Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 15, 2026

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This Privacy Policy applies to the website, application, and related services offered under the Friendle name at friendle.net and related subdomains, including www.friendle.net.

2. Data We Collect

Depending on how you use Friendle, we may collect the following categories of data:

• Account information, such as your display name, email address, password hash, sign-in method, and account status.
• Profile and card information, such as your front side and flip side content, title, company or context, tagline, short introduction, personality notes, interests, values, and profile photo.
• Contact details you choose to store in Friendle, such as email addresses, phone numbers, WhatsApp numbers, websites, addresses, LinkedIn links, or similar contact methods.
• Connection and scan data, such as QR scans, saved contacts, selected contact methods shared with a specific contact, and wallet entries.
• Location data, if you provide or enable it, including latitude, longitude, and nearby discovery data used for Friendle Pro features.
• Device and technical data, such as IP address, browser type, request logs, timestamps, cookies, and session information.
• Recommendation and matching data, such as topic scores, shared topics, discovery preferences, embeddings, similarity results, and related matching metadata.

3. Google Sign-In and Google User Data

If you use Google Sign-In, Friendle may receive limited Google account information from Google Identity Services, such as:

• your name,
• your email address, and
• your Google account identifier (sub).

Friendle uses this data only to authenticate you, create or link your Friendle account, keep you signed in, and operate user-facing account features.

Friendle does not use Google Sign-In to access Gmail content, Google Drive files, Google Calendar data, contacts, or other Google account data beyond what is necessary for authentication, unless additional permissions are explicitly requested and disclosed in the future.

Friendle does not sell Google user data. Friendle does not use Google user data for advertising purposes. Friendle limits its use of Google user data to the purposes disclosed in this Privacy Policy.

4. How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data to:

• create, operate, and maintain Friendle accounts;
• display and manage your Friendle card;
• enable QR code sharing, scanning, and saved contact workflows;
• show your selected contact methods to a contact only when you choose to share them;
• provide matching, common-ground, and discovery features;
• enable optional location-based Friendle Pro features, including finding like-minded people nearby;
• protect the service, prevent abuse, detect errors, and maintain security;
• communicate operational or support information where necessary; and
• comply with legal obligations.

5. How Sharing Works in Friendle

Friendle is designed so that users can store multiple contact methods but decide individually per contact what they want to share. Saving a contact detail inside Friendle does not automatically mean that detail is shared with everyone.

6. Matching, Topics, and Embeddings

Friendle may process profile text, topics, preferences, and related metadata to generate shared topics, common-ground suggestions, and similarity or recommendation results. These processes may include embeddings or similar machine-learning based representations of profile content.

These features are used to support the user-facing Friendle experience, including icebreaking, smalltalk suggestions, and like-minded discovery.

7. Location Data

If location features are enabled, Friendle may process your approximate or precise location to support nearby discovery, local recommendations, and Friendle Pro functionality. You can limit or disable location sharing through your device, browser, or app settings where available.

8. Cookies and Session Data

Friendle uses cookies and similar session technologies to keep users signed in, remember preferences, maintain session state, and support authentication. Some cookies may remain on your device for an extended period to support persistent login unless you log out, clear cookies, or remove them in your browser settings.

9. Legal Basis and User Choice

Where applicable, Friendle processes personal data based on one or more of the following grounds: your consent, the performance of a contract or requested service, legitimate interests in operating and securing the service, and compliance with legal obligations.

You can choose what information to provide, what contact details to share, whether to use Google Sign-In, and whether to continue using certain optional features.

10. How We Store and Protect Data

Friendle stores data on systems and infrastructure used to operate the service. We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. However, no service can guarantee absolute security.

11. Data Retention

Friendle retains personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to operate the service, maintain accounts, support security and recordkeeping, resolve disputes, and comply with legal obligations. Different categories of data may be retained for different periods.

12. When We Share Data

Friendle may share personal data only in limited situations, including:

• with service providers or infrastructure providers who process data on our behalf;
• with another Friendle user when you intentionally share selected contact information or save a connection through the service;
• if required by law, regulation, court order, or lawful request;
• to protect rights, safety, security, or investigate abuse; or
• as part of a business transfer, such as a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, subject to applicable law.

Friendle does not sell personal data as part of its ordinary business model.

13. Your Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or withdrawal of consent. You may also be able to update much of your Friendle information directly inside the product.

14. Deleting Your Data

If you would like your account or personal data to be deleted, you may contact Friendle using the contact details provided on the website. We may retain limited information where required for legal, fraud-prevention, security, or recordkeeping purposes.

15. Children

Friendle is not intended for children under the age required by applicable law to consent to data processing in their jurisdiction. If we learn that personal data has been collected in violation of this principle, we may delete it.

16. International Transfers

Your data may be processed in countries other than your own, depending on where Friendle or its service providers operate. Where applicable, reasonable safeguards may be used for cross-border data transfers.

17. Changes to This Policy

Friendle may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version should be published on the Friendle website together with its effective date. Material changes should be reflected before new or changed uses of personal data are introduced.

18. Contact

For privacy or data protection questions, please use the contact details published on friendle.net.