Privacy Policy

Section 01

Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly, information generated through your use of the app, and information from third-party services you connect.

• Account information: name, email address, password (hashed), email verification status, and profile photo.
• Identity verification: ID images and selfie submitted to Stripe Identity. Borrowhood receives verification results and identity details; ID images are not shown to neighbors. Identity verification does not verify town residency.
• Payment information: Borrowhood does not collect or process payments for current item exchanges. Any fee is arranged directly between neighbors. Historical payment records may remain from earlier payment features.
• Location information: neighborhood or town you choose. With permission, the app can use device location to suggest your town; onboarding sends your town and state, not precise device coordinates, to Borrowhood. We do not collect continuous or background GPS location.
• Listings and activity: items you post to lend, give away for free, or sell; requests; public replies; private messages including photos; and exchange history.
• Device and usage data: device type, OS version, push notification tokens, app crash reports, and feature usage analytics.

Section 02

How We Use Your Information

• Operate and improve the BorrowHood platform and app.
• Enable requests, pickup and return confirmations, and completed exchanges between neighbors.
• Verify identity via Stripe Identity for access to town-level sharing details.
• Send transactional notifications (email verification and password reset codes, exchange updates, and messages).
• Enforce our Terms of Service and resolve disputes between users.
• Comply with legal obligations including fraud prevention and tax reporting.
• Send you service-related communications and, with your consent, promotional updates.

Section 03

How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only in the following circumstances:

• Other users: Your display name, profile photo, completed exchanges, and identity verification status are available through the Service. Listing details follow the audience you choose. Private messages and chat photos are shared with conversation participants; public replies follow the original post’s audience.
• Stripe: Identity verification and historical payment services are handled by Stripe, Inc. Stripe's privacy policy governs their use of your data.
• Service providers: Hosting and database infrastructure (Railway/PostgreSQL), error monitoring, and analytics providers who process data on our behalf under data processing agreements.
• Legal compliance: When required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users or the public.
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred with notice to you.

Section 04

Sharing Audiences & Data Visibility

Choose the audience for each listing. You can also keep an item private in your inventory:

• Friends Share with your connected friends.
• Neighborhood Share with members of your neighborhood.
• Town People nearby can browse limited previews. Access to sharing details requires the viewer to verify identity and have a matching town and state.

A private offer shares only the selected item with the requester. Identity verification is separate from your sharing audience and does not verify residency.

Section 05

Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal, tax, or fraud-prevention purposes (typically up to 7 years for financial records).

Identity verification records processed through Stripe Identity are subject to Stripe's retention policies.

Section 06

Children's Privacy

Borrowhood is intended for adults age 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected information from a child, we will delete it promptly.

Section 07

Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Delete your account and associated personal data using Profile → Delete Account, or contact us for help.
• Opt out of promotional communications at any time.
• Port your data in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at chris@borrowhood.net. We will respond within 30 days.

Section 08

Security

We use industry-standard security practices including TLS encryption in transit, hashed passwords (bcrypt), JWT-based authentication, and role-based access controls. Payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe and never touches our servers in raw form. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Section 09

Third-Party Services

Our app integrates with the following third-party services, each governed by their own privacy policies:

• Stripe – payments, payouts, and identity verification (stripe.com/privacy)
• Apple Sign In / Google Sign In – optional authentication
• Expo / EAS – app distribution and push notifications
• Railway – backend hosting and PostgreSQL database

Section 10

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify you through the app or by email for material changes. Your continued use of BorrowHood after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

Section 11

Contact Us

If you have questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please reach out: