Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2, 2026

Best Friends ("we", "our", "us") operates the Best Friends mobile application. This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you use our app.

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information:

Account Information: Name, email address, and authentication data when you sign in with Apple.
Profile Information: Photos, bio, age, location (city-level), heritage, faith, and your written prompt — all provided voluntarily by you.
Usage Data: Interactions with the app such as matches, connections, messages, Daily Word submissions, and screenshot detection events within sharing features (used to prompt optional social sharing).
Device Information: Device type, OS version, and push notification tokens for delivering notifications.
Purchase & Subscription Data: Information about your premium subscription status, purchase history, and transaction records processed through Apple's App Store.
Distance Information: Approximate distance to other users, displayed in miles for proximity-based matching features.

Location Data

We store your city-level location, geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude), and a geohash derived from your coordinates for proximity-based matching features. This data is used to find other users near you.

Sensitive Data — Heritage & Faith

Heritage and faith are considered sensitive personal data. We only collect these if you choose to provide them in your profile. By entering your heritage or faith information, you give explicit consent for us to store and use that data for matching purposes. You can remove this information at any time by editing your profile.

How We Use Your Information

To create and maintain your account and profile.
To match you with other users based on shared interests using AI-powered analysis.
To facilitate messaging between matched users.
To send push notifications about new matches, messages, and daily prompts.
To process subscriptions and in-app purchases.
To track how connections are made (For You, Search, or Nearby) for service improvement.
To improve and personalize the app experience.

AI Processing

We use AI services (OpenAI) to analyze your written prompt and extract interest traits for matching purposes. Your prompt text is sent to OpenAI's API for processing. We do not use your data to train AI models. The extracted traits are stored on our servers to enable the matching feature.

Data Storage

Your data is stored securely using Google Firebase (Firestore and Firebase Storage) with industry-standard encryption. Photos are stored in Firebase Storage. All data transmission is encrypted via HTTPS/TLS.

Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

Other Users: Your profile information (name, photos, bio, traits) is visible to users you are matched with.
Service Providers: Firebase (Google) for data storage, Apple for authentication and payments, OpenAI for trait extraction.

Advertising

For free users, we display ads through Google AdMob. AdMob may collect device identifiers and ad interaction data to serve relevant ads. Premium subscribers do not see ads. We track rewarded ad views (limited to 1 per day) to provide bonus features. You can opt out of personalized advertising through your device settings. See Google's privacy policy for more details.

Third-Party Privacy Policies

Our service providers have their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them:

Data Retention & Account Deletion

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. You can delete your account at any time through the app's Profile settings. When you delete your account, we permanently remove your profile, photos, matches, and chat messages within 30 days of your request.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

Access, update, or delete your personal data through the app.
Delete your account entirely, which removes all associated data.
Opt out of push notifications through your device settings.
Request a portable copy of your personal data.
Restrict or object to the processing of your data.
Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe your data rights have been violated.

CCPA & GDPR

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR): We process your personal data based on (1) your consent, which you provide when creating an account and filling out your profile, and (2) contract performance, as processing is necessary to deliver the Best Friends service to you. You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting the relevant data or your account.

California Residents (CCPA): If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, request deletion of your data, and opt out of the sale of your personal information. We do not sell personal information. To exercise your rights, contact us at the email below or use the in-app account deletion feature.

Data Portability: You may request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used format by contacting us.

Right to Restrict Processing: You may request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances, such as while a complaint is being resolved.

Children's Privacy

Best Friends is not intended for users under 17 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will promptly delete it. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

gentb.business@gmail.com