Privacy
Friends Circle Privacy Notice
Guest saves and external organizers
When you save a listing, its identifier is stored in this browser’s localStorage. This feature works without an account and does not sync your saved list to a member account or server. Other people using the same browser profile can see it. You can remove items with the Unsave button or clear this site’s data in your browser. Saved items do not automatically transfer to other devices or browsers. Saving is not an application or reservation.
Opening an external organizer link takes you to that site or app. The external service handles names, contact details, application information and payment details you submit there under its own privacy policy and terms. Friends Circle’s external listing links do not automatically send your saved list or account details to the organizer. External sites may receive connection information such as your IP address when you visit; review their notices and joining conditions before submitting information.
Visibility of open circles and plans
An open circle’s name, purpose, broad area, interests, shared languages, rules, member count, and activity counts are public. When joining, you agree to share your first name or nickname, short introduction, and chosen languages with that circle’s members. Member introductions, conversations, and polls are visible to members of that circle. We store the position of the conversation you last viewed to show unread activity.
An Open Plan’s title, area, date and time, public meeting place, description, and participation count are visible to people browsing plans. Do not include personal contact details, a home address, or information about children in a plan.
Members’ display names and the plan conversation are shown to participating members of that plan. Account emails and application contact details are not shown in public circle or plan listings. Safety reports are private to authorized operators and are not posted to member conversations. Existing private matched circles are not automatically converted to public circles or plans, and members are not automatically enrolled in new circles.
We collect the information you submit through the application form to review fit, communicate next steps, manage matching, and operate the applicant dashboard.
Your data is stored in Firebase services used for the Friends Circle application and account flow.
For Family Circles, we collect only broad child age bands and family meetup goals for matching. We do not request a child’s name, photo, exact birthday, school, or contact details; parent or guardian accounts are used for all communication.
To enforce the one-person first-circle benefit without storing another readable contact copy, we retain a one-way hash derived from the account contact and link it to the benefit claim.
We do not use your application data for unrelated spam marketing. We may contact you about your application, circle timing, onboarding, and related service operations.
Optional Meta ad measurement is off unless you choose Allow. If enabled, Meta Pixel and Conversions API may receive page or conversion events, limited campaign attribution, technical browser information, and hashed contact identifiers for measurement and deduplication. You can decline without affecting your application.
If you submit a safety report, we store the report, related circle and account identifiers, and operator response notes with access limited to authorized administrators. Reports are used only for safety review, follow-up, abuse prevention, and legal obligations.
For privacy-related requests, contact andrew@makeacircle.org.