise location only when you grant permission and the feature requires it

1.3 Information from Third Parties

We use Firebase Authentication for sign-in and session management. When you sign in, Firebase may provide us with basic identity information such as your unique Firebase user ID, email address, display name, and profile image. We use that information to authenticate you and connect your account to your Cuddler profile.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide the Service: Create and manage accounts, operate profiles, support onboarding, and let authenticated users interact with each other

• Show user-controlled profile content: Display profile information and shared images to other logged-in users when that content is part of your active profile

• Protect the Service and community: Detect abuse, investigate misuse, enforce our rules, and secure user accounts

• Support product operations: Maintain infrastructure, troubleshoot failures, respond to support requests, and communicate important changes

• Comply with legal obligations: Retain, disclose, or restrict information when required by law

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

3. How We Organize and Share Data

3.1 Public Profile Information Inside the Service

We separate your data into:

• Public profile information: Information you intend other logged-in users to see, such as display name, bio, selected roles, community values, chosen social links, and profile photo

• Private profile information: Information not shown to other users, such as email address, phone number, exact location, internal account identifiers, and security-related records

Real user profiles and shared images are available only to authenticated Cuddler users while the account is active. Signed-out users may see placeholder or informational content, but they do not receive real user profile data from our protected APIs.

Exact coordinates are not exposed to other users through profile APIs.

3.2 Service Providers

We share data with trusted providers that help us run the Service, including:

• Firebase Authentication for sign-in and session validation

• Self-hosted infrastructure providers that host our backend systems and databases

• Garage S3-compatible object storage for encrypted media files

• Customer support, monitoring, and operational tooling when needed to run and secure the Service

These providers may only process personal data on our behalf and under appropriate contractual and security obligations.

3.3 Legal or Safety Reasons

We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary to:

• Comply with a legal obligation, court order, or lawful request

• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Cuddler, our users, or the public

• Detect, investigate, or prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents

3.4 Business Transfers

If Cuddler is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice where required by law.

4. Media and Shared Images

Images uploaded to profiles are stored under opaque internal object identifiers. We do not use permanent public object URLs as the source of truth for profile access.

If you upload an image intended to be shared in the Service:

• the image is stored privately in our storage layer

• access is granted only through authenticated application flows

• other logged-in users may view it while your account remains active and the media item is active

• access is revoked when your account or the media item enters deletion

5. Data Retention and Deletion

We retain personal data only for as long as it is needed for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law.

When you request account deletion:

• your profile is hidden from other users as soon as deletion begins

• access to shared profile media is revoked immediately at the authorization layer

• deletion jobs are queued to remove profile data and media from active systems

• limited records may be retained for security, fraud prevention, legal compliance, or backup lifecycle management where permitted by law

Backup copies may persist for a limited retention period before they expire in the normal course of operations.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you

• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data

• Delete your personal data

• Receive an export of certain data in a machine-readable format

• Object to or restrict some processing in limited circumstances

Where available in the product, you can use in-app account management, export, and deletion flows. You may also contact us at [email protected] to exercise your rights. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

6.1 Push Notifications

You can manage push notification preferences through your device or app settings.

6.2 Location Permissions

You can withdraw location permissions through your device settings. Some location-aware features may stop working if you do.

7. Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal data, including:

• encryption in transit

• application-managed encryption for protected profile fields and media content

• access controls and authentication checks

• audit logging for sensitive profile and media operations

• monitoring and review of security-relevant events

No system can guarantee absolute security. If you believe you have identified a security issue, contact us at [email protected].

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that a child has provided personal information to us, we will take steps to delete it.

9. International Data Transfers

Depending on how you access the Service and where our providers operate, your information may be processed in countries other than your own. Where required, we use appropriate legal mechanisms and safeguards for such transfers.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date above and provide notice where required.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Cuddler Privacy Team Email: [email protected]