Privacy Policy

Information you give us

Account information: your name and email address, and, if you sign in through Google or Apple, the basic profile information they share with us (see Section 4).

Phone number, if you provide one: used to verify your identity by text, and to recognize you as a returning user if a friend adds your number to a new trip, so you’re not asked to verify again. See Section 11 for how we text you.

Trip and calendar information: the trips you create or join, dates and availability you provide, itinerary details, preferences (like budget range, dietary needs, or lodging preferences), and messages or comments you post within a trip.

Your text messages with That Friend: if you text our number, we keep those messages and our replies, so That Friend can follow the conversation instead of asking you the same things again. We also keep a short running summary of what matters for planning (destination, dates, budgets, who owes what). See Section 11.

Budget and expense information: budget amounts, cost estimates, and expense entries you or your group add for planning and splitting costs. That Friend does not currently move real money on your behalf; if we add real payment processing in the future, it will be handled by a licensed payment provider and this policy will be updated to name them and describe how that works.

Location, if you choose to share it: for features like suggesting nearby activities or letting your group see where you are during a trip. Location sharing is optional and can be turned off in your device or app settings.

Photos and other content: any photos, files, or notes you choose to upload to a trip.

Information collected automatically

Basic device and usage data: things like device type, operating system, app version, and general usage logs (for example, when you log in, or which screens you visit) that help us keep the app running and fix bugs. We are not currently using third-party analytics or advertising tools. If that changes, we’ll update this section to name the tools we use.

Matching contacts to existing accounts

When a trip organizer adds a phone number to a trip, we check whether that number already belongs to a That Friend account. If it does, we send that person a direct trip invite instead of a sign-up link, so a returning user doesn’t have to verify their number or agree to texts again. This may let the organizer know that person already uses That Friend. We don’t share any other profile, trip, or contact information about that person with the organizer, and we don’t add that person to the trip or make their information visible to the group, unless and until they accept the invite (see Section 11).

We use your information to:

• Run the core features of the app, such as creating trips, coordinating schedules, tracking budgets, and letting your group communicate.
• Let you sign in securely and keep your account tied to the right trips and friends.
• Fix bugs, improve reliability, and understand how the app is being used so we can decide what to build next.
• Communicate with you about the app, for example to ask for feedback, tell you about a new feature, or let you know about a change to this policy.
• Meet legal obligations, and protect the security of the app and its users.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your trip content or budget information to sell you ads.

With the people in your trip

That Friend is built around planning trips with people, so information you add to a shared trip, such as your availability, your stated budget, your itinerary suggestions, and your comments and messages, is visible to the other members of that trip. Think of a shared trip like a shared document: anyone you or the trip organizer has added can see what’s in it. You’re only added as a member, and your information only becomes visible to that trip’s group, after you accept an invite to join it, including when you’re invited to a trip created by someone new because we recognized your phone number from an earlier trip.

With service providers

We may share limited information with vendors who help us run the app, for example cloud hosting to store app data, our text messaging provider to deliver texts, or (as noted in Section 4) Google or Apple for sign-in. These providers only receive what they need to do their job and are not permitted to use your information for their own purposes.

For legal reasons

We may disclose information if required by law, or if we believe in good faith it’s necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of That Friend, our users, or others.

If the business changes hands

If That Friend is ever involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We’ll let users know if that happens and if it changes how your data is handled.

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.

If you choose to sign in with Google or Apple, they will share basic profile information with us (such as your name and email address) so we can create and secure your account, based on the permissions you approve during sign-in. We don’t receive your Google or Apple password. Your use of those sign-in services is also governed by Google’s or Apple’s own privacy policies.

We keep your information for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide the app’s features (for example, keeping past trip details so you can look back on them). If you delete your account, we will delete or de-identify your personal information within a reasonable time, except where we need to keep limited records for legal, security, or fraud-prevention reasons.

Whatever your location, you can ask us to:

• Access a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct information that’s inaccurate or incomplete.
• Delete your account and associated personal information.
• Export your trip data in a portable format.

To do any of this, email us at thatfriendapp@gmail.com. Because we’re a small team, requests are currently handled by hand rather than through an automated tool. We’ll get back to you as quickly as we can, and no later than 30 days.

If you’re a resident of California, the EU/EEA, UK, or another jurisdiction with its own privacy law, you may have additional specific rights under laws like the CCPA or GDPR. We intend to honor the spirit of those rights for all users regardless of where the law technically applies; this section will be expanded with jurisdiction-specific detail as That Friend grows.

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, such as restricting who can access app data and using reputable hosting providers. That said, no method of storing or transmitting data is completely secure, and we can’t guarantee absolute security, especially while the product is still evolving.

That Friend is not directed at 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 with personal information, please contact us at thatfriendapp@gmail.com and we will delete it.

If you are between 13 and 18 years old, please make sure you have a parent’s or guardian’s permission before using That Friend, since trip details you enter (including location and budget information) may be visible to other members of your trip. Parents or guardians who believe their teen has shared personal information through the app and would like it removed can also contact us at the email above.

That Friend is currently operated from the United States. If you use the app from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S., where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

We may update this policy as That Friend develops, especially as we add features like real payment processing. If we make a material change, we’ll update the effective date above and let users know directly (for example, by email or in-app notice) rather than relying on you to check back here.

If you provide a mobile phone number, we use it to send you text messages related to the app: a one-time code to sign in, an invite when someone adds you to a trip, a confirmation when a link, note, or photo you forward gets added to your trip, and reminders about a trip you’re part of.

An invite text can come from a trip you weren’t expecting, if the organizer added a phone number we recognize from a trip you were on before. Being recognized this way isn’t the same as being added: we send you an invite text either way, but you decide whether to join, and your name and other information isn’t shared with that trip’s members until you accept.

If you already agreed to texts from us on an earlier trip, that invite is shorter and doesn’t ask you to agree again, because your existing choice still stands. It doesn’t put you on the new trip, and it doesn’t sign you up for that trip’s reminders or group messages — those start only once you join. If you have replied STOP, we don’t text you at all, including invites, until you reply START.

When you text us something we can’t answer from your trip itself, the reply is written by an AI assistant. To do that we send it the running summary described in Section 1 and your most recent messages in that thread, not your whole history and not your contacts. The provider processes it to produce the reply and is not permitted to use it for their own purposes.

We do not share or sell your mobile phone number to third parties for their own marketing or promotional purposes.

Message frequency varies with how active your trips are, and is typically a handful of messages per trip. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to stop receiving texts, or HELP for help.