9Lives

1. Introduction

Welcome to 9lives, a productivity-focused social media platform operated by Benekan Technologies LLC ("we," "us," or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application (the "App"). Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the App.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal data is handled in a safe and responsible manner. This policy is designed to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), and other applicable data protection laws in the jurisdictions we operate.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us, information we collect automatically when you use our App, and information we collect from other sources. This information is essential for providing and improving our services, ensuring the safety of our community, and complying with our legal obligations.

2.1. Information You Provide to Us

Account Information: When you create a 9lives account, we collect your name, email address, and date of birth. You may also choose to provide a profile picture and bio.
User-Generated Content: We collect the content you create, upload, or post to the App, including text, images, videos, notes, lists, affirmations (including audio recordings), countdowns, expense sheets, and flashcards. This also includes templates you share publicly and any comments or messages you send. We also process text extracted from images via our Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature and transcribed audio from the Affirmations featured.
Communications: If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you such as your name, email address, the contents of the message and/or attachments you may send us, and any other information you may choose to provide.

2.2. Information We Collect Automatically

Usage Information: We collect information about your activity on the App, such as the features you use, the content you view, your interactions with other users (zaps, comments, reposts), and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities.
Device Information: We collect information about the device you use to access the App, including the hardware model, operating system and version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information.
Location Information: With your permission, we may collect your precise or approximate location to provide features like the "Nearby" feed and location tagging on posts. You can turn off location services at any time through your device settings.

2.3. Information We Collect from Other Sources

Third-Party Services: If you choose to log in to our App using a third-party service like Google or Apple, we will receive information from that service, such as your name and email address.
Contacts: With your permission, we may access your contacts to help you find friends on 9lives. We do not store your contacts in a readable format; we only store hashed identifiers for matching purposes, which are deleted after 30 days.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:

To Provide and Maintain Our Services: To create and manage your account, provide you with customer support, and operate and maintain the App.
To Improve and Personalize Our Services: To understand how you use the App, to personalize your experience (such as the "For You" feed), and to develop new features and functionality.
To Communicate with You: To send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages.
For Safety and Security: To verify accounts and activity, to monitor for and prevent fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity, and to enforce our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.
For AI Features: To provide you with AI-powered features, such as text enhancement, content generation (including flashcards), and text extraction (OCR). We use Groq for AI inference, and they do not use your data for training their models.
To Comply with Legal Obligations: To comply with our legal obligations, such as responding to law enforcement requests and court orders.

4. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information in the following situations:

With Other Users: Your profile information and public posts are visible to other users of the App.
With Third-Party Service Providers: We share information with third-party vendors and service providers that perform services on our behalf, such as cloud hosting (Supabase), payment processing (Apple/Google), and AI processing (Groq). These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.
For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if we believe it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public, or to prevent fraud or abuse.
With Your Consent: We may share your information for other purposes with your consent.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our services. If you choose to delete your account, we will retain your data for a period of 90 days to comply with legal obligations, prevent fraud, and resolve disputes. After this period, your data will be permanently deleted or anonymized.

6. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data, including:

The right to access: You have the right to request copies of your personal data.
The right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate.
The right to erasure: You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to object to processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to data portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

To exercise these rights, please contact us at support@9livesapp.com.

7. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to, and maintained on, computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses and other legal mechanisms to ensure that your data is protected when it is transferred internationally.

8. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Union and Australia). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the specified age. If you are a parent or guardian and you believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@9livesapp.com so that we can take steps to delete their account and data.

9. Security

We use industry-standard encryption technologies, including AES-256 for data at rest and TLS for data in transit, to protect your information. However, no security system is impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee the security of your data.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: support@9livesapp.com

Benekan Technologies LLC

12. Jurisdiction-Specific Provisions

For Users in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, and Switzerland

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have certain rights under the GDPR. These rights are outlined in Section 6 of this policy. Our legal basis for collecting and using your personal information will depend on the information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it.

For Users in California

If you are a California resident, you have certain rights under the CCPA/CPRA. These rights include the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete your personal information, and the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information. We do not sell your personal information.