Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 7, 2026

Hovi helps small groups find a meeting spot by calculating the midpoint between everyone's locations and showing nearby venues. We've built it to collect as little personal data as possible. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and how long we keep it.

What we collect

When you use Hovi we may collect:

• An anonymous user identifier (a random UUID generated on first launch). Used only to associate you with sessions you join.
• A location you submit to a session — either your GPS coordinates (only if you tap "Use my location") or an address you type into the search field.
• A display name you enter when joining a session. Shared with other participants in the same session so they can tell who's in. Deleted when the session ends.
• Chat messages you send within a session. Visible only to participants of that session. Deleted when the session ends or after 24 hours, whichever comes first.
• Session metadata: the 6-character session code, search tags you choose (e.g. "Food", "Bowling"), and timestamps.
• Crash reports. If the app crashes, technical details (device model, OS version, and a stack trace) are sent to Firebase Crashlytics so we can find and fix the bug. Crash reports are not linked to your name, email, or account.

If you sign in

Sign-in is optional. You can use Hovi anonymously by tapping "Skip for now" on the welcome screen. If you do sign in with Apple or Google we additionally store:

• The display name from your Apple ID or Google account. Used to fill in your name automatically when joining a session — you can edit it before submitting.
• The email address from your Apple ID or Google account. Used only for account recovery; never shown to other participants and never used for marketing.
• Your profile photo URL (Google only — Apple does not share this). Used only on your own device for the profile screen avatar.
• Your meetup history: the winning venue (name, address, photo), the date, and the first names of the people you met with. Stored against your account so your history follows you across devices. You can remove single entries (swipe left on a card), clear the whole list ("Clear" on the home screen), or wipe it permanently with "Delete account".

You can sign out from the profile screen at any time, or tap "Delete account" to permanently remove your account and every record tied to it.

What we don't collect

Hovi does not collect or store:

• Your phone number, photos, contacts, calendar, or microphone audio.
• Advertising identifiers (IDFA / GAID).
• Background location. We only read your location when you actively tap "Use my location".
• Behavioural analytics. We do not track screen views, taps, or session duration for marketing purposes.

How we use your data

Submitted locations are used solely to:

• Compute the geographic midpoint of your group.
• Search for nearby venues that match your group's tags.
• Show each participant their personal distance to a venue (only on your own device — other participants do not see your address or coordinates).

How long we keep it

Sessions are temporary by design:

• Every session expires automatically 24 hours after it is created. At that point, the session, all participant locations, all display names, and all chat messages are permanently deleted from our database.
• When the host ends a session, every participant's submitted location and every chat message in that session is deleted immediately.
• When you leave a session, your submitted location is cleared immediately. Your name and chat messages are kept until the session ends so other participants still see what was said.
• If you signed in, your account (name + email) is kept until you tap "Delete account" on the profile screen.

Third-party services

To provide the app we send certain data to trusted third-party services. None of these requests include any personal identifier — only the data described.

• Supabase — stores session and participant rows (including submitted locations, display names, and chat messages), account profiles and meetup history for signed-in users, and handles authentication. supabase.com/privacy
• Google Firebase Crashlytics — receives crash reports (device model, OS version, technical stack traces) so we can diagnose and fix bugs. We do not attach your name, email, or user ID to crash reports. firebase.google.com/support/privacy
• Apple Sign in with Apple — optional. If you choose this, Apple returns your name and email to Supabase, where it's stored against your account. apple.com/legal/privacy
• Google Sign-In — optional. If you choose this, Google returns your name, email, and profile photo URL to Supabase. policies.google.com/privacy
• Google Maps Platform (Places API) — receives the group midpoint and your search tags to return matching venues, plus typed text when you use address autocomplete. policies.google.com/privacy
• OSRM (router.project-osrm.org) — receives the midpoint and venue coordinates to compute estimated driving times.
• OpenStreetMap Nominatim — receives GPS coordinates only when you tap "Use my location", in order to convert them to a human-readable address. osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
• CARTO — serves the dark map tiles displayed on the results screen. carto.com/privacy

Children

Hovi is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.

Your rights

If you use Hovi anonymously, no personal identity is linked to your account — the simplest way to remove your data is to leave or end any active session (your submitted locations are deleted immediately), and sessions you are no longer part of expire and are deleted within 24 hours. "Clear my data" on the profile screen does all of this in one tap.

If you signed in, everything tied to your account — name, email, avatar, and meetup history — can be permanently removed at any time with "Delete account" on the profile screen. This works immediately and cannot be undone.

If you'd like us to delete data manually or have any questions, contact us at support@hoviapp.com.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent version. Material changes will be communicated in-app on next launch.