Joinly

Joinly ("we", "our", "the app") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information
If you sign up or sign in, we collect your email address (email/password or Google Sign-In) and, if you use Google Sign-In, your name and profile photo. If you continue as a Guest, no email or personal account information is collected; a random device-only identifier is used instead.

Content You Submit
Group name, description, category, platform (WhatsApp/Facebook), group link, country, and an optional group image.

Usage Information
Join counts on groups, notifications related to groups you created, and basic in-app interactions needed to operate features (such as cooldown timers and duplicate-link checks).

Advertising Identifiers
We use Google AdMob to show ads. AdMob may collect device and advertising identifiers (such as the Google Advertising ID) to serve ads, including personalized ads, subject to your device's ad settings.

2. How We Use Information

• To operate core features: browsing, joining, and creating groups.
• To send notifications about your own groups (for example, join-count milestones).
• To display advertising through Google AdMob.
• To determine verified-badge eligibility (see Section 3).
• To maintain the security, integrity, and reliability of the app.

3. Verified Badge Policy

A group may display a "verified" badge next to its name based on the following rules:

• Groups created by an official trusted Joinly team account are verified immediately.
• Groups created by a regular, signed-in user (email or Google account) automatically become verified once that account has existed and been in regular use for at least 6 months. This is determined automatically from your account's creation date — no manual request or fee is needed.
• Groups created by Guest users (not signed in) are never eligible for a verified badge, since guest sessions have no persistent, verifiable identity.

4. Third-Party Services

Joinly uses the following third-party services, each of which processes limited data as described:

• Firebase Authentication & Cloud Firestore (Google) — account sign-in and storing group/user data.
• Google AdMob — displaying advertising within the app.
• Google Sign-In — optional sign-in method.
• Cloudinary — hosting of images you choose to upload for your groups.

These providers may process data under their own privacy policies. You can review Google's Privacy Policy at policies.google.com/privacy.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. Group content you submit (name, description, category, link, country) is public by design and visible to all users of the app. Data is shared with the third-party service providers listed above only as necessary to operate the app.

6. Children's Privacy

Joinly is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.

7. Data Retention & Deletion

You can permanently delete your account and associated data at any time from Settings > Delete Account. This removes your account and profile data from our systems. Group listings you created may be independently deleted by you at any time from "My Groups".

8. Your Choices

• You may use the app as a Guest without creating an account.
• You can control ad personalization through your device's advertising settings (e.g., "Opt out of Ads Personalization" in Android Settings).

9. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your information, but no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Continued use of the app after changes means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy, please email support.joinly@gmail.com.