Privacy Policy

This policy explains what Shoremingle keeps about you, who can see it, how long it is kept, and the choices you have.

Who we are

[To confirm: the legal entity operating Shoremingle, its address, who is responsible for your data, and how to contact them about privacy]

What we keep

Your account

• Your email address and the name you choose to show other Islanders.
• Your password, held by our sign-in provider. It is never stored in readable form.
• When you join, you confirm you are 16 or older and agree to the Community Guidelines.

Your Islander and profile

• Your Islander's look, an optional short bio, and the interests you choose.
• Your progress through getting started (for example, whether you've arrived).

What you do on Shoremingle

• The Islands you create or join, and your role on each.
• Discussions and replies you post, including when they were edited.
• Island Chat messages you send.
• Private messages you send and receive, and when you last read them.
• When you last read discussions on your Islands, to show what's new.
• People you block.
• Reports you make. A report keeps a copy of what was reported, with a little context, so it can be reviewed even if the original changes.
• While you are on an Island: where your Islander is and what it's doing (walking, sitting, gestures), shared live with the Islanders there.

Safety records

• Island restrictions, account suspensions and moderation actions, with who took them, when and why.
• A record of each time a reviewer opens a reported private message.

On your device

• Cookies that keep you signed in. They are needed for Shoremingle to work.
• Browser storage for your getting-started progress and Islander look (cleared when you sign out), unsent message drafts (for the current tab), your sound settings, and a cache of Island shapes so the world loads faster.
• Shoremingle contains no advertising or analytics trackers.

How we use it

• To run Shoremingle: your account, your Islander, Islands, chat, discussions and messages.
• To keep it safe: reviewing reports, moderation, restrictions and suspensions.
• To email you about your account: confirming your email address, resetting your password and changing your email address.

[To confirm: the legal basis for each use under applicable law]

Who can see what

• Other Islanders can see your name, bio and Islander. Your interests and getting-started progress are visible only to you.
• Island Chat messages can be read by anyone who can see that Island. Discussions can be read by anyone who can see the Island they are on. Private Islands are visible only to their members.
• Private messages can be read only by the people in the conversation. If a message is reported, designated reviewers see the reported message and a few before it. Island owners and moderators never see private messages.
• Your email address is visible only to you and to Shoremingle's administrators.
• If you block someone, you won't see each other on Shoremingle.

How long we keep it

• Island Chat messages: 24 hours.
• Where your Islander is on an Island: only while you are there.
• Reports that have been handled: deleted one year after they were handled, unless kept for a legal reason. [To confirm: this retention period, which is a proposed policy]
• Everything else: while your account exists.
• [To confirm: whether backups exist, and how long deleted data remains in them]

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time from your account settings. When you do:

• Your account, profile, Islander, memberships, blocks and reading history are deleted.
• Discussions, replies and messages you posted stay where they are, shown as from a "Deleted account".
• Islands you own pass to another member; an Island with no other members is deleted.
• Reports and moderation records are kept with your account unlinked from them. A report's saved copy of what was reported can still include your name and words.

Services we use, and where your data is processed

Shoremingle's main data is hosted in Canada, but some of it is processed in other countries, mainly the United States:

• Supabase stores the database (your account, profile, Islands, posts, messages and safety records) and runs sign-in and live updates, on servers in Montréal, Canada. [To confirm: where Supabase keeps backups and logs, and whether its staff can access data from outside Canada]
• Vercel runs the website and app. Its servers for Shoremingle run in Montréal, but its global network delivers pages from locations near you, so request information (such as your IP address and the pages you open) can be processed in other countries, including the United States.
• Resend sends account emails (confirming your address, resetting your password, changing your email). Your email address, the email's contents and delivery records are processed and stored in the United States.

[To confirm: the safeguards for these international transfers (for example the agreements with each provider), the full list of service providers, and the assessment Quebec law requires before personal information leaves Quebec]

Your rights

You can see and change your name, bio, Islander and interests, change your email address and password, and delete your account yourself. [To confirm: the rights that apply to you under applicable law, how to exercise them, and how to complain to a regulator]

Age

Shoremingle is for people aged 16 and over. [To confirm: age requirements in each country where Shoremingle is offered]

Changes

[To confirm: how members will be told about changes to this policy]