1. Who We Are

Hearth is a social platform for Gen X nomads, expats, and independent travellers. The platform is operated by Bentolabs Limited ("we", "us", "our"). Our contact email is hello@genxhearth.com.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect when you use the Hearth mobile application ("the App"), why we collect it, and how we u

2. What Data We Collect

Data you give us directly

| Data | Why we collect it |

| Email address | To create and secure your account |

| Password (stored as a secure hash — never in plain text) | Account authentication |

| Phone number | Optional. Used only for two-factor authentication if you choose to enable it |

| First name | Displayed on your profile and to other members |

| Birth year | Displayed on your profile. Used to signal the platform's Gen X demographic to other members |

| City (e.g. "Koh Samui", "London") | Used to show you relevant local content in your feed |

| Location area (optional free text, e.g. "Chaweng") | Displayed on your profile alongside your city. Never used for precise tracking |

| Profile fields: What I do, Looking for, Known from experience, Happy to share, Where I've lived, Currently working on | Displayed on your public profile to help other members understand who you are |

| Profile photo (optional) | Displayed on your profile and member cards |

| Content you post: open invitations, discussion posts, replies, expedition posts | Displayed to other members of the platform |

| Notes included with connection requests | Shared with the member you are requesting to connect with |

| Direct messages | Sent to and visible only by the intended recipient |

Data collected automatically

| Data | Why we collect it |

| Push notification token | To send you push notifications (RSVPs, connection requests, messages). Stored securely and never shared |

| App usage logs | For debugging and improving the platform. Not shared with third parties |

3. What We Do Not Collect

- We do not collect precise GPS location. The App asks only for your city — never your street address or GPS coordinates.

- We do not track your behaviour across other apps or websites.

- We do not use advertising trackers or analytics SDKs that profile you for advertising purposes.

- We do not sell your data.

4. How We Use Your Data

We use your data solely to operate the Hearth platform. Specifically:

- To create and maintain your account

- To display your profile to other members

- To show you content relevant to your city

- To enable the core platform features: open invitations, discussions, expeditions, direct messaging, and connections

- To send you push notifications for platform activity (RSVPs, connection requests, messages, replies)

- To investigate reported content and enforce the platform's community guidelines

- To contact you about your account if necessary

We do not use your data for advertising. We do not build advertising profiles. We do not share your data with data brokers.

5. Who We Share Your Data With

**Other Hearth members.** Your profile, posts, and activity are visible to other members of the platform as described above. Your email address, phone number, and push token are never visible to other members.

**Supabase.** Hearth uses Supabase (supabase.com) for its database, authentication, file storage, and backend infrastructure. Your data is stored on Supabase's servers. Supabase acts as a data processor on our behalf and does not use your data for its own purposes. Supabase's privacy policy is available at supabase.com/privacy.

**Expo.** Hearth uses Expo's push notification service to deliver push notifications to your device. Your push token is passed to Expo's servers for this purpose only. Expo's privacy policy is available at expo.dev/privacy.

**No other third parties.** We do not share your personal data with any other third parties, advertising networks, or data brokers.

6. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on Supabase's infrastructure, hosted on AWS. All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Passwords are stored as secure hashes and are never readable by us or anyone else.

Profile photos are stored in a secure cloud storage bucket. Access is restricted to authenticated members of the platform.

We take reasonable technical measures to protect your data, but no system is completely secure. If you have concerns about the security of your account, contact us at hello@genxhearth.com.

7. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal reasons (for example, records of reported content may be retained for a reasonable period for safety purposes).

You can request deletion of your account at any time by contacting hello@genxhearth.com.

8. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal data including:

- **The right to access** — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

- **The right to correction** — you can update most of your profile data directly in the App. For other corrections, contact us.

- **The right to deletion** — you can request that we delete your account and personal data.

- **The right to object** — you can object to certain types of processing of your data.

- **The right to portability** — you can request your data in a portable format.

If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, these rights are provided under GDPR. If you are in California, you have similar rights under the CCPA.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@genxhearth.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

Hearth is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us at hello@genxhearth.com and we will delete the account promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If the changes are significant, we will notify you through the App or by email. Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at:

hello@genxhearth.com

Hearth · genxhearth.com