Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when registering an account or using our services:

• Account Data: Names, email addresses, phone numbers, usernames
• Profile Information: Profile photos, bio, preferences
• Content: Restaurant reviews, ratings, photos, lists (curations), comments
• Social Connections: Friend connections, group memberships
• Contact Data: When you contact us for support

Information Collected Through App Permissions

If you grant us permission through your device settings, we may collect:

• Location Information: To show nearby restaurants and location-based recommendations
• Camera Access: To upload photos with your reviews
• Contacts Access: To help you find friends on taste
• Push Notifications: To send updates about friend activity (you can disable in settings)

Information Collected Automatically

When you use our app, we automatically collect certain information:

• Device information (model, operating system, unique identifiers)
• Usage data (features used, interactions, timestamps)
• Log data for troubleshooting and security

2. How We Process Your Information

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

• Account Management: To create and manage your account, authenticate users, and provide customer support
• Service Delivery: To provide core taste features including reviews, friend connections, and restaurant discovery
• Personalization: To customize your experience based on your preferences and activity
• Communications: To send push notifications about friend activity and important service updates
• Safety & Security: To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Improvement: To understand usage patterns and improve our services
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and protect our rights

3. Legal Bases for Processing

We process your information based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: When you've given clear consent for specific purposes
• Contract: To provide the services you've requested through our Terms of Service
• Legitimate Interests: For our business purposes, provided they don't override your rights
• Legal Obligations: When required by law

4. When We Share Your Information

We may share your information in the following situations:

• With Other Users: Your profile, reviews, and lists are visible to other taste users based on your privacy settings
• Service Providers: With trusted third parties who help us operate our services (e.g., cloud hosting, authentication)
• Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect rights and safety
• Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, sale, or acquisition
• With Your Consent: When you explicitly agree to sharing

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. Third-Party Services

We use these third-party services to operate taste:

• Apple Push Notification Service: For iOS notifications
• Twilio: For phone number verification during signup
• Amazon Web Services: For secure cloud infrastructure and data storage
• Mapbox: For restaurant location and mapping features
• Sentry: For error tracking and app stability
• PostHog: For product analytics to improve the app

These services access only the minimum data necessary to provide their functions. We do not share your personal information with advertisers or data brokers.

6. Your Privacy Rights

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

• Access: Request a copy of your personal information
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and personal data
• Portability: Request your data in a portable format
• Objection: Object to certain processing of your information
• Restriction: Request limited processing of your information

To exercise these rights, contact us at ikiostaff@gmail.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes described in this policy:

• Active Accounts: We keep your data while your account is active
• Deleted Accounts: Personal data is deleted within 30 days of account deletion
• Legal Requirements: Some data may be retained longer if required by law
• Anonymized Data: We may retain anonymized, aggregated data for analytics

8. Data Security

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

• Encryption in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest
• Access controls and authentication requirements
• Regular security assessments and updates
• Secure cloud infrastructure with redundancy
• Employee training on data protection

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. These countries may have different data protection laws. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this policy.

10. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know what personal information we collect, use, and share
• Right to delete your personal information
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

11. Children's Privacy

taste is not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete that information promptly.

12. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Last updated" date. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy and notifying you through the app or email.