Privacy Policy

Information you provide:

• Account information — your handle, display name, and password. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes, never in plain text.
• Profile information — optional bio and avatar.
• Content — posts, comments, greetings, encounters, official responses, likes, follows, and other material you submit. Content such as encounters may include information about other people, places, or businesses; post only what you have the right to share.
• Invite code — the code you used to join the beta.
• Communications — messages you send us (for example, feedback or support emails).

Information collected automatically:

• Usage and log data — IP address, browser and device information, pages visited, and timestamps, collected through standard server logs operated by us and our hosting provider.
• Cookies — we use a session cookie to keep you signed in. We do not use advertising or third-party analytics cookies.

We do not collect payment information (the beta is free), and we do not knowingly collect precise location data.

We use the information we collect to:

• provide and operate the Service (accounts, posting, notifications, entity claims);
• maintain safety and integrity — enforcing our Terms, preventing abuse, and debugging;
• improve the Service, including analyzing how features are used during the beta;
• communicate with you about the Service, including beta updates and responses to your messages;
• comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

• Public content. Your handle, display name, avatar, bio, and the content you post are visible to other users of the Service. Official responses posted on behalf of an entity are attributed to that entity.
• Service providers. We use infrastructure providers to run the Service — for example, cloud hosting and database providers, and DiceBear (an avatar service that generates your default avatar image from your handle). These providers process data only to provide their services to us.
• Legal. We may disclose information if required by law, or if we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of users, the public, or Shhout.
• Business transfers. If Shhout is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction; this Policy will continue to apply to it.

The Service is in beta: data may be modified or deleted at any time, and we do not guarantee retention of any data during or after the beta (see the Beta Tester Agreement).

You may request deletion of your account and associated personal information at any time by contacting us at the address below. We will delete it within a reasonable period, except where we need to retain limited information to comply with legal obligations or resolve disputes. Residual copies may persist in routine backups for a limited period before being purged.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. You can exercise these rights by contacting us at the address below; we will respond as required by applicable law. We do not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. You can edit your profile information directly in the app.

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information — including hashed passwords, encrypted connections (HTTPS), and access controls. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your information; the Service is beta software and you use it at your own risk.

The Service is not directed to children and is limited to users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

The Service is operated from the United States, and information is processed and stored in the United States (and in the regions used by our infrastructure providers). If you use the Service from outside the United States, you understand your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

We may update this Policy. If a change is material, we will notify you in the app or by other reasonable means before it takes effect. The “Effective date” above reflects the latest revision.

Privacy questions or requests: legal@shhout.com.