Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 16, 2026

Home Chat is a private building chat app for neighbors. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how it is used, and what choices you have.

Information we collect

When you sign in, we store your account name, Apple Sign In identifier, optional email address provided by Apple, profile avatar if you add one, how you first arrived at Home Chat (QR invite or App Store), and basic account timestamps such as when your account was created or last seen.

When you use the app, we store home chat memberships, messages, photos, polls, poll votes, direct messages, reports, moderation actions, blocks, invite links, and related timestamps so the service can work for you and other members of your home chat.

When you visit public pages such as the landing page, invite pages, or the App Store redirect, we may store simple transition statistics such as page path, referrer, user agent, event type, and time of visit. These statistics help us understand whether people can discover and install the app.

How we use information

We use your information to create and manage your account, show messages to the right home chat members, generate QR invite links, deliver realtime chat updates, support polls and direct messages, handle reports, enforce moderation, prevent abuse, improve onboarding, and maintain server reliability.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use message content for advertising.

Who can see your content

Messages, photos, polls, and member names in a home chat are visible to active members of that home chat. Direct messages are visible to the sender and recipient. Reports may be reviewed for safety and moderation. Admins of a home chat can moderate members and remove abusive messages.

Photos and uploads

Photos you upload are stored on the server and are available through generated upload URLs. Only share photos that you are comfortable showing to members of your home chat.

Invite links and QR codes

Home Chat uses invite links and QR codes so neighbors can join the correct building chat. Anyone with a valid invite link may be able to open the invite page. Keep invite links inside the community where they belong.

Retention and deletion

We keep account and chat data while it is needed to provide the service, maintain safety, resolve abuse reports, and keep home chat history available to members. You can delete your account inside the app. Account deletion anonymizes your profile, removes access to your account, and clears personal profile fields such as email and avatar where supported by the service.

Some content may remain visible in a home chat after account deletion when it is necessary to preserve conversation history, safety records, or moderation context. Deleted or moderated messages may be hidden or replaced with a moderation notice.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the service, including authentication, access checks for home chat membership, and server-side moderation tools. No internet service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Children

Home Chat is intended for residents and household community use. It is not intended for children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us so we can review and remove it where appropriate.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as Home Chat changes. The updated version will be posted on this page with a new update date.

Contact: support@homechat.app