# Privacy Policy

**Last updated: June 11, 2026**

Pling ("we," "us," "the app") is a presence app that lets close friends see who is free to hang out right now. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. Pling is a small, zero-budget project built for tight friend groups; we collect as little as possible and we do not sell your data.

> **Note:** "Pling" is a working name and may change. This policy applies to the app regardless of its final name.

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## 1. Who we are

Pling is operated by an independent solo developer. For privacy questions or requests, contact: **privacy@pling.app** *(replace with your real contact address before publishing).*

## 2. What we collect

We only collect what the core feature loop needs.

| Data | Why we collect it | Required? |
|------|-------------------|-----------|
| **Phone number** | Sign-in (SMS verification) and finding friends who are already on Pling. | Required to use the app. |
| **Name, initials, profile photo** | So friends recognize you. | Name required; photo optional. |
| **Availability status & timer** | The core feature — showing friends you are free and for how long. | Created by you when you use the app. |
| **Contacts (phone numbers)** | Matching your existing contacts to friends on Pling. Matching happens to find existing users; we do not upload your full address book for any other purpose. | Optional — only if you grant contacts permission. |
| **Location (approximate)** | Showing a friend roughly where you are, **only** for friends you explicitly choose. | Optional, **off by default**, toggleable per friend. |
| **Calendar busy/free status** | Auto-setting your status to busy when you have an event. We read free/busy times, not event details. | Optional — only if you grant calendar permission. |
| **Push notification token** | Sending you alerts (e.g. a friend went free, an invite). | Optional — only if you enable notifications. |
| **Basic usage events** | Understanding whether the core habit loop works (e.g. status flips). Tied to your account, used to improve the app. | Collected during normal use. |

We do **not** collect: message content (Pling has no chat), a social graph beyond your own friends, browsing history, or payment information.

## 3. How we use your data

- Provide the core service: show your availability to the friends you have added, and show theirs to you.
- Authenticate you via phone-number SMS verification.
- Match your contacts to existing Pling users so you can add friends.
- Send push notifications you have opted into.
- Improve the app and fix bugs.

We do **not** use your data for advertising profiles, and we do **not** sell or rent your personal data to third parties.

## 4. Location is opt-in and per-friend

Location sharing is **off by default**. You choose, per friend, whether that friend can see your location. You can turn it off for any friend at any time. When location sharing is off for a friend, your coordinates are not shared with them. Location data is access-controlled on the server so that only friends you have explicitly shared with can read it.

## 5. How sharing works

- Your availability status, name, and photo are visible to the friends you have added.
- Your location is visible only to the specific friends you have enabled it for.
- Your phone number is used to find and connect friends; it is not displayed publicly.
- The optional **Discover** board shows one event you choose to post publicly to nearby users. Posts auto-expire after 24 hours. Posting to Discover is entirely your choice and only contains what you put in the post.

## 6. Third-party services

Pling runs on **Google Firebase** (Authentication, Firestore database, Cloud Messaging) to store data and deliver real-time updates and notifications. Firebase processes data on our behalf under Google's terms. See Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

We do not integrate advertising or analytics SDKs that track you across other apps.

## 7. Data retention

- Your profile and friend data are kept while your account is active.
- Availability statuses are transient and overwritten as your status changes.
- Discover posts expire automatically after 24 hours.
- If you delete your account, we delete your profile, friends list, and associated data within a reasonable period, except where we must retain limited records to comply with law.

## 8. Your choices and rights

- **Permissions:** Contacts, location, calendar, and notifications are each optional and controlled by your device's permission settings. You can revoke any of them at any time in your device settings.
- **Per-friend location:** Toggle location sharing on or off for each friend in the app.
- **Access / deletion:** You may request a copy of your data or deletion of your account by contacting us at the address above.

Depending on where you live (e.g. EEA, UK, California), you may have additional rights such as access, correction, deletion, and objection to processing. We honor these requests where they apply.

## 9. Children

Pling is intended for users **13 and older** (target users are college students). We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.

## 10. Security

We use industry-standard measures provided by Firebase, including server-side access rules that restrict who can read your data (for example, only friends you have shared location with can read your coordinates). No system is perfectly secure, but we limit collection and access to reduce risk.

## 11. International users

Your data may be processed on servers operated by Google in countries other than your own. By using Pling, you consent to this processing in accordance with this policy.

## 12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, an in-app notice.

## 13. Contact

Questions or requests: **privacy@pling.app** *(replace with your real contact before publishing).*