Draft, under legal review
Last updated October 4, 2026
FolkAround helps people nearby make plans together: post a plan, see who's in, and meet up. FolkAround is run by Neleres, LLC ("we" or "us"). This policy covers the FolkAround web app at folkaround.app and any FolkAround apps we release.
We collect as little as we can to make that work. We don't sell your information, and we don't show ads.
We collect what you give us and a small amount of technical data needed to run the service.
| What | Details | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Email address, display name. If you sign in with Apple or Google, the account ID and email they share with us. | To sign you in and send you sign-in codes and notices. |
| Birth month and year | Asked at sign-up. We don't ask for the day. | To keep out under-13s and apply the teen rules below. |
| Profile | An optional photo and short bio. | So people you plan with know who you are. |
| What you do in the app | Plans you post, your answers (in, maybe, can't), notes on plans, groups, polls you run or answer, your interests, places you add, and how busy a place was when you were there. | This is the service. |
| Location | Your device's location, only when you allow it. Optionally, a home point and a search radius you choose. | To show plans and places near you. We don't keep a history of where your device has been. |
| Notifications | A push token for each device you turn notifications on for, and your notification settings. | To send the alerts you asked for. |
| Safety | Reports you make, people you block or mute. | To keep the app safe. |
| Technical | Your sign-in session, browser type, IP address and request logs. | To keep you signed in, prevent abuse and fix problems. |
If you answer a plan link without an account, we keep only the name you give, so the host knows who's coming.
We use your information to run FolkAround and keep it safe:
We never sell your information, never use it for advertising, and never share it with data brokers.
Our usage counts are our own, with no third-party trackers or advertising code. The app reports which kind of screen was opened (never the address or anything on it), the site that sent you, sign-in and setup steps, notification taps and app installs. We keep only daily and weekly totals, never tied to you or your device. Until you sign up, your browser tab remembers which site sent you, so a sign-up can be credited to it. If your browser sends Global Privacy Control, the app sends none of this.
Some safety records are kept as a scrambled code made from your email address instead of the address itself. This lets blocks and bans survive someone deleting and re-creating their account, without us keeping a readable email.
You choose who sees each plan, and the app enforces it everywhere, including counts, search and maps.
| What | Who sees it |
|---|---|
| A public plan | Anyone using FolkAround, along with your name, photo and who has said they're in. |
| A group plan | Members of that group. Private and secret groups' plans never show up in public counts or search. |
| An invite-only plan or poll | Only the host and the people invited. |
| A private place (a home or office) | You, and people who can see a plan or group meeting there. |
| Your profile | People who can see your plans, answers or groups. |
| Your email, birth month and location | Nobody else. |
If you block someone, neither of you sees the other's plans or profile. Teen accounts are visible only to people who share a group with them. FolkAround staff can see what's needed to review reports and keep the service running.
A few companies handle data for us so the app can run. They may use it only to provide their service to us.
| Company | What they do | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud | Hosts the app, database and photos in the United States | Everything stored in FolkAround |
| Resend | Sends our emails | Your email address and the email's content |
| Your browser's or phone's push service (Apple, Google, Mozilla and others) | Delivers notifications | The notification's content and a device token |
| Apple and Google sign-in | Sign you in, if you choose them | That you're signing in to FolkAround |
| OpenFreeMap | Draws the map | Your IP address and the map area you view |
Directions links open Google Maps, which then has its own privacy policy.
We share information with others only if the law requires it, to protect someone's safety, or as part of a sale or merger of FolkAround, in which case this policy continues to apply.
We delete things on a schedule rather than keeping them forever.
| What | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Notes on a plan, and reasons given with answers | About a day after the plan ends |
| Names of guests without an account | 7 days after the plan ends |
| Alerts in your app | 30 days |
| Records of who did what (for security) | 90 days |
| Server logs | About 30 days |
| Sign-in sessions | Until you sign out, or 180 days without use |
| Database backups | 7 days |
| Your account, profile and plans | Until you delete your account |
When you delete your account, everything that is yours goes right away: your profile, photo, plans, answers, notes, interests, sessions and devices. Plans you were hosting are cancelled, and the people in them are told the host left, without your name. Places you added and reports you made stay, but no longer say who added or made them. Blocks stay, so signing up again with the same email doesn't undo them. Copies in backups are gone within 7 days.
Most of this is in the app's settings:
You can also ask us for a copy of your information, or to correct or delete it, by writing to privacy@folkaround.app. We'll answer within 30 days. We won't treat you differently for asking.
FolkAround is not for children under 13. If someone gives a birth month that makes them under 13, we don't create the account, and we keep only a scrambled code for a short time so the same sign-up can't simply be retried.
Accounts for people aged 13 to 17 have extra protections, which lift automatically at 18:
If you're a parent or guardian and think your child under 13 has an account, or want your teen's account deleted, write to us and we'll remove it.
Security. Your data is stored with Google Cloud in the United States and encrypted in transit and at rest. The database isn't reachable from the internet, and photos are shared only through links that expire. We don't store passwords: you sign in with a one-time email code, Apple or Google. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting you, we'll tell you.
Changes. If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. The date at the top shows the latest version.
Contact. Questions or requests: privacy@folkaround.app.