Phloat — Privacy Policy

Effective: upon public launch · Last updated: pre-launch draft

Draft. A working draft, not yet reviewed by legal counsel. The final version will be posted before public launch.

Phloat backs up your photos and videos, keeps your library across your devices and the web, and lets you share albums. This policy explains what we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. The short version: your library is yours — we don't sell it, advertise against it, or train AI on it.

1. What we collect

Your Content: the photos and videos you upload, and their metadata (capture date, dimensions, and — if present in the file — location and album membership). We generate thumbnails and previews from them to make browsing fast.
Account info: a device account identifier, and — if you sign in — the stable user ID (and email, where provided) from Apple or Google. We don't ask for more than we need.
Operational data: minimal technical information needed to run and secure the service (e.g. request and error logs, storage usage).

2. How we use it

Only to provide the service: store and back up Your Content, sync your library across your devices and the web, generate thumbnails/previews, deliver content to people you choose to share with, process subscriptions, and keep the service secure. That's it.

We do not sell your data, use Your Content for advertising, or use it to train AI models.

3. Where your data lives (processors)

Cloudflare — our infrastructure provider. Your Content is stored in Cloudflare R2, and served through Cloudflare Workers, KV, and Pages on their global network.
Apple / Google — sign-in (we verify an identity token; we don't receive your password).
Apple App Store / Google Play — subscription billing (we don't receive your card details).
NCMEC — where legally required, we report known child sexual abuse material (see our Terms).

4. Sharing

When you create a share link, anyone with that link can view the album. Links are unlisted and not search-indexed, but they are not password-protected by default — share them only with people you trust. You can revoke a link at any time.

5. Security

Content is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Access to your library requires your session or a link you created; media is served via short-lived, signed URLs. No system is perfectly secure, and Phloat is not a substitute for keeping your own additional backups of irreplaceable content.

6. Your rights & choices

Access & portability: your library is yours — you can view and download your originals at any time, from any device. Portability is the point of Phloat.
Deletion: delete individual items or your whole account whenever you want. Deleted items sit in trash for 30 days, then are permanently purged from our storage (subject to any legal-hold requirement).
Sign-out / unlink: revoke web sessions and share links at any time.

7. Data retention

We keep Your Content while your account is active. When you delete content or your account, we remove it from our systems after the recovery window. Operational logs are kept only as long as needed to run and secure the service.

8. Children

Phloat is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your region), and we don't knowingly collect their data.

9. Changes & contact

We'll post updates here and give reasonable notice of material changes. Questions or privacy requests: privacy@phloat.app.