Privacy Policy for Family Bubble

Last Updated: August 14, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to Family Bubble ("we," "us," or "our"). We provide a service designed to help families stay connected and informed through our mobile application (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By creating an account, you signify your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

To provide and improve our Service, we collect the following types of information:

a. Information You Provide to Us:

  • Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, phone number, and password.
  • Family Member Information: You may provide contact information for family members you invite to your "Bubble."
  • Payment Information: If you subscribe to premium features, our third-party payment processor will collect your payment card information. We do not store this information on our servers.

b. Information We Collect Automatically When You Use the Service:

  • Geolocation Data: The core functionality of our Service requires the collection of precise geolocation data from your device using GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular signals. We collect this data when the app is running in the foreground and, if you grant permission, in the background to enable features like location history and automated alerts.
  • Device and Usage Information: We collect information about your mobile device, including device identifiers, IP address, operating system, and data about your interactions with the Service for analytics and troubleshooting.

c. Information from Third Parties:

  • Third-Party Service Data: To provide weather and crime alerts, we integrate with third-party data providers. We receive severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service and crime incident data from services like CrimeoMeter. This data is correlated with your location but is not combined with your personally identifiable information.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • To provide, operate, and maintain the Service.
  • To create and manage your account and family Bubble.
  • To display your location and location history to members of your Bubble.
  • To send automated alerts based on your location relative to user-defined zones, severe weather events, and crime data.
  • To process payments for any subscription services.
  • To monitor and analyze usage to improve the Service.
  • To comply with legal obligations.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

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

  • With Your Bubble Members: Your name, location, and profile information will be shared with members of your private Bubble as a primary function of the Service.
  • Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, such as cloud hosting (Firebase) and payment processing. They are contractually obligated to protect your information.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or protect the safety of our users or the public.

5. Data Security and Retention

We implement administrative, technical, and physical security measures, including encryption, to protect your personal information. We will retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. For example, location history may be retained for a limited period (e.g., 30 days) and then deleted.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction (such as California under the CCPA/CPRA or Europe under the GDPR), you may have rights regarding your personal information, including:

  • The Right to Access: You can request copies of the personal information we hold about you.
  • The Right to Deletion: You can ask us to delete the personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
  • The Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: Precise geolocation data is considered sensitive. You can limit its collection by revoking location permissions in your device settings at any time, though this will impact the Service's functionality.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@familybubbleapp.com. This is known as a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR).

7. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Our Service is intended for use by families. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without obtaining verifiable parental consent.

  • A parent or legal guardian must create and manage the account for any child under 13.
  • Before collecting personal information from a child under 13, we will obtain verifiable parental consent using a method compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), such as requiring a credit card transaction or a signed consent form.
  • Parents have the right to review the personal information we have collected from their child and request its deletion.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy within the app and updating the "Last Updated" date.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@familybubbleapp.com.