BestFriendFile is a private digital friendship notebook for teens (ages 13+). Privacy is the whole point of the app: we collect as little as possible, your profile is visible only to friends you approve, and we never sell your data or show ads.
The short version
- We only collect what the app needs: an email to sign in, a nickname, a birthday (month + day only — never the year), and the favorites you choose to fill in.
- We never ask for last names, home address, school, phone number, or location.
- Your profile is private — only friends you approve can see it. No public profiles, no strangers, no feeds, no ads, no tracking.
- You can delete your whole account and all your data any time, right in the app.
Information we collect
- Account info — your email address (to create your account and sign in). Your password is stored only as a secure hash; we never see or store the actual password.
- Profile info you choose to add — nickname, an avatar (an emoji you pick, not a photo), birthday month and day only (never the year), your favorite things / interests / gift preferences (free text you type), and your chosen app color.
- Friend connections — your private friend code and the friendships you create (the people you've added and approved).
- Private notes — notes you write about a friend. These are visible only to you, never to the friend or anyone else.
- Safety info — if you block or report someone, we record that so we can keep the app safe.
We do not collect: last names, home or postal address, school name, phone number, precise or GPS location, birth year, photographs, your contacts, or advertising identifiers.
How we use information
- To run the app — create your account, show your profile to friends you approve, suggest gift ideas, and remind you about friends' birthdays.
- To keep it safe — act on blocks and reports.
- To contact you about your account — for example, a password-reset email.
We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell or rent it. There is no behavioral tracking and no third-party analytics.
When information is shared
Your profile is shared only with friends you have approved (friend request → acceptance). It is never public. We rely on a few service providers to run the app, and share data with them only as needed:
- Supabase — secure database, accounts, and storage (where your data lives).
- Resend — sends account emails (such as password resets).
- Anthropic (Claude) — only if you tap "Fresh ideas from Pip": the app sends that friend's favorites (and your optional hint) to Anthropic to generate gift ideas. We do not send names, emails, or account info, and per Anthropic's API terms this data is not used to train their models. The default gift ideas are rule-based and send nothing anywhere.
- Expo (EAS) — delivers the app and app updates.
We may also disclose information if required by law or to protect someone's safety.
The AI gift-ideas feature (optional)
"Fresh ideas from Pip" is an optional helper. It is not a chatbot — one tap sends a friend's favorites to generate a short list of gift ideas, with no conversation or history kept. Any hint you type is treated as untrusted and used only to suggest gifts. You can ignore the feature entirely and the built-in gift ideas still work without sending anything off the device.
Your choices and controls
- See and edit your profile any time.
- Remove a friend, block a user, or report a profile from inside the app.
- Delete your account — Settings → Delete my account permanently erases your profile, friends, and notes.
- For any question or data request, email BestFriendFileSupport@gmail.com.
Children's privacy
BestFriendFile is intended for users 13 and older (see our Terms). It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 — in fact, we never collect a birth year, so we do not know any user's age. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact BestFriendFileSupport@gmail.com and we will delete it.
The app is built privacy-first regardless of age: we collect only the minimum described above, there are no public profiles or strangers, and your information is shown only to friends you approve. Any account (and all its data) can be deleted at any time from within the app.
How we protect your data
We use HTTPS everywhere, store passwords only as secure hashes, and use database row-level security so each person can access only their own data. Access to data is limited to what's needed to operate the app.
How long we keep data
We keep your information while your account is active. When you delete your account, your profile, friends, and notes are deleted. Routine backups are rotated and purged over time.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top and, for significant changes, let users know inside the app.
Contact
Questions about your privacy or this policy? Email BestFriendFileSupport@gmail.com.