FriendsFort Privacy Policy
FriendsFort, Inc.
Effective Date: June 2, 2026 | Version: 1.0
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Information We Collect 2.1 Information You Provide Directly
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
2.3 Information from Third Parties - 3. How We Use Your Information
- 4. How We Share Your Information 4.1 Public vs. Private Content
4.2 Service Providers and Vendors
4.3 Business Transfers
4.4 Legal Requirements
4.5 With Your Consent - 5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies 5.1 Types of Cookies Used
5.2 Third-Party Cookies
5.3 Cookie Consent and Management
5.4 Do Not Track (DNT) - 6. Data Retention
- 7. Account Security
- 8. Children’s Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
- 9. Your Privacy Rights 9.1 Rights for All Users
9.2 Rights for California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
9.3 Rights for EU/EEA/UK Residents (GDPR/UK GDPR)
9.4 Rights for Other Jurisdictions
9.5 How to Exercise Your Rights- International Data Transfers
- Third-Party Links and Integrations
- Changes to This Privacy Policy
- Contact Us
- Introduction
Welcome to FriendsFort. FriendsFort is a social media platform operated
by FriendsFort, Inc. (“FriendsFort,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). Our platform is
designed to help people build meaningful connections, share content, and
engage with communities in a safe and vibrant online environment.
This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains how we collect, use, disclose, and
protect information about you when you access or use the FriendsFort
platform, including our website, mobile applications (iOS and Android),
APIs, and all related services (collectively, the “Services”). It also describes
your rights regarding your personal data and how you can exercise those
rights.
Our Commitment to You
FriendsFort is committed to protecting your privacy. We believe you should always
know what data we collect, why we collect it, and how we use it. We will never sell
your personal information to data brokers. Your trust is the foundation of
everything we do.
This Policy applies to all users of our Services, regardless of location. By
creating an account or using FriendsFort in any capacity, you acknowledge
that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree
with this Policy, please do not use our Services.
This Policy does not apply to the practices of third-party services,
applications, or websites that may link to or integrate with FriendsFort,
even if accessed through our platform. Please review the privacy policies of
those third parties independently. - Information We Collect
We collect information in several ways: directly from you when you use our
Services, automatically through your interactions with our platform, and
from third parties. The categories of information we collect are described
below.
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
When you use FriendsFort, you may provide us with the following types of
information:
● Account Registration Data: When you create an account, we collect
your full name, email address, date of birth, chosen username, and a
hashed version of your password.
● Profile Information: You may optionally provide a profile photo,
biography, general location (e.g., city or region), and personal
interests or categories you follow.
● User-Generated Content: Any posts, photographs, videos, audio
clips, stories, comments, reactions, direct messages, or other content
you create, upload, or share on the platform.
● Payment and Billing Information: If you subscribe to FriendsFort
Premium or purchase in-app features, we collect billing details such
as your name, billing address, and payment method. Full payment
card numbers are processed and stored solely by our PCI-DSS
compliant payment processors and are never stored on FriendsFort
servers.
● Support Communications: Records of your communications with
our customer support team, including messages, attachments, and
account information provided during support interactions.
● Surveys and Research: Information you voluntarily provide when
participating in user research, feedback surveys, or promotional
programs.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you access or use our Services, we automatically collect certain
technical and behavioral data, including:
● Device and Browser Information: IP address, device type and
model, operating system and version, browser type and version,
screen resolution, and unique device identifiers.
● Usage Data: Pages and features visited, time spent on each page,
content you view or interact with, search queries entered on
FriendsFort, links clicked, and other in-app interaction patterns.
● Log Data: Server access times, referring and exit URLs, HTTP
request and response data, and application error logs.
● Location Data: Precise GPS-based location if you grant permission
through your device settings; approximate location derived from your
IP address even without explicit GPS permission. You may disable
GPS-based location sharing at any time in your device settings or
within the FriendsFort app.
● Cookies and Similar Technologies: Data collected via cookies, web
beacons, pixel tags, local storage, and similar tracking technologies.
See Section 5 for full details.
2.3 Information from Third Parties
We may receive information about you from external sources, which we may
combine with information we hold about you:
● Social Login Providers: If you choose to register or log in using a
third-party service such as Google or Apple, we receive basic profile
information (such as your name and email address) as authorized by
that provider and as permitted under their privacy terms.
● Advertising and Analytics Partners: Advertising networks and
analytics providers may share aggregate or pseudonymous data about
your interests and online behavior to help us improve our Services
and deliver more relevant advertising.
● Other Users: Other users may provide information about you when
they tag you in posts, mention your username, share your content, or
report your account. We are not responsible for information
voluntarily shared by other users about you.
● Publicly Available Sources: We may supplement your profile with
information from publicly available sources to verify identity or for
fraud prevention purposes. - How We Use Your Information
FriendsFort uses the information we collect for the following purposes.
Where applicable, we identify the legal basis for processing (relevant to
GDPR users — see also Section 9.3):
● To Provide and Operate the Platform: To create and manage your
account, deliver core platform features (posting, messaging,
following), and ensure the technical functionality of our Services.
(Legal basis: Contract performance.)
● Personalization and Content Recommendations: To tailor your
feed, suggest connections, recommend communities, and surface
content we believe you will find relevant, based on your activity and
preferences. (Legal basis: Legitimate interests.)
● Communications: To send you important service-related notices
(account confirmations, security alerts, policy updates) and, where
you have opted in, marketing newsletters and product
announcements. You may opt out of marketing communications at any
time. (Legal basis: Consent for marketing; legitimate interests for
service communications.)
● Advertising: To display targeted advertisements on our platform
based on your interests, browsing behavior, demographic data, and
interactions with advertised content. We do not sell your personal
data to advertisers; we display ads using our own inferences. (Legal
basis: Consent where required; legitimate interests elsewhere.)
● Safety and Fraud Prevention: To detect, investigate, and prevent
fraudulent transactions, spam, abuse, violations of our Terms of
Service, and other harmful or illegal activity. (Legal basis: Legitimate
interests; legal obligation.)
● Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations,
respond to lawful requests from public authorities, and enforce our
Terms of Service and other agreements. (Legal basis: Legal
obligation.)
● Research and Product Development: To analyze usage patterns,
conduct internal research, test new features, and improve the overall
quality and performance of our Services. Data used for research
purposes is anonymized or aggregated wherever practicable. (Legal
basis: Legitimate interests.)
● Financial Transactions: To process payments, manage
subscriptions, issue refunds, and maintain accurate financial records.
(Legal basis: Contract performance.) - How We Share Your Information
FriendsFort does not sell your personal information. We share your
information only in the circumstances described below.
4.1 Public vs. Private Content
FriendsFort offers visibility settings that control who can see your content.
If your account or any individual post is set to “Public,” that content is
visible to anyone on the internet, including non-registered users, search
engines, and third-party services that index public content. You should
carefully consider what information you include in public posts.
Content set to “Friends Only” or “Private” is visible only to the designated
audience (your approved connections or yourself). FriendsFort will not
proactively share private content with third parties except as required by
law or described in this Policy. Your core account profile information
(username and profile photo) remains visible to other registered users by
default; you may adjust these settings in your privacy dashboard.
4.2 Service Providers and Vendors
We engage trusted third-party service providers to perform functions and
services on our behalf, including cloud infrastructure and hosting, payment
processing, email delivery, analytics, customer support tooling, and content
moderation services. These vendors process your data solely on our
instructions and are contractually bound by Data Processing Agreements
(DPAs) that impose strict confidentiality obligations and prohibit them from
using your data for any purpose other than providing services to
FriendsFort.
4.3 Business Transfers
If FriendsFort is involved in a merger, acquisition, restructuring, asset sale,
or bankruptcy proceeding, your information may be transferred as part of
that transaction. We will provide at least 30 days’ advance notice of any
such transfer via email and an in-app notification, and we will ensure that
any acquiring entity is bound by privacy obligations no less protective than
this Policy.
4.4 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information when we believe in good faith that
disclosure is necessary to:
● Comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable
governmental request;
● Respond to a valid subpoena, court order, or law enforcement
request;
● Enforce our Terms of Service or other applicable agreements;
● Protect the rights, property, or safety of FriendsFort, our users, or the
public.
We will notify affected users of legal demands for their data to the extent
permitted by law and will challenge overbroad or legally deficient requests.
4.5 With Your Consent
Beyond the circumstances described above, we will share your personal
information with third parties only with your explicit, informed consent.
Where such consent is sought, we will clearly describe the purpose and
recipient of the disclosure before asking for your agreement. - Cookies and Tracking Technologies
5.1 Types of Cookies Used
FriendsFort and its authorized partners use the following categories of
cookies and similar tracking technologies:
Cookie Category
Purpose
Required?
Essential / Strictly
Necessary
Enable core platform
functions:
authentication, session
management, security,
and load balancing.
The platform cannot
function without these.
Yes — no consent
required
Performance /
Analytics
Collect anonymized
data on how users
navigate the platform
(pages visited, errors
encountered) to
improve performance
and reliability.
No — requires consent
Remember your
No — requires consent
Functional
Cookie Category
Purpose
Required?
preferences such as
language, display
settings, and
notification choices to
provide a more
personalized
experience.
Targeting /
Advertising
5.2 Third-Party Cookies
Track your browsing
behavior across
sessions and, where
applicable, across
third-party sites, to
serve you relevant
advertisements and
measure ad
effectiveness.
No — requires consent
Certain third-party services embedded in or connected to FriendsFort —
including advertising networks, social plug-in providers, and analytics
platforms — may set their own cookies on your device. These third-party
cookies are governed by the respective third-party’s privacy policy, and
FriendsFort does not control them. We encourage you to review the privacy
policies of any third-party services you interact with through our platform.
5.3 Cookie Consent and Management
When you first access FriendsFort, a cookie consent banner will be
displayed. You may accept all cookie categories, accept only essential
cookies, or customize your preferences by category. Your preferences are
stored and can be updated at any time via the Cookie Preferences link in
the platform footer.
You may also manage or disable cookies through your browser settings.
Please note that disabling non-essential cookies may impair certain features
of the Services, including personalized content and saved preferences.
Instructions for managing cookies are typically found in your browser’s
“Help,” “Settings,” or “Privacy” menus.
5.4 Do Not Track (DNT) and Global Privacy Control (GPC)
Some browsers transmit “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals. At this time, no
universally accepted standard for how platforms should respond to DNT
signals exists, and FriendsFort does not currently alter its data collection
practices in response to DNT signals alone.
However, FriendsFort does honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals
as an opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information for users in
jurisdictions where such opt-out rights exist (including California). If your
browser or device transmits a valid GPC signal, we will treat it as a request
to opt out of targeted advertising and data sharing with third-party ad
partners for that session and associated account. - Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill
the purposes for which it was collected, to provide our Services, and to
comply with our legal obligations. The table below summarizes our general
retention practices by data category:
Data Category
Standard Retention
Period
Post-Deletion
Retention
Account and profile
data
Duration of account
plus 30 days after
deletion request
Up to 90 days in
backups
User-generated
content (posts, photos,
videos)
Duration of account;
deleted within 30 days
of removal
Up to 90 days in
backups
Data Category Standard Retention
Period
Post-Deletion
Retention
Direct messages Until deleted by all
parties or account
closure
Up to 90 days in
backups
Payment and billing
records
7 years (financial
regulation compliance)
Retained in encrypted
archival storage
Usage and log data Up to 13 months from
collection
Aggregated /
anonymized after 13
months
Security and fraud logs Up to 3 years Deleted after retention
period
Support
communications
3 years from last
interaction
Anonymized summary
retained for quality
purposes
Cookie consent records 3 years from consent
action
Deleted after retention
period
When you delete your account, we initiate a deletion process within 30
days. Residual copies may remain in encrypted backup systems for up to 90
additional days before being permanently purged. Certain data categories
(such as billing records and legal correspondence) may be retained beyond
account deletion to comply with applicable law.
Note on Legal Holds
In cases involving active legal proceedings, investigations, or regulatory inquiries,
we may be required to preserve certain data beyond our standard retention
periods. We will retain only the minimum data necessary and remove it promptly
once the legal obligation is satisfied. - Account Security
FriendsFort takes the security of your personal information seriously. We
implement the following technical and organizational measures to protect
your data:
● Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between your device and
FriendsFort servers is protected using Transport Layer Security
(TLS 1.2 or higher).
● Encryption at Rest: Sensitive data stored on our servers is
encrypted using AES-256 encryption.
● Password Security: User passwords are never stored in plaintext.
They are processed using industry-standard one-way cryptographic
hashing algorithms (bcrypt with a unique salt per user).
● Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): We strongly encourage all users
to enable 2FA. FriendsFort supports authentication via SMS,
authenticator apps (TOTP), and hardware security keys. 2FA can be
enabled in your account security settings.
● Access Controls: Access to user data within FriendsFort is restricted
on a need-to-know basis. All internal access is logged and audited.
● Regular Security Audits: We conduct periodic penetration testing
and third-party security audits of our infrastructure and application
code.
Your Responsibilities: You are responsible for maintaining the
confidentiality of your account credentials. You should use a strong, unique
password and not share your login details with anyone. FriendsFort will
never ask for your password via email or direct message.
Data Breach Notification: In the event of a personal data breach that is
likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, FriendsFort will:
● Notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of
becoming aware of the breach, in accordance with GDPR Article 33;
● Notify affected users without undue delay, and no later than the
timeframe required by applicable state and national laws (including
US state breach notification statutes);
● Provide clear information about the nature of the breach, the
categories of data affected, and the steps we are taking to remediate
it. - Children’s Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
FriendsFort is not intended for, and does not knowingly collect personal
information from, children under the age of 13 years in the United States
(or the applicable minimum age in other jurisdictions, such as 16 in certain
EU member states). Our Services are designed for users aged 13 and older.
● Age Verification: During account registration, we require users to
provide their date of birth. Users who indicate an age below 13 are
prevented from creating an account and are not permitted to use our
Services.
● No Knowing Collection: We do not knowingly collect, use, or
disclose personal information from children under 13. If we discover
that we have inadvertently collected such information, we will take
immediate steps to delete it.
● Parental Rights: If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe
your child under 13 has created a FriendsFort account or provided us
with personal information, please contact us immediately at
privacy@friendsfort.com. We will investigate and, where confirmed,
permanently delete the child’s account and associated data.
● COPPA Compliance: FriendsFort complies with the Children’s
Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its implementing
regulations. We do not condition participation in our Services on a
child providing more personal information than is reasonably
necessary. - Your Privacy Rights
9.1 Rights for All Users
Regardless of where you are located, FriendsFort provides the following
baseline privacy rights to all users:
Your Core Rights
- Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about
you. - Right to Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or
incomplete personal information. - Right to Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated
personal data, subject to legal retention requirements. - Right to Data Portability: Download a copy of your data in a
structured, machine-readable format via the “Download Your Data”
tool in your account settings. - Right to Opt Out of Marketing: Unsubscribe from marketing
emails at any time via the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or
via your notification settings in the app.
9.2 Rights for California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a resident of California, you have additional rights under the
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California
Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):
● Right to Know: The right to know what personal information we
collect, use, disclose, and share, including the categories of sources
and business/commercial purposes.
● Right to Opt Out of Sale/Sharing: The right to opt out of the “sale”
or “sharing” of your personal information (as defined under
CCPA/CPRA, including sharing for cross-context behavioral
advertising). To exercise this right, use the “Do Not Sell or Share
My Personal Information” link available in the FriendsFort app
footer and website footer.
● Right to Non-Discrimination: You will not receive discriminatory
treatment for exercising any of your California privacy rights. We will
not deny you Services, charge you different prices, or provide a
different level of quality solely because you exercised a privacy right.
● Right to Limit Sensitive Personal Information: The right to limit
our use of sensitive personal information (such as precise geolocation,
racial or ethnic origin, and financial data) to uses necessary to provide
the Services.
● Authorized Agent Requests: You may designate an authorized
agent to submit privacy requests on your behalf. The agent must
provide written authorization signed by you, and we may verify your
identity directly.
To submit a California privacy request: Email ccpa@friendsfort.com
or use our Privacy Request Portal at privacy.friendsfort.com/request.
9.3 Rights for EU/EEA/UK Residents (GDPR / UK GDPR)
If you are located in the European Union, European Economic Area, or
United Kingdom, you have the following rights under the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) or UK GDPR:
● Right of Access (Art. 15): Obtain confirmation of whether we
process your data and receive a copy of it.
● Right to Rectification (Art. 16): Request correction of inaccurate
personal data.
● Right to Erasure (Art. 17): Request deletion of your data (“right to
be forgotten”), subject to exceptions.
● Right to Restriction of Processing (Art. 18): Request that we limit
the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
● Right to Data Portability (Art. 20): Receive your data in a
structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
● Right to Object (Art. 21): Object to processing based on legitimate
interests or for direct marketing purposes.
● Right to Withdraw Consent (Art. 7(3)): Where we process data
based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time
without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
● Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a
complaint with your local supervisory authority, such as the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK, the CNIL in
France, or your national data protection authority.
Legal Bases for Processing: FriendsFort processes your data under the
following GDPR legal bases: (a) Contract performance — to provide
Services you have requested; (b) Legitimate interests — to operate and
improve our platform, prevent fraud, and engage in direct marketing
(subject to your right to object); (c) Consent — for advertising cookies,
marketing emails, and other optional processing; (d) Legal obligation — to
comply with applicable law.
Data Protection Officer (DPO): Our DPO can be contacted at
dpo@friendsfort.com. Our EU representative’s contact details are listed in
Section 13.
9.4 Rights for Other Jurisdictions
FriendsFort is committed to honoring privacy rights for users in all
jurisdictions. We acknowledge applicable privacy laws including, but not
limited to:
● Virginia (VCDPA) — Right to access, correct, delete, portability, and
opt out of targeted advertising and profiling.
● Colorado (CPA) — Right to opt out of processing for targeted
advertising, sale, or profiling.
● Texas (TDPSA) — Right to access, correct, delete, and opt out of sale
or targeted advertising.
● Brazil (LGPD) — Right to access, correction, deletion, portability,
and information about sharing.
● Canada (PIPEDA / Quebec Law 25) — Right to access, correction,
and withdrawal of consent.
● Other applicable national and state laws — FriendsFort monitors
evolving privacy legislation globally and endeavors to comply with
applicable requirements as they take effect.
9.5 How to Exercise Your Rights
To submit a privacy rights request, you may use any of the following
channels:
● Privacy Request Portal: privacy.friendsfort.com/request
● Email: privacy@friendsfort.com
● California Residents: ccpa@friendsfort.com
We will respond to your verified request within 30 days of receipt. In cases
of complexity or high volume, we may extend this period by an additional 45
days, in which case we will notify you of the extension and the reason for it
before the initial 30-day period expires. We may require verification of your
identity before processing your request, which may involve confirming your
email address or providing additional identifying information.
- International Data Transfers
FriendsFort, Inc. is headquartered in the United States. If you access our
Services from outside the United States, your personal data may be
transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States or other
countries where our service providers operate. These countries may have
data protection laws that differ from those in your home country.
Where we transfer personal data from the EU/EEA/UK to the United States
or other third countries, we rely on the following safeguards:
● Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): We use the European
Commission’s approved Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers of
personal data from the EU/EEA to third countries, as well as
equivalent mechanisms for UK transfers (International Data Transfer
Agreements / Addenda).
● EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF): FriendsFort participates
in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the UK Extension to the EU
U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, as
administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
● Adequacy Decisions: Where the European Commission has issued an
adequacy decision for the destination country, we may rely on that
decision as the transfer mechanism.
● Binding Corporate Rules: For intra-group transfers where
applicable, we may rely on approved Binding Corporate Rules.
By using our Services, you acknowledge that your data may be transferred
internationally as described in this section and that we have implemented
appropriate safeguards to protect it during such transfers. - Third-Party Links and Integrations
Our Services may contain links to, or integrate with, third-party websites,
applications, plug-ins, and services. These may include embedded video
players, external news articles, third-party login buttons, and developer
built applications available through our API. Clicking on a third-party link or
enabling a third-party integration may allow that third party to collect or
share data about you.
Important Disclaimer
FriendsFort does not control third-party websites or services and is not responsible
for their privacy practices or content. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any
personal information.
third-party services. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policy of
every third-party service you interact with, especially before providing any
The inclusion of a link or integration on FriendsFort does not constitute an
endorsement of the linked service or its privacy practices. If you have
questions or concerns about how a third-party service handles your data,
please contact that third party directly. - Changes to This Privacy Policy
FriendsFort reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy from
time to time to reflect changes in our data practices, legal requirements, or
platform features. The updated Policy will always be available at
friendsfort.com/privacy.
For material changes — those that significantly affect your rights or how
we use your data — we will provide at least 30 days’ advance notice
through the following channels:
● An email notice sent to the address associated with your account;
● A prominent in-app banner displayed upon your next login;
● A notice posted on our official blog or help center.
Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of an updated
Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms. If you do
not agree with the changes, you should discontinue use of the Services and
may delete your account before the changes take effect.
For non-material changes (such as typographical corrections or
clarifications that do not affect your rights), we may update this Policy
without advance notice, though the “Effective Date” at the top of this
document will always reflect the date of the most recent revision.
A version history and changelog of this Privacy Policy is available upon
request by contacting privacy@friendsfort.com. Past versions of this Policy
are archived and available for your review. - Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy
Policy or our data practices, please contact us using the details below. We
are committed to responding promptly and transparently.
General Privacy Inquiries
privacy@friendsfort.com
California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)
ccpa@friendsfort.com
Data Protection Officer (DPO)
dpo@friendsfort.com
Privacy Request Portal
privacy.friendsfort.com/request
Mailing Address — Headquarters
FriendsFort, Inc., 100 FriendsFort Way,
Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94105,
United States
EU Representative
FriendsFort EU Ltd., Attn: EU Data
Privacy Representative, 1 Grand Canal
Square, Dublin 2, D02 P820, Ireland
UK Representative
FriendsFort UK Ltd., Attn: UK Data
Privacy Representative, 1 St Katharine’s
Way, London E1W 1UN, United Kingdom
For urgent security or data breach matters, please include “URGENT –
DATA SECURITY” in the subject line of your email to ensure prioritized
handling. Our Privacy Team operates Monday through Friday and aims to
acknowledge all requests within 2 business days.
Right to Complain
If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy inquiry, you have the
right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority
in your jurisdiction. For EU residents, this includes your national data protection
authority. For UK residents, this is the Information Commissioner’s Office
(ICO) at ico.org.uk. For California residents, this is the California Privacy
Protection Agency (CPPA) at cppa.ca.gov.
FriendsFort Privacy Policy | Effective Date: June 2, 2026 | Version 1.0
© 2026 FriendsFort, Inc. All rights reserved. | friendsfort.com/privacy