1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account & Authentication Data

When you sign in using Google Sign-In or Apple Sign-In, we collect your display name, email address, and profile photo URL via Firebase Authentication. This information is used exclusively to create, authenticate, and secure your Brew account.

1.2 Profile & Customization Data

To facilitate meaningful coffee chat matching, you provide the following profile information during onboarding:

• Display Name (your real or preferred name) and Anonymous Alias
• Birth Month & Year (used strictly to compute age; exact birth day is never requested or stored)
• Gender & Ethnicity (optional preferences for matchmaking filters)
• Bio & Interests (coffee topics and hobbies)
• Icebreaker Cards (conversation starters)
• Profile Pictures (uploaded voluntarily and hosted securely in Firebase Storage)

1.3 Location Data (Geohash Prefixing)

With your explicit runtime permission, Brew accesses your device's approximate geolocation to discover nearby users and coffee spots. Coordinates are processed into a coarsened Geohash prefix grid cell. We do not track continuous GPS movements or store your exact longitude and latitude. Location queries execute only while actively using matchmaking or map features.

1.4 Ephemeral Face Verification (Identity Badge)

Brew offers an optional Identity Verification badge. To verify your profile, you take a real-time verification selfie. This image is securely transmitted to our backend where Google Cloud Vision API analyzes face placement. Verification selfies are processed ephemerally in memory and permanently deleted immediately after check completion. We never retain verification images or build biometric facial templates.

1.5 In-App Purchases & Supporter Badges

If you purchase optional supporter tips or badges (e.g., Espresso, Coffee & Croissant, Roaster Supporter), all payment processing is handled directly by the Google Play Store Billing System. Brew receives only purchase receipt tokens to activate supporter features. We never collect, process, or store credit card, banking, or billing details.

1.6 Messages & E2EE Key Vault

One-to-one messages are encrypted locally on your device using ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman) key exchange and AES-256-GCM. Only encrypted ciphertext is stored in Firebase Firestore. Optionally, you can encrypt your private key with a password to back it up in your cloud vault (`users/{uid}/private/vault`). Activity group chats do not use E2EE encryption; please avoid sharing sensitive information in public groups.

1.7 Push Notifications & Device Tokens

We collect your Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token to send push notifications for incoming chat requests, matches, and meetup updates. We do not harvest device IMEI, advertising IDs (GAID), or hardware identifiers.

1.8 Voice Dictation & Speech Recognition (Microphone Access)

When you use the Voice Dictation feature in the Standalone Translator or Interpreter screens, Brew requests optional runtime Microphone permission (android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO). Spoken audio is captured only while actively dictating and is processed ephemerally on-device by local speech recognition engines to transcribe speech into text. Audio recordings are never recorded in the background, stored on remote servers, analyzed for voice biometrics, or shared with third parties.

2. How We Use Your Information

• Matchmaking & Discovery: Profile details and geohash grid cells match you with nearby users who share coffee interests.
• Encrypted Communication: FCM tokens deliver real-time chat alerts across devices.
• On-Device Translation: Neural language models run 100% locally on your smartphone. Message content is translated on-device without cloud API calls.
• Safety & Community Moderation: Moderation reports are reviewed to enforce guidelines against harassment or bad actors. Rate-limiting prevents automated spam.

3. Third-Party Service Providers

We work with trusted service providers to run our backend infrastructure under strict data protection terms:

4. Data Retention & Cleanup Schedule

• User Profiles & Accounts: Retained while your account remains active.
• Temporary Matches & Chats: Automatically purged by automated housekeeping jobs once a temporary chat ends.
• Permanent Chats: Retained until either participant deletes the conversation or deletes their account.
• Moderation & Safety Reports: Anonymized abuse reports are retained for up to 90 days for safety investigations before permanent deletion.

5. Your Rights & Account Deletion

You maintain full control over your personal data:

• Profile Editing: Update your bio, photos, and preferences anytime in Account Settings.
• Revoke Permissions: Disable location or notification permissions in Android Settings at any time.
• Account & Data Deletion: You can delete your account directly in the app via Settings → Delete Account or submit a web-based deletion request at our dedicated Account Deletion Page. Deletion immediately purges your account, profile document, presence node, E2EE key vault, and profile photos.

6. International Privacy Rights

Brew respects privacy rights under global frameworks including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and Australian Privacy Principles (APP). You have the right to access, export, rectify, or request deletion of your personal data by contacting us.

7. Children's Privacy

Brew is strictly intended for individuals aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from minors. Accounts identified as belonging to users under 18 will be terminated and deleted immediately.

8. Contact & Developer Information

If you have any questions or privacy inquiries regarding Brew, please contact the developer: