Privacy Policy

1. Introduction & Who We Are

Welcome to Gayborhood (“we,” “our,” or “us”). Gayborhood is operated by Community Social Tech LLC. We are a community social app for gay men where you can join tribes, share posts, organize events, discover creators and gay-owned businesses, and connect with your community.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our mobile application and related services (collectively, the “Service”). It applies to all users of Gayborhood worldwide.

For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and UK GDPR, Community Social Tech LLC is the data controller of your personal data.

By using Gayborhood, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Service.

2. Data We Collect

We collect information you provide directly, information generated through your use of the Service, and information from third-party sources.

2.1 Information You Provide

Account Registration

When you create a Gayborhood account, we collect:

• Email address — for account creation, authentication, and essential communications
• Password — securely hashed; we never store plaintext passwords
• Date of birth — to verify you are at least 18 years old and to calculate your age displayed on your profile
• Age confirmation — your explicit confirmation that you are 18 or older
• Username / screen name — your chosen public display name

Community Profile

You may optionally provide the following to enhance your community profile. All community profile fields are voluntary — there is no requirement to provide any of them:

Discovery Preferences

When you set discovery preferences, we store:

• Age range preferences
• Maximum distance preference

User-Generated Content

• Posts and comments you create in tribes and communities
• Reactions and engagement with other members’ content (likes, saves)
• Messages you send to other members (text, photos, and media)
• Feedback and support requests you submit
• Reports you file about other members or content

Spotlight Profiles (Creators & Businesses)

If you create a spotlight profile, we additionally collect your display name, tagline, category, and account type (creator or business).

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Service, we automatically collect:

• Device information — device model, operating system and version, unique device identifiers (e.g., IDFV on iOS, Android ID), device name
• Location data — precise GPS coordinates when you grant location permission (see Section 7 for details)
• Usage data — features used, screens visited, actions taken, time spent, profile views you make
• Online status — when you were last active on the app
• Log data — IP address, access times, app version, crash reports and error logs
• Network information — connection type (Wi-Fi, cellular)

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Authentication providers — if you sign in via a third-party service (e.g., Apple, Google), we receive basic account information they share
• Other members — when other members report your profile or content, we receive the report details

3. How We Use Your Data

4. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR to process your personal data:

You may withdraw your consent at any time by adjusting your settings in the app or contacting us. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

5. How We Share Your Data

Information Visible to Other Members

The following is visible to other Gayborhood members:

• Your community profile (display name, age, public photos, bio, tribes)
• Your approximate distance from other members (not your exact location)
• Your online status and last active time
• Posts and comments you create in tribes and communities
• Your tribe memberships (visible to other tribe members)

Service Providers

We share data with trusted third-party companies that help us operate the Service, under strict confidentiality and data processing agreements. These include:

• Cloud hosting & infrastructure — for storing and serving your data securely
• Authentication services — for account sign-in and security (Supabase)
• Content delivery — for serving photos and media efficiently
• Push notification services — for delivering notifications to your device
• Content moderation — AI-powered tools for detecting prohibited content (including CSAM)
• Email delivery — for sending account-related emails

We Do NOT Share Your Data With

• Advertisers or advertising networks
• Data brokers
• Third-party apps (unless you explicitly authorize)

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Legal & Safety Disclosures

We may disclose your information when we believe in good faith that it is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request
• Enforce our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of Gayborhood, our members, or the public
• Report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by U.S. federal law

Business Transfers

If Gayborhood is involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice in the app before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6. Sensitive & Special Category Data

Gayborhood is a community social app for gay men. By its nature, using the Service may reveal information about your sexual orientation, which is considered sensitive personal data or special category data under laws such as the GDPR (Article 9), CCPA/CPRA, and other privacy regulations.

Additionally, you may choose to provide other information that could be considered sensitive, including:

• Tribe affiliations — community identity labels that may indicate aspects of your identity or lifestyle

We process special category data solely to provide the Service (displaying your profile, enabling community discovery and tribe features). We do not use sensitive personal data for advertising purposes.

7. Location Data & Safety

How We Collect Location

• We request foreground location permission (“While Using the App”) to show you nearby community members and enable location-based tribe features
• We do not use background location tracking — your location is only updated when the app is open and active
• Location is updated via periodic “heartbeat” requests while the app is in use
• You may skip or deny location permission during signup; the app remains functional but nearby discovery features will be limited

What Other Members See

• Other members see only your approximate distance (e.g., “0.3 mi” or “2 km”), never your exact GPS coordinates
• Your precise latitude and longitude are never displayed to other members

Location Data Protections

• Your precise location is never sold or shared with advertisers, data brokers, or any third party for marketing purposes
• Location data is stored securely on our servers and used only to power community discovery features
• You can revoke location permission at any time through your device settings

8. Photos & Media

Photo Types

• Public profile photos (up to 6) — visible to all members viewing profiles
• Post media — photos attached to community posts
• Chat media — photos and media sent in direct messages

How We Process Photos

• Photos are uploaded to our secure cloud storage and served via a content delivery network (CDN)
• We generate optimized versions (thumbnails, processed images) for faster loading
• Photos are scanned using automated moderation tools to detect prohibited content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), using industry-standard hash-matching technology
• Photos that violate our Community Guidelines may be removed and your account may be suspended

9. Messaging & Communications

When you send messages through Gayborhood, we collect and store:

• Text message content
• Photos and media shared in conversations
• Message metadata (timestamps, read receipts, conversation participants)
• Wave interactions (community greetings between members)

Messages may be scanned by automated moderation systems to detect spam, harassment, illegal content, and violations of our Community Guidelines. We do not share the content of your private messages with advertisers or any third party for marketing purposes.

Messages may be disclosed to law enforcement when required by valid legal process or to protect the safety of our members.

10. Push Notifications

With your permission, we send push notifications to your device for messages, tribe activity, post replies, event updates, and other community interactions. To deliver notifications, we collect:

• Push token — a unique identifier for your device issued by Apple (APNs) or Google (FCM)
• Device platform — iOS or Android
• Device ID and device name — to manage your notification registrations

You can disable push notifications at any time through your device settings. We may still send you essential service-related communications via email (e.g., security alerts, account changes).

11. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

When you delete your account, we permanently remove your profile information, photos, location data, posts, comments, community memberships, notification history, and authentication credentials. See our Account Deletion page for details.

12. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest
• Secure password hashing (passwords are never stored in plaintext)
• Token-based authentication with automatic session expiration
• Role-based access controls for internal systems
• Regular security reviews and updates
• Secure cloud infrastructure with industry-standard certifications

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately.

13. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

All Members

• Access & update: You can view and edit your profile information, community profile, and preferences at any time through the app
• Delete your account: You can permanently delete your account and all associated data through Me → Delete Account, or by emailing support@joingayborhood.com
• Location control: You can grant, deny, or revoke location permission at any time through your device settings
• Notification control: You can enable or disable push notifications through your device settings
• Block & report: You can block any member and report profiles or content that violate our guidelines

EEA, UK & Swiss Members (GDPR)

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Restriction — request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw consent — withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent
• Lodge a complaint — file a complaint with your local data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@joingayborhood.com. We will respond within 30 days (or as required by applicable law).

14. US State Privacy Rights

California (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell
• Delete your personal information
• Correct inaccurate personal information
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (note: we do not sell your personal information)
• Non-discrimination — we will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights
• Limit use of sensitive personal information — you may request that we limit our use of sensitive personal information to what is necessary to provide the Service

You may designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf. To verify your identity, we may ask you to confirm your email address or other account information.

Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Other States

If you are a resident of Virginia (VCDPA), Colorado (CPA), Connecticut (CTDPA), Oregon, Texas, Montana, or other states with comprehensive privacy laws, you may have similar rights to access, delete, correct, and opt out of certain processing of your personal data. You also have the right to appeal our decision regarding your privacy request.

To exercise any US state privacy rights or to appeal a decision, contact us at privacy@joingayborhood.com with the subject line “Privacy Rights Request.”

15. International Data Transfers

Gayborhood is operated from the United States. If you are accessing the Service from outside the United States, your personal data will be transferred to and processed in the United States and potentially other countries where our service providers operate.

For transfers of personal data from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards, including Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, to ensure your data receives an adequate level of protection.

By using the Service, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries with different data protection laws than your country of residence.

16. Children’s Privacy & Age Verification

Gayborhood is restricted to individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not permit individuals under the age of 18 to create an account or use the Service.

During registration, members must:

• Provide their date of birth
• Be at least 18 years old based on the date provided
• Explicitly confirm that they are 18 years of age or older

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If we discover that a member is under 18, we will immediately terminate their account and delete their personal information.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has created a Gayborhood account, please contact us immediately at legal@joingayborhood.com. For more information, see our Child Safety Standards.

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes:

• We will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page
• For material changes, we will notify you via email and/or an in-app notification
• We will post the updated policy on this page

Your continued use of Gayborhood after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

18. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

• Privacy requests: privacy@joingayborhood.com
• Legal & child safety: legal@joingayborhood.com
• General support: support@joingayborhood.com

Data Controller:
Community Social Tech LLC
United States

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.