Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Closer (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the Closer mobile application and the website located at closerapp.app (collectively, the “Service”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our Service.

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use the Service.

This Privacy Policy applies to all users of the Closer mobile application on iOS and Android, as well as visitors to our website.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Profile Information

When you create an account, we collect information you provide directly:

• First name (kept private until you confirm it in person with another user)
• Username (your public @handle)
• Date of birth
• Gender and gender preferences
• University (optional)
• “Looking for” tags (e.g., make new friends, networking, study buddy)
• Interests (selected from predefined categories)
• Profile photo and gallery photos (up to 2 additional)
• Status text (optional short description)
• Custom map emoji
• Phone number (used for authentication)

2.2 Account Metadata

We automatically collect certain information related to your account:

• Account creation date and last login timestamp
• Active session ID (for multi-device detection)
• Push notification token
• Onboarding progress
• House rules acceptance timestamp
• Permission statuses (notification, location)

2.3 Location Data

We collect your real-time location only while you are actively in a live session. This includes latitude, longitude, GPS accuracy, and geohash. Your location is updated approximately every 10 seconds while live.

When you end your live session or go offline, your location data is automatically deleted from our real-time database.

The app does not track your location in the background. Location is only used while the app is open and you are actively in a live session. When you end your session, location tracking stops completely.

During active pairing: When you are paired with another user, both users can see each other's real-time location on the map to facilitate meeting up in person. This location sharing ends when the pairing ends (either by completion, cancellation, or timeout).

Proximity notifications: When you go live, your location is saved as your “last known location.” This is used to notify nearby offline users that someone has gone live within 1km of where they last went live. This saved location is retained for up to 24 hours. Proximity notifications are capped at 3 every 3 hours, and this counter resets when you open the app. Notifications are based on where you last went live, not your current location.

2.4 Chat & Messaging Data

When you use our messaging features, we collect:

• Message text content
• Sender ID and timestamp
• Message reactions
• Conversation participation records
• Unread message counts
• Muted friends list

2.5 Analytics & Telemetry

We collect anonymous usage data through Firebase Analytics, including event names and timestamps (e.g., “live_start,” “message_sent”), platform information, permission states, and error codes.

No personally identifiable information is included in telemetry — no email addresses, phone numbers, exact GPS coordinates, or raw user input. Only hashed user IDs are used for analytics purposes.

2.6 Website

Our website at closerapp.app does not use cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics. It is a static informational site with no user tracking. Firebase Analytics is used only within the mobile application.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Provide and operate the Service — create and maintain your account, display your profile to other users, and enable core app features (basis: contractual necessity)
• Enable live sessions — show your location on the map to nearby users when you choose to go live, and facilitate in-person meetups through our pairing system (basis: your consent)
• Send notifications — deliver push notifications for messages, proximity alerts when someone nearby goes live, and pairing updates (basis: your consent). All notifications are functional and service-related. We do not send marketing or promotional messages. If we introduce commercial messages in the future, we will obtain your express consent in compliance with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
• Facilitate messaging — enable 1:1 messaging between users who have met in person and added each other as friends (basis: contractual necessity)
• Improve and optimize the Service — analyze anonymous usage patterns to identify issues, improve features, and enhance the user experience (basis: legitimate interest)
• Safety and moderation — investigate reports, enforce our Community Guidelines and Terms and Conditions, and protect users from harmful behavior (basis: legitimate interest)
• Authenticate your identity — verify your phone number to prevent fake accounts and enable secure sign-in (basis: contractual necessity)
• Comply with legal obligations — respond to lawful requests from authorities where required by applicable law (basis: legal obligation)

Automated Decision-Making

Closer uses proximity and mutual gender preferences to determine which users are visible to each other on the map. This matching is based on simple filters you control through your profile settings. We do not use profiling, AI-based scoring, or automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on users.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share your data only in the following limited circumstances:

• With other Closer users — when you go live, nearby users can see your username, photos, and approximate location on the map. Your first name is only revealed when you introduce yourself in person.
• With service providers — we use Firebase (operated by Google) as our infrastructure provider to host data, send notifications, and process backend logic. See Section 5 for a complete list.
• For legal compliance — we may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal requests by public authorities (e.g., a court order or government agency).
• To protect safety — we may share information if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of our users, investigate fraud, or respond to a safety emergency.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate the Service. These providers process data on our behalf and are subject to their own privacy policies:

All Firebase services are operated by Google and are subject to Google's Privacy Policy. Sentry's data practices are governed by Sentry's Privacy Policy. Expo's data practices are governed by Expo's Privacy Policy. We do not use any advertising networks, social media tracking pixels, or other third-party analytics beyond Firebase Analytics.

Your data is stored on Firebase servers operated by Google, which may be located in the United States or other countries outside of Canada. Google provides contractual data protection commitments for data processed through Firebase. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer and storage of your data in these locations. Please be aware that data stored outside of Canada may be accessible to foreign governments, courts, or law enforcement under the laws of those jurisdictions.

6. Permissions We Request

iOS

• Location (foreground) — for map and live session positioning
• Camera — for taking profile photos
• Photo Library — for uploading profile and gallery photos
• Push Notifications — for messages, proximity alerts, and pairing updates

Android

• Location (fine) — for map and live session positioning
• Camera — same as iOS
• Media Library — for gallery access
• Notifications — runtime permission for push notifications

All permissions are requested at the point of use with a clear explanation of why the permission is needed. You can revoke any permission at any time through your device settings, though this may limit certain features of the Service.

7. Data Retention

We retain your information only for as long as necessary to provide the Service and fulfill the purposes described in this policy:

• Live location: Automatically deleted when you go offline (5-second grace period for reconnection)
• Last known location: Stored until overwritten by a newer location update. Locations older than 24 hours are considered stale and are not used for proximity notifications
• Messages: Stored while friendship exists, archived when a friendship ends
• Profile photos: Deleted when you remove them or delete your account
• Push tokens: Removed on logout
• Profile data: Retained until you delete your account
• Analytics data: Retained per Firebase Analytics default retention policies (up to 14 months)

8. Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time through Settings in the app. When you delete your account, we perform the following steps:

1. Delete all photos from cloud storage
2. Remove your push notification token
3. Clear your presence and location data
4. Archive conversations and delete friendship records
5. Delete your user profile from the database
6. Clear all local storage on your device
7. Sign you out of the Service

Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. We aim to complete all data deletion within 30 days of your request, though most data is deleted immediately.

9. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data (you can also update most information directly in the app)
• Deletion — request deletion of your personal data (available directly through the app via Settings, or by contacting us)
• Data Portability — request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Opt-out of notifications — you can disable proximity notifications and other notification types through the app's settings or your device settings
• Withdraw consent — you can revoke device permissions (location, camera, photos, notifications) at any time through your device settings

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@closerapp.app. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. During account creation, users are required to provide their date of birth, and accounts are restricted to individuals who are at least 18 years old.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a user under 18, we will take steps to delete that information as promptly as possible. If you believe that a user under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@closerapp.app.

11. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

• Multi-device detection: A unique session ID is generated on login. Signing in on a new device automatically logs out the previous device, preventing unauthorized concurrent access.
• GPS accuracy filtering: We reject location data with accuracy greater than 500 meters to prevent location spoofing.
• Rate limiting & abuse prevention: Server-side rate limits prevent spam and abuse in messaging. Photo uploads are limited to 5MB per file and restricted to image formats only. Additional cooldowns are applied to reactions and profile updates to prevent automated abuse.
• Automated content screening: Profile content such as status text is automatically screened for prohibited content including slurs and identity-revealing information (e.g., your first name) to protect your anonymity from nearby strangers.
• Database security rules: Users can only read and write their own data. Conversations and messages are restricted to participants only.
• Encrypted transmission: All data transmitted between the app and our servers is encrypted using TLS/SSL.

While we take reasonable precautions to protect your information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

12. Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that poses a real risk of significant harm to you, we will:

• Notify affected users as soon as feasible, describing the nature of the breach, the types of personal information involved, and the steps we have taken to address it
• Report the breach to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as required under PIPEDA
• Provide recommendations for steps you can take to protect yourself

We maintain records of all data breaches, regardless of whether they meet the threshold for notification, as required by Canadian privacy law.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of any material changes by:

• Posting the updated policy on this page with a new “Last updated” date
• Sending a notification through the app for significant changes

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

14. Canadian Privacy Law

We comply with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy legislation, including Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Where provincial privacy laws apply, we comply with the requirements of those laws in addition to PIPEDA.

Under these laws, you have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information at any time. We obtain meaningful consent before collecting, using, or disclosing your personal information, and we collect only the information necessary to provide the Service.

To exercise your privacy rights or file a complaint, contact us at support@closerapp.app. You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your provincial privacy commissioner if you believe your privacy rights have not been respected.

15. Contact Us

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

support@closerapp.app

Our Privacy Officer is responsible for overseeing compliance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy legislation. We will acknowledge receipt of your inquiry and respond within 30 days.