Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 6, 2026  |  Version: 1.0

1. Who We Are

Parch is a platonic social discovery platform designed exclusively for queer and LGBTQ+ individuals to find chosen-family connections. This Privacy Policy explains how Parch ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use our mobile application and related services.

2. Data We Collect

• Account Information: Email address, display name, pronouns, bio, identity tags, spoken languages, and date of birth (used for age verification only).
• Profile Photo: Uploaded photos are stored securely and reviewed by our moderation team before being displayed.
• Location Data: We request your approximate location when you use the Hangouts feature. Your exact GPS coordinates are never stored on our servers. We apply a ±250m fuzz radius before any data is persisted or shared.
• Device Information: Anonymous device identifier (UUID) and device language for personalization and abuse prevention. We do not collect device model, OS version, or IMEI.
• Usage Data: Aggregated analytics (hangout creation, join events) sent to our internal analytics pipeline. All analytics are anonymized and not linked to your identity.

3. How We Use Your Data

• To provide and maintain the Parch service.
• To verify your age and identity during the profile completion process.
• To moderate profile photos and ensure community safety.
• To enable real-time hangout discovery in your area (using fuzzed coordinates only).
• To send transactional emails (e.g., password reset, welcome message) via Mailgun.
• To send push notifications about hangout activity and direct messages via Firebase Cloud Messaging.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third-party advertisers or data brokers. We may share limited data with:

• Moderation team members (internal): to review profile photos and investigate reports.
• Infrastructure providers: our hosting provider processes data on our behalf under a Data Processing Agreement.
• Legal authorities: only when required by applicable law or valid legal process.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion, all personal data is permanently erased within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data. To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@parch.app.

7. Security

We use industry-standard security practices including TLS encryption in transit, hashed passwords (Argon2id), and secure token storage. Profile photos are served via signed URLs.

8. Children

Parch is intended exclusively for adults aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If we become aware of such collection, the account will be immediately terminated.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via push notification or email. Continued use of Parch after changes constitutes acceptance.

10. Contact

Questions? Reach us at privacy@parch.app.