Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Spine Friend ("we," "us," or "our") is a community platform for people living with spinal cord injuries and related disabilities, their caregivers, and supporters. We are operated independently and can be reached through the Support message feature in the app.

2. What Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly when you:

• Create an account (email address, password)
• Set up your profile (name, photo, age, location, disability type, injury details, interests)
• Send messages to other users
• Post or reply in the community or groups
• Send connection requests

We also collect limited usage data (pages visited, feature interactions) to improve the app. We do not sell your data to third parties.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and operate the Spine Friend platform
• To match you with other members based on shared interests and injury profiles
• To send in-app notifications and, with your permission, push notifications
• To respond to support requests
• To improve the app and fix issues

4. Push Notifications

If you grant permission, we may send push notifications for connection requests, messages, and community activity. You can disable push notifications at any time in your device Settings.

5. How We Store Your Data

Your data is stored securely using Supabase, hosted on AWS infrastructure. All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest. We retain your data for as long as your account is active. You can request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time from the Settings page within the app.

6. Information Visibility

Your profile is visible to other Spine Friend members. Your email address is never shown publicly unless you choose to display it. You control what appears on your profile through the Edit Profile settings.

7. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Supabase — database, authentication, and file storage
• Vercel — web hosting and deployment
• Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) — iOS push notifications

Each of these services has their own privacy policy governing their data handling.

8. Health Information

Spine Friend collects disability and injury-related information to facilitate meaningful connections. This information is treated with the utmost care. We do not share your health or disability information with advertisers, insurers, employers, or any other third party.

9. Children's Privacy

Spine Friend is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data via your profile settings
• Delete your account and all data from the Settings page
• Opt out of push notifications via device settings

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, contact us through the Support message feature in the app.