Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

VanBFF is built for the nomadic community — a small, close-knit group that values trust and safety above all else. We take your privacy seriously and are transparent about what we collect, why we collect it, and how we protect it.

This Privacy Policy explains how VanBFF ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and safeguards your personal information when you use our mobile application and related services (the "Service").

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we may collect:

• Name — your display name shown to other members
• Email address — used for account access, password resets, and important notifications
• Phone number — used for account verification via one-time passcode (OTP)
• Password — stored only in encrypted form; we never have access to your plaintext password

Sign-In with Third Parties

If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive:

• Your name and email address from the provider
• A unique identifier from the provider (we do not receive your password)

Profile & Community Information

• Profile details you choose to share (photos, bio, van type, lifestyle interests, travel plans)
• Whether you are looking for friends, dating, or both
• Your approximate location (when you choose to share it)

Verification Data

To maintain a safe, trusted community, we collect verification information including:

• Phone and email verification status
• Social media verification submissions (when available)
• Verification badge status and review history

Invite & Referral Data

VanBFF is an invite-only community. We track:

• Invite codes used to join the Service
• Referral relationships (who invited whom) to maintain community accountability
• Waitlist entries if you join before receiving an invite

Automatically Collected Information

• Sign-in timestamps and count
• IP address at sign-in (for security and fraud prevention)
• Authentication method used (email, phone, Google, or Apple)
• Device and browser type

2. How We Use Your Information

• Account management — to create and maintain your account, authenticate your identity, and process password resets
• Matching & discovery — to connect you with other nomads based on location, interests, and preferences
• Community safety — to verify members, enforce our invite-only system, and maintain a trusted environment
• Communication — to send you account notifications, verification codes, and important updates about the Service
• Product improvement — to understand how the Service is used and improve the experience
• Security — to detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access

3. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate VanBFF:

• Google OAuth & Apple Sign-In — for secure third-party authentication
• Twilio Verify — to send and validate phone verification codes
• Postmark — to deliver transactional emails (password resets, account notifications)
• PostHog — for anonymous product analytics to improve the Service
• Honeybadger — for error monitoring to maintain app stability
• RevenueCat — to manage subscriptions and in-app purchases

Each third-party service processes data according to their own privacy policies. We only share the minimum data necessary for each service to function.

4. Data Security

We take the security of your data seriously and implement multiple layers of protection:

• Passwords are encrypted using industry-standard bcrypt hashing — we never store or have access to your plaintext password
• Rate limiting is enforced to prevent brute-force attacks
• Accounts are automatically locked after repeated failed sign-in attempts
• All data is transmitted over encrypted HTTPS connections
• Phone verification requires a time-limited one-time passcode

While no system is 100% secure, we continuously work to protect your information using industry best practices.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:

• With other members — your profile information (name, bio, photos, interests) is visible to other verified VanBFF members as part of the matching and discovery features
• With service providers — as listed in Section 3, strictly to operate the Service
• For legal compliance — if required by law, legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of VanBFF, our members, or the public

6. Your Rights & Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access — you can view your personal information in your account settings at any time
• Correction — you can update your name, email, phone number, and profile information in settings
• Deletion — you may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us
• Data portability — you may request a copy of your personal data in a portable format
• Withdraw consent — you can disconnect linked Google or Apple accounts from your settings

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@vanbff.com.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you request account deletion, we will remove your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain certain information.

Anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify you may be retained indefinitely for analytics and product improvement.

8. Children's Privacy

VanBFF is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected data from a person under 18, we will delete that information promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you through the Service or by email. Your continued use of VanBFF after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

support@vanbff.com