Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Steve Letendre ("we," "us," or "our") processes personal information when you use the Farts with Friends mobile application and website at fartswithfriends.com (together, the "Service").

On iOS and Android, the app is Farts with Friends. The name refers to the same Service.

By using the Service, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Introduction

Farts with Friends is a social audio app where users record short sound clips, name them, and share them privately or with selected audiences. This Privacy Policy applies to your use of the app and this website.

2. Our privacy promise

We do not sell your personal information.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to data brokers or advertisers for their own marketing purposes. We use your information only to operate, secure, and improve the Service, as described below.

We do collect information — an app like this cannot work otherwise — and we use analytics to understand how the app is used. What we do not do is sell it, rent it, trade it, or hand it to advertisers.

Some information is shared with service providers that help us run the app (for example, cloud hosting and product analytics), and with other users according to the sharing choices you make. If you sign in with Google, Apple, or a phone number, those providers process information under their own privacy policies as well.

3. Information we collect

We collect information you provide, information generated through your use of the Service, and limited technical data needed to keep the app working.

Information you provide

Account information: display name, username, email address, phone number (if you use phone sign-in), and profile photo.
User-generated audio: short sound recordings you create in the app.
Recording details: titles, optional descriptions, and audience or sharing settings you choose for each recording.
Social information: friends, friend requests, groups, group invites, and referral activity.
Community activity: ratings, leaderboard participation, and public profile information you choose to show.
Support & safety: messages you send through Help & Support, content reports, block lists, and related moderation records.
Contacts (optional): if you turn on friend discovery, the app reads email addresses and phone numbers from your device's contacts to suggest people you may know. Before anything leaves your device, each identifier is normalized and converted into an irreversible salted SHA-256 hash; only those hashes are sent to us, and we compare them against hashes of the identifiers registered by existing users. We do not read or transmit your contacts' names, and we do not store your address book — the hashes are used to answer a single match request and are not retained afterward. You can decline or revoke contact access at any time in your device settings.

Google sign-in data

If you choose Sign in with Google, Google provides Farts with Friends with your basic Google account information: your name, email address, profile picture (if available), and a unique account identifier and an authentication credential used to verify your sign-in.

We use this Google user data only to:

Authenticate you and create or connect your Farts with Friends account.
Prefill basic profile details such as your name, email address, and profile picture.
Keep your account available across supported devices.
Verify your identity for sensitive account actions.

Google sign-in does not give us access to your Gmail messages, Google Drive files, Calendar events, or Google Contacts. We do not use Google sign-in data for advertising and do not post to your Google account.

Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. We do not transfer Google user data to others except as necessary to provide or improve the Service, to comply with applicable law, or as part of a merger or acquisition; we do not use it for advertising; and we do not allow humans to read it except with your consent, for security purposes, to comply with applicable law, or where the data is aggregated and de-identified.

Information collected automatically

Device & app data: device type and model, operating system version, app version, language and region settings, and general diagnostic or security logs needed to keep the Service reliable.
Identifiers: your account ID, and app-generated identifiers such as the Google Analytics for Firebase app-instance ID and the vendor/installation identifier assigned by iOS or Android. These identify an installation of the app, not you personally, and we do not use them for advertising. See Analytics & diagnostics.
Usage data: in-app events such as app opens, screens viewed, and feature interactions (for example, whether an inactivity reminder was opened). See Analytics & diagnostics.
Push notification tokens: if you enable notifications, we store a device token so we can deliver alerts you ask for (such as friend requests or ratings).
Subscription status: whether you have an active trial or paid plan (payment details are handled by Apple or Google, not by us).
Approximate location: we may infer general location (such as country or region) from your IP address for security and compliance. We do not track precise GPS location.

Website

Our website may use essential cookies or similar technologies needed for basic functionality. We do not use third-party advertising cookies on the website.

4. Analytics & diagnostics

The mobile apps include PostHog, our product analytics provider. We use it to understand which features people use and where they get stuck, so we can improve the app.

Data sent to PostHog includes: a pseudonymous account identifier (our internal user ID), a device identifier generated by PostHog, app version, operating system version, device model, screens viewed, buttons tapped, and in-app events such as starting or uploading a recording, sending or answering a friend request, completing onboarding steps, and starting or completing a subscription purchase.

PostHog derives an approximate location (city or region level) from the IP address of requests. We do not collect GPS or precise location, and the app never asks for location permission.

Anonymous activity: activity from before you create an account is recorded against an anonymous identifier. Once you sign up, that earlier activity is associated with your account.

We do not use PostHog for advertising, ad measurement, or cross-app tracking, and we do not share this data with advertising networks or data brokers.

Google Analytics for Firebase is still present, but only for automatically collected events (app opens, sessions, and screen views) that support push notification delivery and attribution. We no longer send it custom events.

Analytics data is retained according to the rules described in Retention & deletion.

We do not currently use a third-party crash-reporting service. Diagnostic and security logs generated by our hosting and backend providers are retained for a limited period and used only to operate and secure the Service.

Website: the website does not use PostHog, Google Analytics, or any other analytics or advertising tracker. Our hosting provider records standard server request logs (such as IP address, timestamp, and requested page) for security and reliability.

We do not collect the iOS Advertising Identifier (IDFA), and the app does not use the App Tracking Transparency framework, because we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

5. How we use information

We use personal information to:

Create, authenticate, and maintain your account.
Store, play back, and deliver your recordings to the audience you select.
Power friends, groups, ratings, leaderboards, and referrals.
Send notifications you enable and important service messages.
Provide Help & Support and respond to your requests.
Enforce our community standards, Terms of Service, and safety tools (including block, report, and moderation).
Detect, prevent, and address abuse, fraud, security issues, and legal requests.
Operate, maintain, and improve the Service.

We do not use your information for third-party advertising or to build advertising profiles about you.

We may share information in these situations:

Service providers

We use trusted providers to host and operate the Service, including:

Google Firebase (authentication, database, file storage, cloud functions, and push messaging)
Google Analytics for Firebase (automatically collected app events that support push notification delivery and attribution — see Analytics & diagnostics)
PostHog — product analytics. Data is processed on PostHog Cloud in the United States.
Cloudflare (hosting, delivery, and security for this website)
Apple (Sign in with Apple and App Store subscriptions, on iOS)
Google (Sign in with Google and Google Play subscriptions, on Android)

These providers process data on our behalf under contractual obligations appropriate to their role. Their own policies also apply when you interact with them directly.

Other users

Information you share publicly or with friends, groups, or the community is visible to those audiences according to your settings. See Audiences & visibility.

Sign-in providers

When you sign in with Google or Apple, those companies receive information about your sign-in and may provide us with basic profile details (such as name and email) according to your choices on their sign-in screens.

Legal & safety

We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that it is necessary to comply with law, respond to valid legal process, protect the rights and safety of users or the public, or enforce our Terms.

Business transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, personal information may transfer as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.

What we do not do

We do not sell personal information.
We do not share personal information with third parties for their independent advertising or marketing.

7. Audiences & visibility

You control who can see each recording:

Only me — private to your account.
Friends — visible to people you are friends with on the Service.
Groups — visible to members of groups you select.
Fartsphere / public community — visible to the broader community and may appear in public feeds, ratings, and leaderboards when you opt in.

Your profile (such as display name, username, and photo) may be visible to other users according to how you use social features. You can block users; blocked people cannot interact with you through the Service as described in the app.

8. Retention & deletion

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, resolve disputes, enforce our policies, and meet legal obligations.

When you delete your account in the app (Settings → Account → Delete account — available whether you sign in with a phone number, Google, Apple, or a password), deletion of your profile, recordings, ratings, friendships, group memberships, invite codes, referral records, username and phone reservations, notification records, and stored audio and profile images begins immediately, and typically within 24 hours. Your Firebase authentication record is deleted in the same operation. If you instead request deletion by email, we complete it within 30 days of verifying your request.

Encrypted backups are cycled and overwritten within up to 90 days of deletion. Some information others already received (for example, a copy of a rating) may remain in their view until refreshed, and content that other users have saved or re-shared is outside our control.

We retain a limited record of content reports, moderation decisions, support tickets, and enforcement history after account deletion, in restricted form, so we can operate appeals, prevent ban evasion, and meet legal obligations. These records are kept no longer than necessary for those purposes.

Content removed for moderation or safety may be retained in restricted form for audit and appeal purposes.

9. Security

We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information, including encryption in transit and access controls on our infrastructure.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information and respond to incidents appropriately.

10. International transfers

We are based in the United States. If you use the Service from another country, your information may be processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate. Where required by law, we rely on appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers. This includes PostHog, which processes analytics data in the United States under those safeguards.

11. Your rights & choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

Access the personal information we hold about you.
Correct inaccurate information.
Delete your account and associated data.
Object to or restrict certain processing.
Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent (without affecting prior lawful processing).

You can update much of your account information in the app. To delete your account, use Settings → Account or our Delete Account page.

You also have the right to be free from discrimination for exercising these rights. We will not deny you the Service, charge you a different price, or give you a lower quality experience because you exercised a privacy right.

To exercise any of these rights, email support@fartswithfriends.com from the address on your account, or contact us from the phone number on your account. We may need to verify your identity before responding, and we will not use verification information for any other purpose. We respond within the time required by the law that applies to you (generally 45 days in the United States and one month in the EEA and UK), and we will tell you if we need an extension.

Authorized agents. Where the law allows it, you may use an authorized agent to submit a request. We will ask for proof of the agent's authority and may still ask you to verify your identity directly.

Appeals. If we decline a privacy request, you may appeal by replying to our decision or emailing support@fartswithfriends.com with "Privacy appeal" in the subject line. We will respond to appeals within the period required by applicable law.

You can disable push notifications in your device or app settings. You can revoke contact access in your device settings at any time. Because we do not sell or share personal information for targeted advertising, there is nothing for a browser opt-out preference signal (such as Global Privacy Control) to opt you out of; we honor such signals as a deletion or opt-out request where the law requires it.

12. Children’s privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information, contact us at support@fartswithfriends.com and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

If you are between 13 and the age of majority where you live, you may use the Service only with permission from a parent or legal guardian.

Because the app records audio, we treat voice recordings as sensitive. Consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the FTC's amended COPPA Rule, we do not knowingly collect audio recordings, phone numbers, contacts, or persistent identifiers from anyone under 13, and we delete such information when we learn of it. A parent or guardian who believes their child under 13 has an account can email support@fartswithfriends.com to review, delete, or refuse further collection of that information.

Where Apple or Google provides us an age category or parental-consent signal for your account under an app store age-verification law, we use that signal only to meet those legal requirements, transmit it securely, and delete it once we have acted on it. We do not use it for advertising or profiling.

13. Regional notices

United States

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising or targeted advertising, as those terms are defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and the comprehensive privacy laws of other states. We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding twelve months, including the personal information of anyone we know to be under 16.

Residents of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws may exercise the access, correction, deletion, portability, opt-out, and appeal rights described in Your rights & choices, to the extent those laws apply to us.

Categories. Using the CCPA's categories, we collect identifiers (name, username, email, phone number, account and device identifiers); customer records (profile details); commercial information (subscription status); internet or network activity (app usage and diagnostics); approximate geolocation inferred from IP address; audio information (your recordings); and, if you enable friend discovery, hashed contact identifiers. We collect these for the business purposes described in How we use information, from you and from your device, and disclose them only to the service providers listed in Sharing & service providers and to other users according to your sharing choices. We keep each category for the periods described in Retention & deletion.

Sensitive personal information. Your voice recordings and precise account credentials are treated as sensitive. We use sensitive personal information only to provide the Service and keep it secure — never to infer characteristics about you — so the right to limit its use does not change how we handle it.

EEA, UK, and Switzerland

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the operator named below is the controller of your personal information. Our legal bases for processing are:

Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) — creating and running your account, storing and delivering your recordings, and providing support.
Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) — keeping the Service secure, preventing abuse and fraud, moderating content, and understanding product usage in aggregate. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests.
Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — optional features such as contact-based friend discovery, push notifications, and camera or photo access. You can withdraw consent at any time in your device or app settings.
Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) — responding to valid legal process and meeting child-safety reporting duties.

Your voice recordings may constitute special-category data in some circumstances; where that is the case we rely on your explicit consent, given when you choose to record and share.

You have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection, and you may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Cross-border transfers to the United States are made under the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK Addendum where applicable) as incorporated into our agreements with Google and our other providers.

Content moderation notices

If your content is removed or your account is restricted, we tell you what happened and why, and you may appeal by emailing support@fartswithfriends.com. Anyone can report illegal or violating content using the in-app report tool or that address. See the community standards in our Terms for how enforcement and appeals work.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the Service, by email where appropriate, or by updating the "Last updated" date above. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated Policy.

15. Contact us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices?

Email: support@fartswithfriends.com

Operator: Steve Letendre — Farts with Friends
United States