**Effective Date:** September 13, 2026
**Last Updated:** September 13, 2026
Welcome to **SunChat** ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled safely and responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our SunChat mobile application (the "App") and services.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By downloading, accessing, or using SunChat, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access or use the App.
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## 1. Information We Collect
We collect information directly from you, automatically when you use our App, and from your device permissions to provide a seamless messaging experience.
### A. Information You Provide
* **Account Information:** When you register for SunChat, you provide your phone number. Your phone number is required to create your account and verify your identity via SMS/OTP.
* **Profile Information:** You can optionally provide a profile name, profile picture, and status/about update.
* **User Messages and Content:** We collect and transmit the content you send through SunChat, including text messages, photos, videos, audio files, documents, and status updates, to deliver them to your intended recipients.
* **Customer Support:** If you contact us for support, you may provide contact details and a description of your issue.
### B. Device & Automatically Collected Information
* **Device Details:** Hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, IP address, and mobile network information.
* **Usage & Log Data:** Log files, error reports, performance metrics, and activity timing (such as last active status and online availability).
### C. Information from Device Permissions
With your explicit consent, SunChat accesses the following features on your mobile device:
* **Address Book / Contacts (`READ_CONTACTS`):** We access your phonebook contacts to identify which of your contacts are already using SunChat so you can easily connect with them. We do not sell or share your contact list with third parties.
* **Location Information (`ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`, `ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION`):** If you choose to share your location with a contact within a chat, we collect and process your location data for that specific transaction.
* **Push Notifications (`POST_NOTIFICATIONS`):** To notify you of incoming messages, calls, and status updates when the App is running in the background.
* **Camera & Media Storage:** To allow you to take and send photos/videos, record voice messages, upload documents, or update your profile picture and status stories.
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## 2. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information for the following purposes:
1. **Provide Core Messaging Services:** To register your account, connect you with your contacts, deliver messages, enable voice and video calling, and display status updates.
2. **Account Authentication:** To verify your phone number using one-time passcodes (OTP).
3. **Contact Matching:** To automatically show you which of your device contacts are SunChat users.
4. **App Improvement & Maintenance:** To diagnose bugs, analyze system performance, optimize app performance, and enhance user experience.
5. **Security & Fraud Prevention:** To detect and prevent unauthorized access, abuse, spam, and security incidents.
6. **Customer Support:** To respond to your inquiries, technical support requests, and feedback.
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## 3. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We respect your privacy and do **not** sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties or advertisers. We share information only under the following limited circumstances:
* **With Other Users:** Your profile name, profile picture, status updates, online/last seen status, and messages are visible to other users according to your interaction with them.
* **Service Providers:** We may share necessary data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our App (e.g., SMS delivery gateways for OTP verification, cloud hosting, and infrastructure providers). These providers are obligated to protect your data.
* **Legal Requirements & Safety:** We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of SunChat, our users, or the public.
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## 4. Data Storage and Security
* **Security Measures:** We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration.
* **Data Storage:** Your personal information and chat data are stored securely on server infrastructure equipped with encryption and security controls.
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## 5. Account Deletion & Data Retention
* **Data Retention:** We retain your account information for as long as your account remains active or as needed to provide you with our services.
* **Account Deletion:** You can request the deletion of your account and associated personal data at any time by navigating to Settings within the App or by contacting us at **support@sunchat.app**. Upon account deletion, your profile information and active account data will be permanently removed from our active databases.
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## 6. Children's Privacy
SunChat is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 (or the minimum legal age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will take immediate steps to delete such data from our servers.
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## 7. Third-Party Links & Services
Our App may contain links to third-party websites or services (e.g., shared location links or external web links). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you visit.
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## 8. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.
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## 9. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact us:
* **App Name:** SunChat
* **Email:** support@sunchat.app
* **Website:** https://sites.google.com/view/sunchat-privacy-policy