1. Introduction
Welcome to 273.social ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a positive experience on our mobile application (iOS & Android) and web services.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you register for, access, or use the 273.social application. Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access or use the application.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information to provide, personalize, and improve our social networking services. The data collected falls into the following categories:
- Account & Profile Information: When you register an account, we collect your unique username, encrypted password hash, optional display name, email address, phone number, and profile picture.
- User-Generated Content (UGC): Posts, captions, comments, stories, and uploaded media files (photos and videos) that you publish or share within the application or within specific groups.
- Social Connections & Contacts: Information about your contact requests, custom contact names set by you, group creations, and group memberships.
- Push Notification Tokens: Device registration tokens generated via Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to deliver push notifications for messages, mentions, and updates.
- Technical & Session Data: Authentication tokens (JWT access and refresh tokens), device info, access timestamps, and log data necessary for maintaining secure user sessions.
Photos and videos uploaded to 273.social are securely stored in encrypted cloud storage (DigitalOcean Spaces / AWS S3) and served via secure links only to authorized users and groups.
3. Mobile Device Permissions
To support full functionality on iOS and Android devices, the 273.social mobile app may request the following device permissions:
- Photo & Media Library: Requested when you choose to select, upload, or share photos or videos for your profile picture, posts, or stories.
- Push Notifications: Requested to notify you about incoming contact requests, comments, group activity, and mentions. You can control push notification preferences at any time in your device settings.
4. How We Use Your Information
We process your information for legitimate business purposes, including:
- Operating, maintaining, and delivering the core features of 273.social (posts, stories, group interactions, and messaging).
- Authenticating your identity and managing active login sessions securely.
- Sending real-time push notifications regarding account activity and social interactions.
- Preventing fraud, unauthorized access, and violations of our Terms of Service.
- Improving app performance, user experience, and server reliability.
5. Data Sharing & Third-Party Services
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We only share information with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our infrastructure, under strict confidentiality agreements:
- Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM): Used exclusively to deliver push notifications to your mobile device.
- Cloud Infrastructure Providers: Secure cloud storage providers (DigitalOcean / S3) and database infrastructure to host application data and media assets securely.
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulation.
6. Data Retention & Security
We employ industry-standard security measures including salted password hashing (bcrypt), encrypted token storage (Expo SecureStore on mobile), and HTTPS transport layer security.
We retain your personal data for as long as your account remains active. When you delete your account or specific content (posts, comments, media), the corresponding database records and stored media files are permanently deleted via cascading cleanup.
7. Your Rights & Account Deletion
You have full control over your personal data under Google Play Store and Apple App Store guidelines:
- Access & Correction: You can view and update your profile details directly within the mobile application.
- Account Deletion Request: You can request full deletion of your account and all associated data at any time either within the application settings or by contacting us at our privacy support email below.
- Revoking Permissions: You may revoke photo library or push notification access through your device's operating system settings.
To request permanent account deletion and removal of all your associated personal data, send an email to 273.social@proton.me with the subject line "Account Deletion Request" along with your registered username.
8. Children's Privacy
273.social is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Union). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal data without parental consent, please contact us immediately, and we will take steps to remove such information.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us: