Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 1, 2025

Introduction

Welcome to FavCircles ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a positive experience on our platform. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our application for organizing and sharing your favorite places.

Information We Collect

Personal Information

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you:

• Register for an account
• Create your profile and favorite place collections
• Add favorite places to your lists
• Share your favorite places with others
• Follow recommendations from other users
• Contact us for support

This information may include:

• Name and username
• Email address
• Profile information and photos
• Favorite places (names, addresses, categories, optional notes, photos)
• Personal notes about places (optional)
• Following/follower relationships for place recommendations
• Communication preferences

Location Information

With your permission, we may collect location data to:

• Help you discover nearby places
• Automatically suggest locations when adding favorites
• Show you favorites near your current location
• Provide location-based recommendations

Automatically Collected Information

When you use our app, we may automatically collect certain information, including:

• Device information (device type, operating system, unique device identifiers)
• Usage data (features used, places searched, favorites accessed)
• Log information (IP address, access times, pages viewed)
• App interaction patterns and preferences

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve our place organization and sharing services
• Create and manage your account and favorite place collections
• Enable sharing of favorite places with your chosen contacts
• Show you place recommendations from users you follow
• Provide personalized recommendations for new places to discover
• Send you updates about new place recommendations and features
• Provide customer support
• Analyze usage patterns to improve our app experience
• Ensure the safety and security of our platform
• Comply with legal obligations

Information Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• With users you choose: Favorite places and collections you explicitly choose to share
• Public information: Any place information you choose to make publicly visible
• Following relationships: When you follow someone for place recommendations, they can see you follow them
• Service providers: Third-party companies that help us operate our services (map providers, analytics)
• Legal requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

Your Control Over Sharing

You have complete control over what you share and with whom:

• All favorite places are private by default
• You choose which specific places or collections to share
• You control who can see your shared favorite places
• You can revoke sharing access at any time
• You can make places public, shared with specific people, or keep them private
• You choose who you follow for place recommendations

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Your favorite places and associated details are encrypted and stored securely.

Your Rights and Choices

You have the right to:

• Access, update, or delete your personal information and favorite places
• Control your privacy settings and sharing preferences
• Export your favorite places data
• Control location sharing permissions
• Manage who you follow for recommendations
• Withdraw consent for data processing
• Delete your account and all associated data

Data Retention

We retain your personal information and favorite places data for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. When you delete your account, we will delete your personal information and favorite places, though some anonymized usage data may be retained for improvement purposes.

Third-Party Services

Our app may integrate with third-party services such as:

• Map services for location data and directions
• Social media platforms for sharing (only with your permission)
• Location services for discovering nearby places

These services have their own privacy policies, and we encourage you to review them.

Children's Privacy

Our services are not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected such information, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy on our website and/or through the app.