Privacy Policy

App Name: The Craic
Effective Date: January 2026
Last Updated: October 8, 2026

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

• Username and password
• Self-confirmed 18+ requirement; age is self-reported in profile setup
• Profile information (bio, interests, photos)
• Photos you choose to send to the public Community Photos page, the city you choose to display, and the account reference and consent record needed to publish, moderate, and remove them
• Gender and preferences

Uploaded profile photos are checked for clear face presence by a model running on our server. This check does not identify who is in the photo.

Community photos are not profile photos. Before each new photo is sent, the app shows the username and city that will appear on the permanent public page and asks for confirmation. For photos sent with the new photo-map consent, the exact GPS point is also shown as a separate photo marker in the app for two hours. It is not a live user-location pin and does not move with the uploader. Expired coordinates are removed from the live app record; provider-managed database backups may retain copies longer. The permanent website page does not receive or display coordinates, and embedded photo-location metadata is removed before publication. Photos submitted under the earlier anonymous confirmation remain unattributed.

Location Data

• Real-time location: With location permission, the app uses the coordinates your device supplies. Your operating system lets you choose precise or approximate location; we do not make all map pins approximate.
• Background location: When you grant "Allow all the time" permission, the app continues tracking your location even when not in the foreground. This enables:
  • Other users to see you on the map while you use other apps
  • Auto-Ghost can stop sharing after you move around 100 metres while backgrounded (the server uses a 105-metre threshold to allow for GPS variation)
  • Proximity notifications when users with shared interests are nearby
• Foreground service notification: When background tracking is active, a persistent notification ("The Craic is tracking your location") is displayed
• Last active location: Last-active coordinates can remain stored after you close the app and are used for nearby-interest and group push notifications. This is distinct from connections made by an in-person handshake. Closing the app does not itself delete these stored coordinates.
• Stale and fixed locations: When Ghost Mode is off, closing the app or expiry of an active location can create a stale red pin visible for up to another hour after that event. A fixed venue location is intentionally locked, does not expire automatically, and may remain stored and visible until the venue unlocks or changes it, changes visibility, or deletes its account.

How You Control Location Sharing

• Ghost Mode: Toggle this ON in the app to immediately stop sharing your location with others
• Auto-Ghost Mode: When enabled (default ON), can stop map sharing after movement of around 100 metres while backgrounded; the server threshold is 105 metres to allow for GPS variation. Closing the app alone does not necessarily activate Ghost Mode.
• Device permissions: You can choose precise or approximate location or revoke location permission in your device settings

Usage Data

• App interactions and features used
• Connection and messaging activity
• Device information

2. How We Use Your Information

• To provide location-based matching services
• To display your profile to nearby users based on preferences
• To enable connections and messaging
• To send notifications about matches and connections
• To enforce our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service
• To investigate reports and maintain safety

3. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information:

• With other users: Subject to visibility rules, identifiable blue and purple pins show the coordinates supplied by your device exactly as received (which may be precise or approximate according to your device setting). Anonymous red pins are not a guarantee of anonymity: a place or movement pattern may still identify someone.
• Red-pin presentation: Anonymous red pins are displayed displaced by up to 200 metres from supplied coordinates, except that a red pin within 50 metres of the viewer remains exact, as does a red pin in a group of three pins of any colours that are all pairwise within 50 metres.
• Administration: Authorised administrators can access stored location and account information for service and safety operations, including last-active coordinates not visible to other users.
• Public Community Photos: After the sender confirms in the app, a new photo is viewable to anyone on The Craic's public website with the sender's account username and the city label shown in the app. With the new photo-map consent, its exact GPS point is separately visible to app users as a photo marker for two hours, then removed from the live app record; provider-managed backups may retain copies longer. The permanent public page does not receive or display coordinates. Photos submitted under the previous anonymous confirmation remain unattributed. Authorised administrators can remove photos. Visitors may copy or save a public photo; removing it from our website cannot remove copies already made by others. To request removal, contact privacy@thecraic.app.
• With service providers: For hosting, analytics, and app functionality
• For legal compliance: When required by law or to protect safety
• With law enforcement: We cooperate with authorities investigating illegal activity, including child exploitation

4. Law Enforcement Cooperation

The Craic cooperates fully with law enforcement agencies in investigations related to:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
• Child exploitation and abuse (CSAE)
• Threats of violence or harm
• Other illegal activity

We report suspected CSAM to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by law.

5. Data Retention

• Active accounts: Account and location records, including last-active coordinates, may remain stored while the account is active even when map visibility ends; map expiry is not database deletion.
• Deleted accounts: Account deletion removes active records associated with the account. Safety-case records may remain only during an applicable report or verified legal hold and then follow the retention periods described below. We cannot currently verify when backups and provider-held copies are purged, so we do not promise a universal deletion deadline.
• Community photos: A published photo remains available until it is removed by an administrator, removed following a request, or deleted with its sender's account. When a photo is removed from the active service, it is no longer served by the public website; copies saved by visitors and provider-held backups may follow separate retention schedules.
• Report data: Retained as necessary for investigations and legal compliance

Encrypted exact-location safety buffer

We maintain an encrypted safety buffer containing only location updates the app has already received. The latest point replaces the prior point when an update arrives, and it is available for eligible case review for up to 72 hours. Ghost Mode does not pause this buffer. It is not used for peer discovery, maps, or notifications. After expiry or case closure, encrypted records remain inaccessible during a 30-day deletion pause, then the live database records are deleted. Backup copies, if any, may follow separate provider retention schedules. The app has no restore feature.

• An eligible harassment/bullying, inappropriate-content, or CSAM report may freeze one report-time point for the reporter and one for the reported account for up to 24 hours while the report is pending review. “Other” reports qualify only when the reporter marks an explicit safety concern.
• One designated administrator may approve and retain only points relevant to the report; selected points stay fixed until the case closes, with review every 30 days.
• A received legal request starts a 24-hour verification hold. If it is not verified in time, the point keeps its original expiry. Receipt alone does not authorize disclosure. A verified, scoped hold persists until the legal matter closes, with review every 30 days. Law enforcement has no direct system access; an authorised administrator handles any disclosure, limited to the verified request and applicable legal obligations.
• Coordinate-free audit records are kept for 24 months after case closure.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate information
• Delete your account and associated data
• Control location sharing through app settings
• Manage notification preferences

7. Security

We implement security measures to protect your information, including:

• Encrypted data transmission
• Secure password storage
• Regular security reviews

8. Children's Privacy

The Craic is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from minors. If we discover that a minor has created an account, we will terminate it immediately.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of significant changes through the App or email.

10. Contact Us

For privacy questions: privacy@thecraic.app

For safety concerns: safety@thecraic.app

General support: support@thecraic.app

Child Safety Standards | Community Guidelines | Terms of Service