Chatopia is a social app where your interests shape your feed and the people you meet. This policy explains what information Chatopia collects, why, who can see it, and the choices you have. We have tried to keep it short and plain. "We" means Ryan Creates, the independent developer behind Chatopia, based in Malawi.
The short version
- We collect what you give us to run your account: your email, a password, your username and profile, your date of birth, and what you post.
- Other signed-in members can see your public profile and your posts, comments, likes, votes and follows.
- There are no ads and no advertising or analytics trackers in the app, and we do not sell your information.
- You can edit your profile, delete your posts and comments, see where you are signed in, and ask us to delete your account at any time.
What we collect
Information you give us:
- Account details: your email address and a password (we never see your password in readable form; it is stored as a salted hash by our sign-in provider).
- Your date of birth. We use it only to check that you are old enough to use Chatopia. It is never shown to other members.
- Profile details: username, display name, photo, bio, location (typed text), and the interests you choose. You may also add gender and language, which are optional and are not shown on your profile.
- Content: posts (text, photos, questions and polls), comments, likes, poll votes, and who you follow.
- Feedback you send us from the app, with the device details you choose to include.
Information collected automatically:
- Sign-in sessions: each time you sign in we keep the device model, Android version, IP address and time, so we can show you "Where you are signed in" and protect your account.
- Basic technical logs kept by our hosting providers to keep the service secure and working.
We do not collect your contacts, your precise location in the background, your messages from other apps, or advertising identifiers.
Location
The location on your profile is text you type. If you tap "Use my current location", the app asks Android for permission to read your approximate location once. Your phone's location service turns that into a place name (for example a city and country) which is filled into the text box. The coordinates are not sent to us or stored; only the place name you choose to save is kept. You can deny the permission and type your location instead, or leave it blank.
How we use your information
- To create and run your account, show your profile and posts, and deliver likes, comments, polls and follows in real time.
- To personalise Chatopia: your interests and who you follow shape your feed, Discover suggestions and the people we recommend.
- To keep Chatopia safe: preventing spam and abuse, enforcing our Terms, and securing your account.
- To email you about your account only: confirming your email, password resets, email changes and security notices. We do not send marketing emails.
- To respond to your feedback and requests, and to improve the app.
Who can see what
- Public to signed-in members: your username, display name, photo, bio, location text, interests, follower, following and post counts, the people you follow, and your posts and comments. Likes and poll votes are shown only as totals; other members cannot see who liked a post or how someone voted.
- Photos: images you post are stored at web addresses that are hard to guess, but anyone who has a link can open the photo, even without an account. Share photos with that in mind.
- Private to you and us: your email address, date of birth, password hash, sign-in sessions and feedback.
Who we share information with
We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for advertising. We use a small number of service providers who process data for us, only to run Chatopia:
- Supabase: database, sign-in, file storage and real-time updates. Our project runs in the United Kingdom (London).
- Resend: delivers the account emails we send you, from a region in Ireland.
- Cloudflare and our web host: deliver chatopia.online and protect it from attacks.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect someone's safety, or to enforce our Terms.
How long we keep it
We keep your information while your account exists. When you delete a post or comment it is removed from Chatopia. When we delete your account, we delete your profile, posts, comments, likes, votes, follows, photos and sign-in details. Routine backups kept by our providers may take a little longer to expire. We may keep limited records where the law requires or to deal with abuse, for example to stop a banned person coming back.
Your choices and rights
- Edit your name, username, photo, bio, location and interests in Settings > Edit profile.
- Change your password or email, and sign out other devices, in Settings > Password and security and Email address.
- Delete any post or comment you made, from the post.
- Ask for a copy of your information, a correction, or deletion of your account: open Settings > Send feedback and choose "Delete my account" or "Other", or write to [email protected] from your account email. We aim to reply within 30 days.
- Withdraw location permission at any time in your phone's settings.
Depending on where you live you may have further rights, such as to object to or restrict certain uses of your information. Contact us and we will help.
Age
Chatopia is for people aged 13 and over. We ask for your date of birth when you sign up and do not allow sign-ups under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, tell us and we will remove it.
Security
Data moves between the app and our servers over encrypted connections. Passwords are hashed, access to data is restricted by database rules so members can only change their own information, and your sign-in is kept in protected storage on your phone. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password.
International use
Chatopia is run from Malawi and our providers store data in the United Kingdom and Ireland. If you use Chatopia from another country, your information will be transferred to and processed in those places.
Changes to this policy
If we make important changes we will tell you in the app before they take effect. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.
Contact us
Questions about privacy? Use Settings > Send feedback in the app, or email [email protected].