Privacy Policy

Last updated: 27 May 2026

Circle is built for new mothers and we take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what we collect, why, who sees it, and how to delete it. Plain English, no surprises.

1. Who we are

Circle ("we", "us") is operated by M Hernandez, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the personal information described below. You can contact us about anything in this policy at hello@growyourcircle.app.

2. The short version

We collect only what we need to run a safe, useful app for mums.
We never sell your data. Ever.
We never store your precise location. Ever.
We never collect your baby's date of birth. Age bands only.
You can delete your account and all your data from inside the app at any time.

3. What we collect

Account information

When you create an account, we collect your email address and either a password you choose or an identifier from Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google. We do not receive your Apple or Google password.

Profile information

You can choose to tell us your first name, your baby's age band (never their date of birth), the neighbourhood you live in, a short bio, languages you speak, your interests, and your general availability. You can edit or remove any of this from the profile screen.

Photos

If you add a profile photo, we store it so it can be shown to people you connect with. If you choose to verify your identity, you submit a selfie which our team reviews to confirm you are a real person. Selfies are stored only as long as needed to complete verification and to allow re-review if the result is challenged.

Activity, connections and messages

We store the activity intents you broadcast (for example, "looking for a coffee walk this morning"), the connection requests you send and receive, and the messages you exchange with other users. Messages are stored so they appear when you reopen a chat. They are not end-to-end encrypted: our team can access messages if required for safety investigations.

AI companion

If you use the AI companion, we send the text of your conversation to our AI provider (Anthropic, see Section 5) so it can generate a reply. We also store the messages in your conversation history and a short list of facts the AI has remembered about you, so it can be helpful across sessions. You can clear this history from the AI chat screen.

Location

If you turn on proximity pings, we ask for your device location while the app is in use. Before storing it we round it to roughly 1 kilometre precision. We never store your exact coordinates. We never share your location with other users. Other users only ever see a fuzzy distance band (for example, "within 1 km"). You can turn this off at any time in your profile.

Device information

To send you push notifications, we store the push token Apple or Google provides for your device. We also collect basic technical information needed to operate the app, such as the app version you are using and crash reports.

Safety records

If you report or block another user, we keep a record so we can investigate and act on it. If someone reports you, we keep that report so we can review repeated concerns. These records survive account deletion in anonymised form for legitimate safety reasons.

4. Why we collect it (legal basis)

Under UK GDPR, our legal basis for processing your data is one of the following depending on the purpose:

Performance of a contract — to give you the app you signed up for: profile, connections, messages, AI companion.
Legitimate interest — to keep the community safe (verification, moderation, blocks, reports), to prevent abuse, and to improve the app.
Your consent — for optional things like location pings and push notifications. You can withdraw consent at any time in your settings.
Legal obligation — to respond to lawful requests from authorities.

5. Who we share it with

We do not sell your data. We share it only with the providers we need to run the app:

Convex — our backend host, where your profile, messages and other app data are stored. Convex servers are located in the European Union.
Anthropic — provides the Claude AI model that powers the AI companion. Your conversation text is sent to Anthropic to generate replies. Anthropic processes data in the United States and does not train on Circle conversations.
Apple and Google — for Sign in with Apple, Sign in with Google, and push notifications.
Resend — sends transactional emails (for example, password resets).
Other Circle users — your profile, photo, and the messages you choose to send are visible to the users you connect with.

We never give your data to advertisers or data brokers.

6. International transfers

Some of our providers (notably Anthropic) are based in the United States. Where data leaves the UK or EEA, we rely on standard contractual clauses approved by the UK Information Commissioner's Office to ensure your data is protected.

7. How long we keep it

Account and profile data: as long as your account is open. Deleted when you delete your account.
Messages and connections: until you or the other party deletes them, or until your account is deleted.
AI conversation history: until you clear it, or your account is deleted.
Selfies for verification: deleted after verification is complete or your account is deleted.
Location: only the most recent rounded position is stored. Cleared when you turn off pings, log out, or delete your account.
Safety records: retained in anonymised form after account deletion, for the purpose of investigating repeated concerns.

8. Your rights

You have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Correct anything that is wrong.
Delete your account and your data (you can do this yourself in the app from your profile screen).
Export your data in a portable format.
Object to or restrict certain processing.
Complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk if you are not happy with how we handle your data.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@growyourcircle.app. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Children

Circle is for adults only. You must be 18 or over to use it. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child is using Circle, please contact us and we will remove their account.

We collect information about the user (the parent), not the child. We never collect a baby's date of birth, name, or photo as part of a profile. Age bands are stored as ranges ("0-3 months", "4-6 months", and so on).

10. Security

We use industry standard security measures including encrypted connections (TLS) between the app and our servers, encrypted storage of session tokens on your device, and access controls on our backend. No system is perfectly secure, but we take this seriously and will tell you promptly if we ever discover a breach affecting your data.

11. Cookies and tracking

The Circle mobile app does not use cookies and does not include third party tracking or advertising SDKs. Our website (growyourcircle.app) uses only the cookies strictly necessary to operate the waitlist form. We do not use analytics or advertising cookies on the website.

12. Changes to this policy

If we make significant changes, we will tell you in the app and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. By continuing to use Circle after a change, you accept the updated policy.

13. Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns about your privacy: hello@growyourcircle.app.