Privacy Policy

CitCircle ("CitCircle", "we", "us" or "our") is building a mobile app that helps people meet new friends and form small friend groups in their city, or at their next travel destination, based on shared interests, similar availability and compatible personalities. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect through our launch list and website today, and what we will collect through the CitCircle app once it launches in the App Store and Google Play.

Contact: for any privacy question or to exercise your rights, email us at citcircle@outlook.com.

When you sign up to be notified about the CitCircle launch, we collect only what we need to contact you when the app goes live:

• Email address — so we can email you the App download link when CitCircle launches.
• City — Berlin, Amsterdam or another city you tell us about, so we can prioritise where we launch and let you know when CitCircle is available near you.
• WhatsApp number (optional) — only if you tick the WhatsApp opt-in, so we can also send you the launch notification and App download link on WhatsApp.
• Consent records — the fact that you accepted our email (and, where applicable, WhatsApp) opt-in, together with the time it was given.
• Technical data — basic sign-up metadata such as UTM parameters from the link you arrived on, so we can understand which channels bring people to CitCircle.

Once the CitCircle app launches, we will also collect the data needed to run the service:

• Account data: email address, password (stored in hashed form), display name and date of birth (to confirm you are 18+).
• Profile data: bio, photos, interests, values, languages, availability, city and travel plans you choose to add so we can match you with compatible people and groups.
• Content data: messages, group proposals, reactions and other content you submit inside a circle.
• Usage data: screens viewed, features used, interactions with circles and crash diagnostics, so we can improve the app.
• Device data: device model, operating system, language, push notification token and IP address.
• Location data: approximate location (city level) and, only with your explicit permission, more precise location to surface nearby circles and plans.
• Support data: the contents of messages you send to our support channels.

• To operate the launch list and send you the App download link and launch update once CitCircle is live. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) for email and, separately, for WhatsApp.
• To provide the app — creating your account, matching you with people and circles, hosting messages and proposals. Legal basis: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• To keep CitCircle safe — member approval, content moderation, reporting tools, fraud and abuse prevention. Legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).
• To improve CitCircle — product analytics, crash diagnostics and understanding how features are used. Legal basis: legitimate interests, or your consent where the law requires it.
• To communicate with you — service messages, push notifications and support replies. Legal basis: performance of a contract or your consent for marketing communications.
• To comply with the law — responding to lawful requests and enforcing our Terms. Legal basis: legal obligation.

We never sell your personal data. We only share it with:

• Other users — the profile information and content you choose to make visible inside a circle. You are always in control of what you share.
• Service providers that help us run CitCircle — hosting and database infrastructure, authentication, email delivery, WhatsApp messaging, push notifications, analytics, crash reporting, content moderation and customer support. They process your data only on our instructions and under appropriate data protection agreements.
• Authorities, when required by law or to protect the rights, safety or property of CitCircle, our users or the public.
• Successors, in a merger, acquisition or reorganisation, subject to standard confidentiality protections.

Your personal data may be processed in countries outside the European Economic Area (for example by our hosting or messaging providers). When that happens, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses to protect your data.

• Launch-list data — kept until we have sent you the launch notification and the App download link, or until you unsubscribe, whichever comes first. If we decide not to launch CitCircle we will delete the launch list.
• Account data — kept for as long as your CitCircle account is active. When you delete your account, we permanently delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where we are legally required to keep certain records for longer (for example for tax or fraud prevention).

If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• rectify inaccurate or incomplete data;
• erase your data ("right to be forgotten");
• restrict or object to certain processing;
• receive your data in a portable format;
• withdraw your consent at any time, where processing is based on consent (this does not affect processing that already took place);
• lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email citcircle@outlook.com. We will respond within one month.

You can also unsubscribe from CitCircle emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email we send you.

CitCircle is intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has signed up to the launch list or created an account, please contact us at citcircle@outlook.com and we will remove it.

We use industry-standard technical and organisational measures — encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, monitoring and regular reviews — to protect your personal data. No system is 100% secure, but we work hard to keep your data safe.

Our website uses essential cookies and local storage to operate (for example to remember that you signed up for the launch list). Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before using non-essential analytics cookies. You can manage cookie preferences from your browser at any time.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes we will let you know by email or inside the app before they take effect, and update the "Last updated" date above.

Questions about this policy or your personal data? Email us at citcircle@outlook.com. See also our Terms of Service.