Privacy Policy

PULSE ("we", "us", "the app") respects your privacy. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. By using PULSE you agree to this policy.

1. Information we collect

• Account information. When you sign in with email, Apple, or Google, we receive your name, email address, and a unique user ID to create your account.
• Profile content. The display name, username, and profile photo you choose.
• Content you create. The pulses (photos and short live videos), captions, moods, comments, and reactions you post.
• Social graph. Who you follow, your followers, and follow requests.
• Device token. A push notification token so we can deliver notifications, plus your chosen app language.
• Camera & microphone. Accessed only while you actively capture a pulse. We never access them in the background.
• Voice memories. If you choose to attach one, we store the short audio recording you make with that pulse. It is optional, you can remove it before sharing, and the microphone is never used unless you start a recording.
• Optional location. If you leave "Location" on when sharing, we use your device location once to derive a coarse place name (e.g. "Kadıköy, Istanbul") and an approximate area — a point snapped to a roughly 500-metre grid, which is what the Friend Map shows. We do not store your exact coordinates, and you can turn location off before sharing.
• Places you tag. A pulse can carry the name of a nearby place (for example a cafe). When you appear to be at a venue, the app may pre-select it for you; the tag is always shown on the share screen before you post, one tap removes it, and it is stored only if you leave it on when you share. We also store the venue's own public map position (the cafe's location, not yours) so it can be shown on the map. To find nearby places we send your approximate coordinates to OpenStreetMap (see "Third-party services").
• Duo moments. A Duo is a single joint post. When you and a friend both capture inside the shared two-minute window, both photos are combined into one post naming both of you, and both halves are visible to anyone who can see that post.

2. What we do NOT collect

• We do not access your photo library or gallery — the camera is live-only.
• We do not continuously track your location and we do not read it in the background. Location is used only at the moment you share, and only if you leave it on.
• We do not store or share your exact GPS position. What a pulse can carry is a coarse ~500m area, plus a venue name if you leave the venue tag on when sharing.
• We do not sell your personal data to anyone.

3. How we use your information

• To operate core features: your feed, profiles, follows, reactions, comments, and notifications.
• To send push notifications (reactions, comments, follows, new pulses, Duo invites, and one daily reminder to post) in your chosen language. To send the daily reminder at a reasonable hour where you are, we store your device's time zone.
• To build your weekly recap and your Pulse Score. Both are generated on your device from your own pulses; we do not send that content anywhere to produce them.
• To keep the service safe, prevent abuse, and comply with the law.

4. Content lifespan

Pulses are ephemeral and are hidden from feeds 24 hours after posting. You can hide any of your pulses from your profile at any time, or delete your content.

5. Third-party services

We use Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Messaging) to run the app. Their handling of data is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. Sign-in with Apple and Google are provided by those companies under their respective policies.

When you open the camera with location on, we ask OpenStreetMap (via the Overpass API) which cafes, restaurants and bars are near you, so we can offer them as tags. This request contains your approximate coordinates and no account information — OpenStreetMap is not told who you are. If you never tap a place, nothing about it is stored on your pulse. We also use BigDataCloud to turn coordinates into a district/city name in the same way.

6. Data retention & deletion

We keep your account data while your account is active. You can delete your content in-app. To delete your account and all associated data, contact us at support@pulsingvibe.com and we will process the request promptly.

7. Children

PULSE is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). We do not knowingly collect data from children under this age.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, and to object to certain processing. Contact us to exercise these rights.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by the "Last updated" date above.

10. Contact

Questions about privacy? Email support@pulsingvibe.com.

PULSE — Feel your friends. Live.