Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to HourAura ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and services.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you sign in with Apple or Google, we collect your name, email address, and profile information.
• Profile Data: Your display name and avatar (if provided).
• Preferences: Your saved venue preferences, vibe filters, and search radius settings.

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Location Data: We collect your device's location when you use location-based features (venue discovery, check-ins). Location data is only collected when the app is in use or when you're checked in to a venue.
• Check-In Data: When you check in to a venue, we record the venue, time, and duration of your visit.
• Device Information: Device type, operating system, unique device identifiers, and push notification tokens.
• Usage Data: How you interact with the app, features used, and venues visited.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and maintain our services
• Show you nearby venues based on your location
• Calculate venue "vibe scores" based on check-in activity
• Send you push notifications about flash deals and vibe changes
• Personalize your experience (saved preferences, favorite venues)
• Analyze app usage to improve our services
• Prevent fraud and ensure security
• Comply with legal obligations

4. Location Data

How We Use Location: Your location is used to show nearby venues, validate check-ins, and enable automatic check-out when you leave a venue.

Precise Location Storage: We do not permanently store your precise GPS coordinates. Location data sent during check-ins and heartbeats is used for real-time validation and then discarded within 24 hours.

Background Location: When you check in to a venue, we monitor your location in the background to automatically check you out when you leave. This uses iOS geofencing and significant-change location services to minimize battery impact.

You Control Location Access: You can disable location services in your device settings at any time. Without location access, venue discovery and check-in features will not work.

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information in the following cases:

5.1 With Venues

Venues you check in to can see anonymized data: total check-in count, vibe score trends, and general activity patterns. They cannot see your identity or personal information.

5.2 With Service Providers

We use third-party services (hosting, analytics, push notifications) that may process your data on our behalf under strict confidentiality agreements.

5.3 For Legal Reasons

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety.

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• All data transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Authentication tokens stored securely in iOS Keychain
• Database encryption at rest
• Regular security audits and updates
• Access controls and authentication for all API requests

However, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

7. Data Retention

• Account Data: Retained until you delete your account
• Check-In History: Stored for analytics; precise location data purged after 24 hours
• Location Data: Real-time location not permanently stored; only venue association retained
• Usage Data: Aggregated analytics retained indefinitely; individual data anonymized after 90 days

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Correction: Update inaccurate or incomplete data
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and data
• Opt-Out: Disable push notifications in app settings
• Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@houraura.app

9. Children's Privacy

HourAura is intended for users aged 21 and older (legal drinking age in the U.S.). We do not knowingly collect information from individuals under 21. If you are under 21, do not use this app.

10. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Apple Sign-In / Google Sign-In: For authentication
• Google Places API: For venue discovery and mapping
• Supabase: For database and authentication infrastructure
• Vercel: For hosting our web services
• Firebase/APNs: For push notifications

These services have their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via push notification or email. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: