Privacy Policy

Account information. When you create an account, we collect your email address, display name, and the recovery program(s) you identify with (e.g., AA, NA, SMART Recovery).

Profile information. You may optionally provide your sobriety date, age, and a short bio. You control what is visible to others through your privacy settings.

Location. If you choose to share your location, we store either your device's GPS coordinates or a ZIP code — your choice. Your location is displayed to others only as an approximate distance (e.g., "2 miles away") — your exact coordinates are never shown. You can change or remove your location at any time in Privacy Settings.

Messages. Messages exchanged through the app are stored in our database to deliver real-time chat functionality and maintain conversation history.

LifeLine activity. When you activate a LifeLine signal or respond to one, we log the event to coordinate the peer-matching process.

Push notification tokens. If you allow notifications, we store your device's push notification token to send you LifeLine alerts and messages.

Waitlist emails. If you join our waitlist before creating an account, we store your email address solely to notify you at launch.

Donation information. If you donate, payment is processed by Stripe. We do not store your card number or full payment details — only confirmation that a donation was completed.

We use your information to:

• Connect you with peer supporters and sobriety companions
• Deliver real-time chat and LifeLine alerts
• Show your profile to others based on your privacy settings
• Send push notifications you have opted into
• Improve the app through aggregate, non-identifying usage patterns
• Respond to support requests or reported issues

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your recovery-related data for advertising.

Your profile (first name and last initial, bio, recovery program, sobriety length if enabled) is visible to other members and companions within the app. Your full name and email address are never shown to other users.

Your location is visible to others only if you have enabled location sharing. It is shown as an approximate distance only — your exact coordinates are never displayed to other users.

Your messages are private between you and the other participant. SobrFriends staff may access message content only when investigating a reported abuse or safety concern.

Your email address is never shown to other users.

You can delete your account at any time from the app (Profile → Settings → Delete account). Deleting your account removes your profile, messages, LifeLine history, and all associated data from our systems.

Waitlist-only emails are retained until you request removal or the app launches and you create an account. To remove your waitlist email, contact us at hello@sobrfriends.org.

We may preserve or disclose account information, messages, or other data if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal process (such as a subpoena or court order). Where permitted by law, we will attempt to notify affected users before disclosing their data.

SobrFriends uses the following third-party services to operate:

• Supabase — database and authentication hosting (U.S.-based)
• Expo / EAS — mobile app build and push notification delivery
• Stripe — payment processing for donations
• OpenStreetMap / Nominatim — ZIP code geocoding (no account required; no data retained by OSM)

Each provider has its own privacy policy. We share only the minimum data necessary for each service to function.

All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Database access is controlled by row-level security policies — users can only read and write their own data except where explicitly permitted (e.g., reading another user's public profile).

Recovery-related information is particularly sensitive and we treat it as such. We do not log or expose this data outside of the app's intended peer-support functions.

SobrFriends is intended for adults aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us so we can remove it.

If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify users through the app before the changes take effect. Continued use of SobrFriends after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Questions about this policy or your data? Reach us at hello@sobrfriends.org.