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# Hearthside & Hooks — Privacy Policy
**Effective date:** April 14, 2026
**Last updated:** April 14, 2026
Welcome to Hearthside & Hooks ("we," "us," or "our"). We built this app to be a warm, welcoming place for the crochet community, and we take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.
By using Hearthside & Hooks, you agree to the practices described below.
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## 1. Who We Are
Hearthside & Hooks is an independent iOS application. If you have any privacy-related questions, you can reach us at:
**Email:** ai.mavtechnology@gmail.com
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## 2. Information We Collect
We only collect what we need to make the app work and feel good.
### Information you provide
- **Account information:** Your email address, display name, and (optionally) a profile photo, bio, skill level, and general location (city-level only, if you choose to provide it).
- **Content you create:** Projects, progress log entries, yarn catalog entries, saved patterns, photos you upload, group chat messages, and project notes.
- **Pattern assistant queries:** Questions and pattern text you send to our AI pattern assistant.
- **Communications:** If you email us for support or feedback, we keep those messages so we can respond and improve the app.
### Information collected automatically
- **Device and usage information:** Device type, operating system version, approximate location (inferred from IP address, never precise GPS unless you explicitly share it), app version, crash logs, and basic usage events like which screens you visit.
- **Push notification tokens:** If you allow notifications, we store a device-level push token to deliver them.
### Information we do NOT collect
- We do not collect precise GPS location.
- We do not access your contacts, calendar, or health data.
- We do not use tracking cookies or cross-app advertising identifiers.
- We do not sell your data. Ever.
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## 3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide and improve the app's features (your portfolio, stash, groups, and so on)
- Authenticate you and keep your account secure
- Power the AI pattern assistant
- Send push notifications you've opted in to (likes, comments, group activity, CAL reminders)
- Respond to support requests
- Analyze app usage in aggregate to fix bugs and improve the experience
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not use your content to train AI models. Your personal data is never sold or shared with advertisers.
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## 4. How We Share Information
We share information only with the service providers required to run the app. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only to perform services for us:
| Provider | What they do | What we share |
|---|---|---|
| **Supabase** | Authentication, database, file storage, realtime chat | Account info, content you create, uploaded photos |
| **Anthropic (Claude)** | AI pattern assistant | Only the specific queries you send to the assistant — not your account info or other content |
| **Expo / EAS** | Push notification delivery | Device push tokens only |
| **Apple** | App Store distribution, in-app receipts, crash analytics | Standard App Store metadata; Apple's own privacy policy applies |
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our users' safety, or in connection with a business transfer (e.g., if the app is acquired).
We do not share your personal information with advertisers or data brokers.
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## 5. Public Content
Some content in Hearthside & Hooks is intentionally public. When you mark a project or profile as public, any user of the app — including guests who aren't signed in — can see it. Group activity is visible to other members of that group.
Think of public content like a post on a social network: assume anyone could see it.
You can control visibility on a per-project basis (public / friends / private) and you can leave groups at any time.
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## 6. Your Choices
You can:
- **Edit or delete your content** at any time in the app
- **Change your profile visibility** in settings
- **Turn off push notifications** in settings or your device's system settings
- **Request a copy of your data** by emailing us
- **Delete your account** entirely by emailing us or using the in-app delete option (we'll remove your account and associated content within 30 days, except where we're required to retain certain records by law)
- **Unsubscribe from non-essential emails** via the unsubscribe link in any such email
If you're in the EU, UK, California, or another jurisdiction with specific privacy rights (right to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict processing of your data), you can exercise those rights by contacting us.
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## 7. Data Retention
We keep your account and content for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we remove personal data within 30 days, except:
- Anonymized or aggregated usage data (retained indefinitely)
- Records we're required to keep for legal, tax, or security reasons
Chat messages in groups remain visible to other group members even after your account is deleted, unless you delete them individually first.
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## 8. Children's Privacy
Hearthside & Hooks is rated 4+ in the App Store, but the app is designed for a general audience and is not specifically directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us and we will delete the account promptly.
Parents: we encourage you to supervise any use of Hearthside & Hooks by children in your care.
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## 9. Security
We use industry-standard security practices to protect your data, including encryption in transit (HTTPS) and at rest. Our backend provider, Supabase, is SOC 2 Type II certified.
No system is perfectly secure. If we discover a security incident affecting your data, we will notify you as required by applicable law.
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## 10. International Users
Hearthside & Hooks is operated from the United States. If you use the app from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the U.S. and other countries where our service providers operate. By using the app, you consent to this transfer.
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## 11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll notify you in the app or by email before the changes take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this policy tells you when it was last revised.
Continued use of Hearthside & Hooks after a change means you accept the updated policy.
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## 12. Contact Us
Questions, concerns, or data requests:
**Email:** ai.mavtechnology@gmail.com
We aim to respond within 5 business days.
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*This policy is written in plain English on purpose. If anything is unclear, ask us. We'd rather explain it than have you guess.*
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