Privacy Policy for "switch - the app to connect"

Welcome to "switch - the app to connect" (the "App"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our App. Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the App.

We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the "Last Updated" date of this Privacy Policy.

1. COLLECTION OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect via the App includes:

Personal Data:

• Account Information: When you register, we collect your email address and chosen username. Your password is processed by Firebase Authentication and not directly stored by us in a readable format. A unique User ID is assigned to you by Firebase.
• User Profile: You may provide a "tag" and update your username.

Status Information:

• Your activity status (e.g., "active," "inactive").
• Selected emoji to represent your mood or status.
• Custom status text and location text (free-form input by you).
• Time information related to your status (e.g., "from," "until," "now").
• Participant limit you set for your statuses.
• Timestamps associated with your status updates.

Friendship Information:

• Your list of friends within the App (identified by their User IDs).
• The status of friend requests (pending, accepted).
• Your preferences for friend visibility and favorite friends.

Device Information:

• FCM Token: A Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token is collected to send you push notifications related to app activity (e.g., friend requests, status updates).

Usage Data:

• Information about your interactions with the App, such as when you send or accept friend requests, join or leave statuses, update your status, or when your FCM token was last updated or when you last signed out.
• Timestamps related to actions like status completion or scheduled deletion of a status.

2. USE OF YOUR INFORMATION

Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the App to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Enable user-to-user communications and interactions (e.g., sharing your status with friends, sending/receiving friend requests).
• Manage friend relationships and requests.
• Allow you to join and participate in statuses shared by others, and allow others to join your statuses.
• Send you push notifications regarding:
  • Friend requests and acceptances.
  • Updates to your friends' statuses.
  • Activity related to statuses you've joined or created (e.g., when a status is full, when someone joins/leaves).
  • (Potentially other app-related alerts).
• Personalize your app experience (e.g., app font preferences).
• Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the App.
• Maintain the security and integrity of our App.
• Respond to your requests and provide support.
• Notify you of updates to the App.
• Perform other business activities as needed.

3. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. Your information may be disclosed as follows:

By Law or to Protect Rights:

If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation.

With Other Users:

• Your username, status information (activity, emoji, custom text, location text, time details), and participant count for your status will be visible to your friends within the App, subject to your visibility settings.
• Your username will be visible to users when you send them a friend request or when they send one to you.
• If you join a status created by another user, your username may be visible to the creator and other participants of that status.

Third-Party Service Providers:

We use Firebase (a Google service) for backend services, including:

• Firebase Authentication: To manage user login and authentication.
• Firestore: To store your account information, status data, friend lists, and other app-related data.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM): To deliver push notifications.

Google's use of this information is governed by their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.

Other Disclosures:

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

4. DATA STORAGE AND SECURITY

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. Your data is primarily stored on Firestore, a cloud database service provided by Google. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse.

5. YOUR CHOICES REGARDING YOUR INFORMATION

Account Information:

You may at any time review or change the information in your account or terminate your account.

• Update Information: You can update your username, status text, location text, emoji, time settings, and friend-related settings (visibility, favorites) directly within the App.
• Delete Account: You can request to delete your account through the App's settings. Upon your request to terminate your account, we will deactivate or delete your account and information from our active databases. This includes your user profile, status information, and your username from the general pool. Some information may be retained in our files to prevent fraud, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Terms of Use and/or comply with legal requirements.

Push Notifications:

You can control push notifications by adjusting the settings on your device or within the App (if such settings are provided).

Friend Management:

You can add or remove friends, and manage visibility settings for your friends within the App.

6. POLICY FOR CHILDREN

We do not knowingly solicit information from or market to children under the age of 13 (or the relevant age in your jurisdiction). If you become aware of any data we have collected from children, please contact us using the contact information provided below.