Privacy Policy

Introduction

Rate my Roast ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information when you use our mobile application and associated services.

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information:

• Account Information: Your username, display name, email address, and password (stored securely as a bcrypt hash — we never store your plaintext password).
• Profile Information: Your bio, avatar photo, and favourite meat preferences that you choose to provide.
• Content You Create: Roast posts, photos, ratings, comments, and recipes you share on the platform.
• Usage Data: How you interact with the app, including posts viewed, features used, and timestamps.
• Device Information: Device type, operating system version, and push notification tokens (if you enable notifications).
• Location Data: Only if you choose to tag a location on your roast post. We never track your location in the background.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide and maintain the Rate my Roast service.
• Display your profile and content to other users.
• Send push notifications about activity on your posts (if enabled).
• Calculate leaderboards, ratings, and award badges.
• Improve our app and develop new features.
• Respond to your support requests.
• Enforce our Terms of Service and prevent abuse.

Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. Your data may be shared in these limited cases:

• Public Content: Posts, ratings, and comments you make publicly are visible to other users.
• Private Accounts: If you enable Private Account mode, only your approved followers can see your roasts.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users.

Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored on secure servers. We take the following measures to protect your information:

• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a salt factor of 12.
• All data transmission uses HTTPS encryption.
• Authentication is handled via JWT (JSON Web Tokens) with expiration.
• Rate limiting and security middleware protect against brute-force attacks.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access & Update: View and edit your personal information via your profile settings at any time.
• Delete: Delete your account and all associated data permanently from the Settings page. This action is irreversible.
• Privacy Control: Toggle your account to private to control who can see your content.
• Notifications: Enable or disable push notifications at any time.
• Data Export: Request a copy of your data by contacting us at the email below.

Cookies & Tracking

Rate my Roast is a native mobile application and does not use browser cookies. We use JWT tokens stored locally on your device for authentication. We do not use third-party analytics or advertising trackers.

Children's Privacy

Rate my Roast is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all your data — including posts, comments, ratings, and profile information — is permanently deleted from our servers. Password reset tokens expire after 1 hour.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any significant changes through the app or by email. Your continued use of Rate my Roast after changes are made constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us: