Privacy Policy

We collect the following types of information when you use Flock:

• Account information: Name, email, phone number, profile photo, and interests you provide during registration.
• Location data: GPS coordinates, check-in history, and proximity data when you opt in to location sharing.
• Usage data: Events you view, venues you save, reviews you write, friends you interact with, and search queries.
• Device information: Device type, operating system, app version, unique device identifiers, and push notification tokens.

We use your information to:

• Personalize your event and venue recommendations based on your interests and activity.
• Connect you with friends and show you relevant friend activity nearby.
• Power AI-driven suggestions when you ask "What's happening tonight?" or similar queries.
• Improve Flock's features, fix bugs, and develop new functionality.
• Send you relevant notifications about events, friend activity, and account updates.
• Maintain platform safety and enforce our community guidelines.

Location is central to how Flock works, and we take its handling seriously. Here's exactly how we use it:

• GPS sharing is always opt-in. You explicitly choose to enable location sharing, and you can turn it off at any time.
• Friend visibility controls: You decide which friends can see your location through granular privacy settings. You can set visibility to all friends, close friends only, or nobody.
• Check-in expiry: Venue check-ins automatically expire after 4 hours unless you manually extend them.
• Background location: We only access your location in the background if you have enabled the "always share" option. You can switch to "only while using the app" at any time.
• Data retention: Precise location history is retained for 90 days, then automatically anonymized and aggregated.

You can manage all location preferences at Privacy Settings.

We share your information in the following ways:

• With friends: Your profile, reviews, check-ins, and location are shared with friends according to your privacy settings.
• With venue partners: We share anonymized, aggregated foot traffic and demographic data with venue partners to help them improve their offerings. This data cannot be used to identify you.
• With service providers: We work with trusted providers (hosting, analytics, mapping) who process data on our behalf under strict confidentiality agreements.
• We never sell your personal data. Period.

We protect your data using industry-standard security measures including:

• End-to-end encryption for location data in transit and at rest.
• Secure authentication via OAuth providers (Google, Apple) and encrypted session tokens.
• Regular security audits and penetration testing.
• Access controls that limit employee access to user data on a need-to-know basis.

You have the right to:

• Access your personal data and see exactly what we store.
• Correct inaccurate information in your profile.
• Delete your account and all associated data.
• Export a copy of your data in a portable format.
• Opt out of non-essential data collection and marketing communications.

You can exercise these rights through your Account Settings or by contacting us directly.

Flock is not intended for users under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If we learn that we have collected data from a user under 18, we will promptly delete their account and associated data.

We use cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential cookies: Required for authentication, security, and core functionality.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how you use Flock so we can improve the experience.
• Personalization cookies: Remember your preferences, recent searches, and display settings.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time. Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the app to function.

Flock integrates with the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:

• Google & Apple: Authentication and calendar sync.
• Mapbox: Map rendering and geolocation services.
• Supabase: Database hosting and real-time data sync.
• Eventbrite, DICE, Resident Advisor: Event data aggregation.
• Spotify: Music preferences and playlist integration.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these services. Flock only shares the minimum data necessary for each integration to function.

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will permanently erase your personal data within 30 days. Some anonymized, aggregated data (such as review counts and venue statistics) may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be linked back to you.

Flock's servers and data infrastructure are located in the United States. If you use Flock from outside the US, your data will be transferred to and processed in the US. By using Flock, you consent to this transfer. We comply with applicable data protection laws and provide safeguards for international data transfers.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. For material changes, we will notify you via email and/or an in-app notification at least 30 days before the changes take effect. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at privacy@flockapp.com.