Privacy Policy for Perch

Hi, and welcome to Perch's privacy policy. We know privacy policies are not usually fun reading, so we have tried to keep this clear and practical.

Perch helps small circles of friends or family share simple status labels like Home, Work, Out, Abroad, In Transit, or Lost on a clock-style dial and Home Screen widget. The most important thing to know is this: your exact location is never sent to our servers.

1. Who we are

The company responsible for Perch and the processing described in this policy is:

ACT Digital GmbH
Lützowstraße 102-104
10785 Berlin
Germany
Email: lets@actdigital.io

2. What this policy covers

This policy explains how the Perch mobile app handles data. It covers the app, circle features, the widget, push notifications, and premium subscription features.

3. The short version

• Perch uses location on your device to decide which status label fits best.
• Your saved places and exact coordinates stay on your device.
• Your circle can see your display name, abstract status, optional battery level, and when your status last changed.
• Your circle cannot see your GPS coordinates, map pins, exact address, or movement history.
• You can pause sharing with Invisible mode, leave a circle, or delete your account and data in the app.

4. Information you provide

When you use Perch, you may provide:

• A display name for your circle
• A circle name, if you create a circle
• An invite code, if you join a circle
• Saved places, such as Home, Work, Gym, or School. These are linked to status labels on your device.

Saved places are used by the app on your device. Their coordinates are not uploaded to Perch.

5. Information created while you use Perch

To make the app work, Perch may create or store:

• An anonymous account identifier
• Your current abstract status label
• Your optional battery percentage
• Whether Invisible mode is on or off, globally or for a specific circle
• The time your status was last updated
• Which circles you belong to
• A push token so widgets can refresh
• Subscription status for premium features, if you subscribe, including an Apple transaction identifier and expiry needed to unlock those features
• Which circle members you have chosen to get status alerts for, if you use that premium feature

Perch does not ask for your email address, phone number, contacts, photos, microphone, or camera. We do not use ad networks, third-party advertising SDKs, or cross-app tracking identifiers.

6. How location works

Location is used to recognize when you are near a place you saved and to choose a simple status. For example, the app may show Home when you are near your saved Home place, In Transit when you appear to be moving, Abroad when your device detects that you are outside your home country, Lost when you are far from Home, or Mortal Peril when your battery is very low.

This happens on your device. Perch does not receive your GPS coordinates, street address, map pins, route, country code, or location history. Your device's operating system may process location information to provide services like maps or country lookup.

You can turn off location permission in your device settings. If you do, Perch may no longer be able to update your status automatically. Circles and saved places still work without location.

7. What your circle can see

People in the same circle can see:

• Your display name
• Your current abstract status
• Your battery percentage, if available
• When your status was last updated
• Your hand on the Perch dial, unless you are Invisible

If a Premium member turns on status alerts for you, they can also receive a notification with your display name and new status when it changes. That notification does not include your exact location.

Circle members cannot see your exact location, saved place pins, home address, route, or movement trail. They also do not see your real identity unless you choose to put it in your display name.

8. How we use information

We use the information described above to:

• Create and manage circles
• Show circle members on the dial and widget
• Refresh widgets when a circle member's status changes
• Send optional status-alert notifications if you or a circle member uses that premium feature
• Let you pause sharing with Invisible mode
• Let you leave a circle or delete your account and data
• Enable premium features if you subscribe
• Keep the app reliable, secure, and working as expected

9. Service providers

We use a small number of service providers to operate Perch:

• Supabase hosts the app backend in the European Union and stores circle, status, entitlement, and push-token data.
• Expo Push Service and Apple Push Notification service help deliver silent pushes so widgets can refresh, and visible status alerts if you use that premium feature.
• Apple processes App Store purchases if you buy a premium subscription. We do not receive your payment card details.
• Apple Maps and your device's operating system may be involved when you view maps or use location-related features.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not use your data for advertising.

10. Push notifications and widgets

Perch uses push notifications mainly to refresh widgets after a status changes. These pushes are intended to work silently in the background and do not contain your exact location.

If you subscribe to Premium, you can also turn on status alerts for selected people in a circle. Those alerts are visible notifications that include a display name and the new status label, not a map location.

You can turn off notification permission in your device settings. If you do, widgets may not refresh automatically and status alerts will not appear.

11. Your choices and controls

• Invisible mode: pause status sharing and remove your hand from other members' dials. On the free plan this applies to all of your circles. With Premium you can also pause sharing in one circle at a time.
• Location permission: turn location access off in your device settings.
• Notification permission: turn push notifications off in your device settings.
• Status alerts: if you have Premium, you can choose which circle members you get a visible notification for.
• Leave circle: leave a circle from the app. Your saved places stay on your device so you can join or create another circle more easily.
• Delete account and data: delete your account from the app. This removes your server-side Perch data and clears local app data on the device.

12. How long we keep information

We keep server-side Perch data while your account exists and while it is needed to provide the app. If you leave a circle, your membership in that circle is removed. If you delete your account, your Perch account, circle memberships, status data, push token, subscription entitlement record, and status-alert preferences are deleted where applicable.

Data stored only on your device is deleted when you delete your account in the app, uninstall the app, or clear the app's data through your device settings.

13. Children's privacy

Perch is intended for small private circles of friends and family. It is not directed at children under 13, or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

14. Security

We use technical and organizational measures designed to protect Perch data, including encrypted communication and access controls that limit circle data to circle members. No system is perfect, but we design Perch around collecting as little sensitive data as possible in the first place.

15. International transfers

Our primary backend provider hosts Perch data in the European Union. Some providers involved in push notifications, App Store purchases, maps, or device services may process limited information in other countries as needed to provide those services. Where this happens, the providers' applicable terms and safeguards apply.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when Perch changes. The latest version will be available in the app and/or on this website. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.

17. Contact

If you have questions, requests, or concerns about this policy or your data, please contact us at:

ACT Digital GmbH
Lützowstraße 102-104
10785 Berlin
Germany
Email: lets@actdigital.io