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Privacy Policy

Neighbr ("we," "our," or "us") is operated by The Big Head ("Company"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use the Neighbr mobile application ("App"). Please read this policy carefully. By using the App, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account: You sign in with Apple or Google; there is no separate password. We receive the details you allow those services to share (your name and an email address, which may be an Apple private relay address). Your email is stored privately on your account and is never shown to other users.
• Profile: A display name (first name and last initial), an optional short bio, an optional profile photo (otherwise you get a cartoon neighbour picture), and your postal code or ZIP code, which is stored privately.
• Neighbourhood name: From Neighbr 3.0, the app can show the name of your neighbourhood and city, filled in from your postal code. Only the name is shown, never your address.
• Requests and offers: What you need, the kind of help, when, what it’s worth (or that it’s a free favour), where the help is needed and any photos you choose to add; and, when you offer, your price and note.
• Messages: What you write in a private chat, which opens only after a helper is picked.
• Reviews and thank-you notes: The star ratings and notes you leave after a job is done.
• Reports and blocks: What you tell us when you report someone, and the neighbours you block.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Location: With your permission, Neighbr uses your location while you use the app to sort nearby requests by distance, to pin where a request is, and to share a meeting spot in a chat if you choose to. The exact spot of a request is stored privately and shared only with the helper you pick; everyone else sees a rough area, moved 150–350 m from the real spot. Your address and full postal code are never shown, and only the first three characters of your postal code are used to group your area.
• Helper alerts (from 3.0): If you turn on “Someone nearby needs a hand” alerts, we store your rough area on our server (the centre of your postal code, or your approximate location if that isn’t available) together with the distance and kinds of help you chose, so we can notify you about nearby requests. Turning alerts off, or deleting your account, removes it.
• Notifications: A push-notification token for your device, stored privately on your account, so we can send the notifications you ask for.
• Crash reports: If the app crashes, Firebase Crashlytics sends a crash report (the crash details, device model, iOS version and an install identifier) so we can fix it. Crash reports are not linked to your account and do not include your messages or requests. Neighbr has no advertising or usage analytics.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Run your account and show your profile to neighbours
• Show requests near you, and match people who ask with people who offer
• Open private chats between an asker and the helper they pick
• Send the notifications you choose, including helper alerts
• Show reviews, thank-you notes and the Top helpers list
• Keep the community safe: handle reports, enforce blocks and our Terms of Service, and prevent fraud or abuse
• Fix crashes and improve the app
• Answer support requests and meet legal obligations

3. How We Share Your Information

• With other users: Your display name, profile photo or cartoon picture, neighbourhood name, bio, ratings, reviews and thank-you notes, and the requests (with any photos) and offers you post, are visible to other signed-in users. Your email address, full postal code and exact location are never shown.
• Top helpers (from 3.0): If you help neighbours, your first name, neighbourhood, number of helps and rating can appear in the “Top helpers near you” list for people in your area. You can hide yourself by turning off “Show me in Top helpers” on the Me tab (under Your account); this removes you from the list in the app.
• Service providers: We use Google Firebase for sign-in, the database, photo storage, push notifications, server functions and crash reports (Crashlytics), and Apple MapKit for maps.
• Legal requirements and safety: We may disclose information if required by law, or to investigate fraud, threats or violations of our Terms of Service.

4. Data Storage & Security

• Your data is stored on Google Firebase (Google Cloud) servers in North America.
• Connections are encrypted (HTTPS/TLS), and Firebase Security Rules limit who can read or write each piece of data; every data operation requires you to be signed in.
• No method of electronic storage is 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

5. Your Rights & Choices

• See and change your profile: Me, then Edit profile.
• Delete your account: Me, then Settings (the gear at the top right; in older versions, scroll to the bottom of Me), then Delete account. This permanently removes your profile and photo, your requests (with their offers, private locations and photos), the offers you sent, the reviews and thank-you notes you wrote, your helper-alert area and your login. Messages you sent stay in the other person’s chat, shown as from a “Deleted neighbour”, for everyone’s safety. Reviews other people wrote about you are kept on record.
• Top helpers: Turn off “Show me in Top helpers” in Me’s settings.
• Location, notifications and helper alerts: the Notifications settings on the Me tab, or your iPhone’s Settings (location can be turned off at any time).
• A copy of your data: Email info@thebighead.ca.

6. Children's Privacy

The App is not intended for users under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we discover that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it promptly.

7. Third-Party Services

The App uses Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Firebase Storage, Firebase Cloud Functions, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Firebase Crashlytics, Sign in with Apple, Google Sign-In and Apple MapKit. Each has its own privacy policy.

8. Data Retention

We keep your information while your account is active. When you delete your account we delete it as described in section 5; messages you sent stay in the other person’s chat, shown as from a “Deleted neighbour”, for safety, and reviews other people wrote about you are kept. Crash reports are kept by Firebase Crashlytics for a limited time and then deleted automatically.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy in the App or via push notification.

10. Contact Us

Email: info@thebighead.ca
Website: thebighead.ca