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Privacy Policy

Last updated: [insert date before publishing]

Draft template — not legal advice. Replace the bracketed placeholders below and have this reviewed by a solicitor before this app handles real users' data.

1. Who We Are

Meitheal Community ("we", "us") is the data controller for personal data collected through this app. Meitheal is currently operated as an individual project; formal organisation registration details will be added here once available. Contact: meitheal.app@gmail.com.

2. What We Collect

  • Account details: first name, last name, email address, and the town or city and country you live in (these two are shown on your profile)
  • Your home address, kept in a private safety record — see "Safety Records" below
  • Phone number (optional): used only to send a one-time verification code via SMS to confirm you're a real person, and to mark your account as phone-verified
  • Profile information you choose to add: bio, pronouns
  • Content you post: community posts, messages to other members
  • Preferences: display and account settings such as dark mode
  • Safety data: if you report a post or user, we store the reason you give and which account filed it, reviewed by our admin team; if you block someone, we store which two accounts are involved so we can hide their content from you
  • Technical data stored in your browser (local storage) to keep you signed in and remember display preferences

Safety Records (Your Home Address)

Meitheal exists so that members can meet face to face. To help keep everyone safe, we keep a private record of each member's home address.

  • It is never shown to other members, and it is not part of your public profile.
  • Only a Super Admin can open it, and only by giving a written reason. Every time it is opened, that reason and the fact it was opened are recorded in an activity log.
  • We use it only to protect members: for example, to identify a person involved in a safety report or a suspected crime, and to give information to the police or other authorities where the law requires or allows it.
  • You can see and update your address at any time in Edit Profile, and it is included when you export your data.

Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in keeping members safe, and, where the law requires it, compliance with legal obligations. What we keep after an account is deleted is explained in section 5.

3. Why We Process It (Legal Basis)

  • Contract: creating and running your account, showing you posts, enabling messaging
  • Consent: sending your phone number to our SMS provider to verify your identity at signup; optional data-sharing used to improve local matching — you can withdraw the optional part anytime in Settings
  • Legitimate interest: keeping the platform safe (e.g. moderation, fraud prevention, confirming real members via phone verification)

4. Who We Share It With

Your data is stored with Supabase, our database and authentication provider, acting as our data processor. Your phone number is shared with our SMS provider (Twilio, or equivalent) solely to deliver your verification code — they process it only as needed to send that one message. We do not sell personal data. [List any other processors/analytics providers you actually use here.]

5. How Long We Keep It

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active.

When you delete your account (Settings, Delete my account), it is hidden straight away and permanently deleted after 30 days. If you sign in again within those 30 days you can restore it exactly as it was. After 30 days your profile, posts, comments, messages, photos, interests and home address are deleted.

A limited safety record. If you were in contact with other members (sent or received a message), were reported, or were suspended, we keep a limited record for safety and to respond to legal claims and authorities: your name, email address, home address, when you joined and when you left, and how many messages you had. We do not keep what your messages said, your posts or your photos. We keep this record for 24 months, or 5 years if you were reported or suspended, and then delete it. It is locked: only a Super Admin can open it, only by giving a written reason, and every time it is opened is logged. If you only browsed and had no contact with other members, no record is kept.

Staff. Records about people who work for Meitheal, such as payroll and employment records, are kept for as long as the law requires.

Backups are overwritten in the normal course of operation. To ask what we hold about you, or to raise a concern about the safety record, contact us at the address in section 8.

6. Your Rights

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Correct inaccurate data (edit your profile anytime)
  • Export your data (Settings → Export My Personal Data)
  • Delete your account (Settings → Delete my account): hidden at once and deleted after 30 days, apart from the limited safety record described in section 5
  • Withdraw consent for optional data sharing at any time (Settings)
  • Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. In Ireland this is the Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie)

7. Cookies & Local Storage

We use your browser's local storage — not third-party tracking cookies — to keep you logged in and remember display preferences like dark mode. This is essential to how the app functions.

8. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data: meitheal.app@gmail.com