Circle Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 10, 2026

Circle is a private, invite-only space for couples and close friend groups to share moments, gratitude notes, and memories together. This page explains what information Circle collects, how it's used, and who can see it.

Information We Collect

When you create a Circle account, we collect:

• Account details: your name, email address, and password (we never store your password in readable form - it's one-way hashed before it touches our database).
• Profile details: the avatar you choose (an uploaded photo, or one of our built-in animal icons), your mood status, timezone, and language preference.
• Content you create: gratitude notes, mood check-ins, daily reflection answers, wishlist items, planned moments and your answers to them, photos, videos, voice recordings, notes, comments, polls and votes, your answers and guesses in the "Know each other" game, and care pings you send to people in your circle; the kind of circle you pick (couple, family, friends or your own name for it), the day a couple got together, and the family role you give yourself.
• Basic technical information: your device/browser type and IP address, used only to keep the service secure (e.g. preventing abuse) and functioning correctly - not for tracking or advertising.
• Free-month codes: if you use a free-month code in the Android app, we keep a one-way hash of your phone's app identifier (not your advertising ID) together with the code, only so the same phone can't get the free month twice. It isn't used for tracking or advertising and isn't shared with anyone.
• Push notification token: if you turn on notifications, we store a token that lets us deliver them to your device. You can disable this anytime in Settings.
• Usage patterns: we log a small set of first-party, product-only events - things like signing up, creating or joining a circle, and opening the app - so we can see whether Circle's features are working and where people get stuck. This never includes the content of what you share, is never sold or shared with anyone, and isn't used for advertising.

Who Can See Your Information

Content you share is visible only to the members of your own private circle - never public, never visible to other Circle users outside your circle. Some content (like private notes, private gratitude entries, and the notes you keep about your partner in a couple's circle) is visible only to you unless you choose to share it. Circle's own staff do not read the private content inside your circle as part of normal operation.

Third-Party Services We Use

Circle relies on a small number of service providers to operate. They process data on our behalf to provide their service to Circle:

• Render - hosts Circle's servers.
• Neon - hosts Circle's database, where your account and the content you share are stored.
• Cloudflare R2 - stores photos, videos, and voice recordings you upload.
• Resend - sends transactional emails (like password reset links). We don't send marketing email through this.
• Google and Apple sign-in (including Firebase Authentication) - if you choose "Continue with Google" or "Continue with Apple", that provider confirms who you are and shares your name and email address with Circle (and, for Google, your profile photo).
• Google Cloud Vision - automatically scans photos you upload (in notes, circle photos, avatars, and drawing pings) for explicit or adult content before they're shown to other circle members. Only the image itself is sent for this check.
• Public catalogs (iTunes, Google Books, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap) - used when you search for a movie, show, book, or place to add to your wishlist. Our server sends only the search text you type to look up matching titles and details.
• YouTube and Spotify - when someone in your circle shares a YouTube or Spotify link for Sound Party, our server asks that service for the title and thumbnail. While Sound Party plays, the YouTube or Spotify player loads from that service on your device, so it receives your IP address and device information and may set its own cookies, under its own privacy policy.
• Google Gemini - generates the Grow tab's daily Word/Fact/Quiz content once a day (not tied to your personal data); writes each circle's daily conversation question, shaped by the titles of the circle's recent shared notes (never private ones) and members' mood labels; and powers a few optional "suggest something" features: ideas for shared circle goals based on your circle's size and goal history, suggestions for what to add to a wishlist based on what's already on it, and a personalized pick from your circle's own wishlist in the "Pick for us" tool. Only the specific circle content each feature needs (e.g. note titles, mood labels, goal or wishlist titles) is sent to generate that one result. Circle uses Google's paid Gemini API, under which Google doesn't use these requests or responses to train or improve its models. Your name and email address are never sent.
• Firebase Crashlytics (Google) - if the Circle app crashes or hits an error, it sends a crash report so we can fix the problem: the error details, device model, operating system and app version, a random installation ID, and your Circle account ID (so a crash can be matched to a support request). It never includes the content you share.
• Apple, Google (including Firebase Cloud Messaging), and Mozilla push notification services - deliver push notifications to your device, only if you've enabled them.
• RevenueCat - manages Circle+ subscription status. Purchases themselves are billed and processed by the Google Play Store or Apple App Store - Circle never sees or stores your payment card details.
• Google AdMob - shows a small banner ad in the Play tab while you're playing a game, only if you're not a Circle+ subscriber. Where the law requires it, Google asks for your consent first, and you can change that choice anytime under Settings → Account & Security → Ad privacy choices. AdMob receives your device's advertising ID to select and measure that ad - it never receives any content from inside your circle.

We do not sell your data. Free accounts see a small ad in the Play tab (served by Google AdMob, as described above); Circle+ subscribers never see it. The website doesn't show ads or use advertising cookies. Outside of that ad, we do not use your data for advertising.

Some of these providers are based in the United States, so your data may be processed outside your country. Where data leaves the European Economic Area or the UK, it's protected by the providers' standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.

Why We Use Your Information

• To provide Circle - your account, your circles, and everything you share (necessary to perform our agreement with you).
• To keep Circle safe and working - security, preventing abuse, moderating uploads, crash reports, and understanding which features work (our legitimate interests).
• With your consent - push notifications and personalized ads where consent is required. You can withdraw consent at any time.

How Long We Keep It

• Your account and the content you share are kept until you delete them or your account.
• Voice and drawing pings disappear after 24 hours unless someone saves them to Moments.
• If someone reports something you wrote, a copy of its text is kept with the report so our moderators can review it, even if it's deleted first.
• When you delete your account, we delete your profile, your content and uploaded files (including those in other people's circles), and your usage events. Circles you look after are handed to another member so they carry on; only the ones you choose to delete, or that nobody else is in, are deleted (for every member). Bug reports you sent are kept without your name or any screenshot, so we can still fix the problem. If you used a free-month code, the record that the code was used (the code and the phone hash, without your name or account) is kept so the free month can't be claimed again. Copies can remain in our database provider's backups for a limited time until they're overwritten.

Your Choices and Rights

• Export your data: available anytime from Settings.
• Delete your account: available anytime from Settings - this permanently removes your account and the content tied to it, as described above.
• Block someone: from their profile or after reporting them or something they posted - you'll stop seeing what they share and stop getting notifications from them.
• Manage notifications: turn push notifications on or off anytime.
• Manage sessions: see and sign out other devices logged into your account from Settings.
• Your rights: depending on where you live (for example in the EU, UK, or California), you can ask to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your data, and object to or restrict how we use it. Email us at the address below, and you can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Data Security

Passwords are hashed (never stored as plain text), all traffic is encrypted (HTTPS), and account sessions can be individually reviewed and revoked from Settings at any time.

Children's Privacy

Circle is designed for adults building relationships with partners and close friends, and is not directed at children. You must be at least 16 years old to use Circle, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone younger.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes in a meaningful way, we'll update the date at the top of this page.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy or your data? Reach us at atelacious@gmail.com. See also our Terms of Use.