Privacy Policy

The data controller responsible for your personal data is Gioel Antoni, an individual sole proprietor established in Italy.

• Operator: Gioel Antoni
• Based in: Capalbio (GR), Italy — the full postal address is available to data subjects and authorities on request
• Email (privacy & support): support@echoframe.help

Because we are established in Italy, your data is protected under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Italian data protection law. You can read more about how we meet these obligations in our Data & Compliance document.

This policy applies to both surfaces of the Service:

• The App — the EchoFrame mobile application for iOS and Android, where you create an account, capture and discover echoes, and interact with other people.
• The Website — our marketing and early-access site, where you can join the waitlist and read these documents.

Where a practice applies to only one surface, we say so. Your use of the Service is also governed by our Terms of Use.

a) Account information (App)

• Email address — to create and secure your account, sign you in, and send essential account emails (verification, password reset).
• Password — stored only as a salted one-way hash by our authentication provider; we never see or store it in plain text.
• Username — your public display name on echoes, comments and messages.
• Profile photo (avatar) — optional; only if you choose to set one.
• Account metadata — a unique account identifier and your sign-up date.

b) Content you create (App)

• Echoes — photos you capture with the in-app camera, each stored together with the precise GPS coordinates of where you took it, the time of capture, and the visibility you chose (public or private circle).
• Comments and ratings — the comment text and the up/down ratings you leave on echoes.
• Direct messages — the content of messages you send to and receive from other users.
• Social graph — friend (circle) requests you send or accept, and users you block.

c) Location data (App)

Location is described in detail in Section 4. In short, we use your device location to anchor the echoes you create and to discover echoes near you.

d) Device & technical data (App)

• On-device settings & preferences — your default visibility, your map and capture preferences, and the list of echoes you've already discovered. These are stored locally on your device (not on our servers) so the App works the way you set it.
• Notification preferences — your master notification switch, your quiet-hours window, the per-type toggles (comments, ratings, friends' echoes) and your device's UTC offset are stored on our servers, with that device's push token. They have to be. A notification that arrives while the App is closed is drawn by the operating system, so your phone never gets the chance to consult its own settings, and the offset is what makes "quiet until 07:00" mean 07:00 where you actually are. Changing a toggle in the App updates the copy we hold.
• Session tokens — kept in your device's secure storage to keep you signed in.
• We do not collect advertising identifiers, your contacts, your microphone, your browsing history, or a background log of your movements.

e) Website & waitlist data

• Email address (required) — to add you to the early-access waitlist and send you a confirmation and launch updates.
• City and country (optional) — if you provide them, to help us prioritise launch in areas with the most interest.
• Aggregate, privacy-friendly usage analytics — see Section 10.

EchoFrame requests location access only after you grant the relevant permission on your device. We use it for three purposes, and nothing else:

1. Anchoring echoes you create. When you capture an echo, your precise GPS coordinates at that moment are stored with the photo so the echo can live at that exact spot. This location is intrinsic to the content you chose to publish.
2. Discovering echoes near you. While you use the map, your current coordinates are sent to our backend to look up echoes within range. We use these coordinates to answer the query — we do not keep a running history of where you have been.
3. Proximity alerts (only if you enable them). If you turn on background alerts, the App asks your device's operating system to watch a small set of geofences around nearby echoes, so it can notify you when you physically approach one. The proximity matching is performed by your device; we are not continuously tracking you in the background.
4. Echoes you unlock. When you walk to an echo and reveal it, we record that you revealed it and when. This is what keeps a memory you earned available to you afterwards, and it lets us tell whether a reported photo has actually been seen by many people or only a few. It is visible only to you, and it is deleted with your account.

The visibility you set on each echo controls who can discover it: public echoes can be found by anyone who comes within range; private circle echoes are limited within the App to the circle you choose. You can change an echo's fate by deleting it at any time.

You can grant or revoke any of these at any time in your device's system settings. Revoking a permission disables the related feature but does not delete data you already created.

We share personal data only with the service providers ('processors') that make EchoFrame work, and only as far as needed. Each is bound by a data-processing agreement. A full processor register, including the data they handle and their GDPR role, is in our Data & Compliance document.

We may also disclose data if required by law (for example, a valid order from a competent authority), or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users and the Service. If the Service is ever involved in a merger or acquisition, we will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Website

• We use Vercel Web Analytics, which is cookieless and measures aggregate traffic (such as page views and country) without tracking you across sites or building a profile of you. It does not use advertising cookies.
• We do not use any third-party advertising or social-media tracking cookies.
• Because our analytics are cookieless and do not identify you, no cookie banner is required; you can additionally enable 'Do Not Track' or a content blocker to opt out.

App

The App does not use cookies or third-party analytics SDKs. It stores your session token and most of your preferences locally on your device (in secure storage and local app storage) purely to keep you signed in and remember your settings. Your notification preferences are the exception, and are held on our servers as well. Section 3(d) explains why.

Your core account data, echoes and photos are stored by Supabase in the United Kingdom (London region). As the operator, we are based in Italy (EU).

• EU → United Kingdom: the UK benefits from a European Commission adequacy decision, so transferring your data to the UK region provides a level of protection essentially equivalent to the EU.
• Other providers: where a provider processes data outside the EU/EEA or the UK (for example, certain Vercel or Resend infrastructure in the United States), that transfer is covered by appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.

You can find each provider's role and safeguards in Data & Compliance.

When you delete your account, your personal data is removed from our live systems promptly and then ages out of encrypted backups within the backup window described above.

• Encryption in transit — all traffic between the App/Website and our backend is protected with HTTPS/TLS.
• Encryption at rest — databases and stored files are encrypted at rest by our infrastructure providers.
• Password security — passwords are stored only as salted one-way hashes (bcrypt) by our authentication provider; we never see them.
• Access control — database row-level security restricts each user's data to that user and the people they've chosen to share with.
• Secure session storage — your session token is held in your device's hardware-backed secure storage.

No system can be guaranteed 100% secure, but we work to protect your data and to limit what we collect in the first place. More detail is in Data & Compliance.

• Access — get a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification — correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure — delete your account and personal data ('right to be forgotten').
• Restriction — ask us to limit how we process your data.
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent — where we rely on consent (e.g. location, notifications, waitlist), withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@echoframe.help. We respond within one month, as required by the GDPR. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority — in Italy, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali.

Delete your account

You can delete your account directly in the App: open Settings → Account → Delete account (also available under the Legal section). This permanently removes your account and your echoes, photos, comments, ratings, messages and connections. It cannot be undone.

Export your data

To receive a copy of your personal data, email support@echoframe.help from your account email address and we will provide it in a portable format.

Correct your data

You can edit your username and avatar in the App at any time. For anything you can't change yourself, email support@echoframe.help.

Unsubscribe (Website)

To be removed from the waitlist, use the unsubscribe link in any waitlist email or email support@echoframe.help.

EchoFrame is intended for users aged 16 and over. It is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with personal data, please contact support@echoframe.help and we will delete it.

Because EchoFrame is a location-based app where users can discover content left by others and exchange messages, we encourage parents and guardians to be aware of how it works.

We may update this Privacy Policy as the Service evolves or as the law requires. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top and, where appropriate, notify you in the App, on the Website or by email. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised policy.

For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, contact the data controller:

• Gioel Antoni
• Capalbio (GR), Italy
• support@echoframe.help