Introduction
Serendipity ("we", "our", or "the app") is a community app that helps members connect with one another. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data.
Information we collect
When you use Serendipity, we collect the following information:
- Account information: your email address, full name, company or organization name, a short bio, and profile photo.
- Profile details: tags describing your skills or interests, and social media links you choose to add.
- Contacts (hashed): if you grant permission, we access your device contacts and store only cryptographic hashes of phone numbers and email addresses. These hashes are used solely to identify mutual connections between members. We never store or view your raw contact data.
- Presence and location: we automatically check you in at community locations using WiFi network identification (SSID matching). When you have the app open or background monitoring enabled, we periodically check if you are at a known community location. We use Apple's Significant Location Changes API for battery-efficient background location monitoring — this tells us when you have moved to a new area, but we only use it to determine whether you are at a registered community location. We do not track fine-grained GPS location.
- Presence session history: we store records of your check-in and check-out times at community locations ("presence logs"). These records include the location, the time you arrived, and the time you left.
- Help requests: content you post through the "Need a Hand" feature, including the request text and any associated category or tags.
How we use your information
We use the information we collect to:
- Show other members of your community that you are present at the building.
- Display your profile (name, company, bio, tags, social links, and photo) to other members of the same community.
- Calculate statistics such as visit streaks, total time spent, and leaderboard rankings from your presence session history.
- Facilitate "Need a Hand" help requests between members.
- Identify mutual connections between members using hashed contact data.
- Improve and maintain the app.
Data storage
Your data is stored in a Supabase-hosted database running on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. We use industry-standard security practices including encryption in transit and at rest to protect your information.
Data sharing
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
Your profile information and presence status are visible to other members of the same community you belong to. This visibility is the core function of the app and is necessary for it to work as intended.
We may share data if required by law or to protect the safety of our users.
Data retention
We retain your data for as long as your account is active, subject to the following retention periods:
- Presence logs: automatically deleted after 90 days.
- Profile data: retained until you delete your account.
- Help requests: retained until expired, cancelled, or your account is deleted.
If you delete your account, all of your personal data — including your profile, presence history, help requests, and hashed contacts — will be permanently deleted from our systems.
Your rights and controls
You have the right to:
- Access your data: view all information associated with your account within the app, including your presence history under Settings.
- Update your data: edit your profile, tags, social links, and other information at any time.
- Delete your data: delete your account and all associated data directly from within the app. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.
You also have the following controls over how the app monitors your location:
- Appear Offline: enable this in the app to hide yourself from the "Who's Here" display and stop background monitoring.
- Disable background location: you can revoke location permissions for Serendipity at any time in iOS Settings. This stops all background presence detection.
Children's privacy
Serendipity is not intended for use by anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you through the app or by other means. Your continued use of the app after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us at: