Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 2025-May-09

Thank you for using Social Climber! We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency about how we handle your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use our Service, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have regarding your information. We have crafted this policy to comply with global privacy regulations, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) (as amended by the CPRA), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the U.S., and other applicable laws.

By using Social Climber, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use the app or service. If you have any questions, you can contact us at the email provided at the end of this policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal information and usage information to provide and improve the Service. The types of information we collect fall into a few categories:

1.1 Information You Provide to Us

Account Information: When you register for Social Climber, we collect information you provide, such as your name, username, email address, phone number (if you choose to provide it), profile photo, bio, and password. If you sign up via a third-party OAuth login (like Google, Facebook, or Apple), we receive basic information from those services (for example, your name, email, and profile picture) as authorized by you and that third-party.
Profile and Content: You may choose to add additional details to your profile (such as your city, climbing experience level, favorite climbing gym, etc.). We also collect the content you create, upload, or share on the Service, such as text posts, photos, comments, likes, ratings, event listings, and chat messages with other users. This includes metadata associated with the content (for example, the date/time of a post and, if you choose to include it, location information or hashtags).
Communication with Us: If you contact us for support or other inquiries, we will receive the information you provide in that communication (such as your name, email, and the contents of your message). This also covers feedback you send, survey responses, or contest entries.
Voluntary Information: We may also collect information if you respond to optional surveys, participate in promotions, or otherwise voluntarily provide information. For instance, if we run a beta program, you might provide feedback about new features.

Please note: Some of the information you provide (like your name, username, profile photo, and any bio or other info you add to your public profile) will be visible to other users on the Service. Information you post in public areas (such as group posts or comments on public events) will be visible to others by default. You can control some visibility settings in your profile and account settings.

1.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use Social Climber (or even browse a our website, if we have a web landing page), we automatically collect certain information about your device and usage of the Service. This includes:

Device Information: We collect data about the device and software you use to access the Service. This may include your device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers (like IDFA or Android Advertising ID, which are used for advertising and analytics), language preference, device region, and app version. If you access our website, we collect information about your browser type and version.
Usage Data: We collect information about how you use the app. This includes features you interact with, pages or screens you visit, the time you spend on certain parts of the app, and other interaction data. For example, we may log when you log in, the posts or profiles you view, the links you click on, and how you navigate through the interface. This helps us understand what features are popular and identify areas to improve.
Log Data: Our servers automatically record certain log information when you use the Service. This can include your Internet Protocol (IP address), which may be used to infer your approximate location (country or city level). Log data also includes timestamps of actions (such as when you last logged in), app crash reports or error messages, and the last page or feature you used before encountering an error. We also log the type of network you use (e.g., WiFi or mobile network) and provider (which can sometimes be derived from the IP or network info).
Cookies and Similar Tech: We (and authorized third parties) use cookies, pixels, and similar tracking technologies in our app and website to collect information. For example, if you visit our website or a web link to a profile or event, we might set cookies to remember your preferences or log your activity. In the mobile app, we might use an analytics SDK that functions similarly to cookies by generating a unique identifier for your device. These technologies help us recognize you, customize your experience, and analyze usage of our Service.
Location Information:
- Precise Location: If you give the Social Climber app permission to access location on your device, we will collect precise geolocation data from your device. This is used to power location-based features – for example, showing your current location on a map to share with friends, helping you discover nearby climbing spots or events, or tagging a post with the location where a climb occurred. We only collect this data when you have given permission, and you can revoke location access at any time in your device settings. We do not track your precise location in the background when you are not actively using the app, unless you explicitly allow background location usage (we currently do not request background location access by default).
- Approximate Location: Even if you don't grant location permission, we might infer an approximate location from your IP address or the locations of gyms or events you interact with (e.g., if you join an event at a specific gym, we can infer you are likely near that gym's city). This helps with content localization (like showing you local groups by default). This approximate location is much less precise than GPS and can typically tell us only the region or city.
App Notifications Data: If you enable push notifications, we generate a device push token and use it (via Firebase Cloud Messaging or similar services) to send you notifications. We record whether you have notifications enabled or disabled for your account. (You can control notification preferences in the app settings.)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes in order to provide the Service to you, to improve your experience, and to protect our users and comply with the law. The ways we use your data include:

2.1 To Provide and Maintain the Service

Account setup and authentication: We use your registration information to create your account and allow you to log in. For example, your email and password (stored in hashed form) are used to authenticate you. If you use OAuth, we use the third-party tokens to verify your identity securely. We might send you a verification email or SMS to confirm your contact details.
Operating the app features: We process the content you post and actions you take to deliver the core functionality. For instance, if you post a photo, we store it and display it to your followers or in the group you posted to. If you join a group or event, we use your info to add you to the participant list. If you send a message, we transmit it to the intended user. Essentially, everything you do intentionally in the app involves processing your data to make that action happen.
Social connectivity: We use your information to help you connect with other climbers. For example, your username, profile, and posts may be recommended to other users; you might appear in search results if someone searches for climbers in their city or by name. We might suggest friends for you to follow based on mutual friends or similar interests. We also keep track of friend or follow relationships to manage your social graph (who sees whose content).
Communications: We use your email address (and possibly phone number, if provided for SMS) to send you necessary account or service-related communications. This includes things like welcoming you to the app, notifying you of important account changes, or alerting you to privacy or terms updates. For example, if we update these Terms or this Privacy Policy, we may email you. We might also send you service notifications, such as security alerts (if we detect a new login to your account), or if someone @mentions you or sends you a message (though these could be push notifications if you prefer). Note: Service-related emails are not optional because they are part of ensuring you are informed about your account and our relationship.

2.2 To Personalize and Improve the Service

Customization: We want Social Climber to feel tailored to you. We may use data about your activities and preferences to personalize your experience. For instance, we might prioritize showing you posts from climbers you interact with most, or suggest events nearby based on your location and interests. We might remember your language or app settings, so you don't have to reconfigure them each time. We could also use your past activity to recommend new features or content – e.g., suggest you join a bouldering group if you've been active in rope climbing discussions, just to diversify your feed (we'll always aim to make such suggestions relevant, not intrusive).
Recommendations: To help you discover content and people, we analyze your usage patterns. We might suggest other climbers to follow, clubs or groups to join, or climbing topics that seem relevant. These suggestions could be based on similarities with other users (for example, "people you may know" or "users near you"), or based on content popularity (like trending routes or discussions). We want to provide these in a non-spammy way, of course – likely as in-app suggestions you can easily ignore if not interested.
Analytics: We use aggregated usage data and various analytics tools (possibly including Google Analytics for Firebase or similar) to understand how our app is used. This helps us debug issues, make informed decisions on what features to improve or build next, and generally enhance the quality and performance of Social Climber. For example, knowing which features are most popular can help us focus our efforts. Or tracking where new users drop off in the onboarding process can show us where people get confused, so we can fix it. Analytics may also help us test the success of certain design changes (A/B testing). We ensure that for analytics purposes, personal data is either not used or is minimized/anonymized as much as possible (e.g., we might use hashed IDs or aggregated counts).
Debugging and Development: Internally, our engineering team might use data (including user reports, crash logs, and usage info) to troubleshoot issues. If you report a bug, we may examine the specific data around that bug occurrence. Also, when developing new features, we might use a limited amount of real data in a controlled environment to ensure the feature works (with proper protections and only when necessary).

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy, please contact us: