Cete Privacy Policy

Effective November 8, 2026

Cete is an app for staying close to friends and family. This policy explains what Cete collects, why, who can see it, and how to delete it. In short: Cete collects only what its features need, shows your things only to the people you share them with, and never sells your data, shows ads or tracks you.

What Cete collects

• Account: your email address and password. Passwords are stored only as a secure hash by our sign-in provider; nobody at Cete can read them. If you use Sign in with Apple instead, Cete gets the email address Apple shares (which can be a private address that forwards to yours) and, if you choose to share it, your name. Cete never gets your Apple password.
• Profile: your name, and optionally a photo, birthday and phone number. You can hide your birth year. Your time zone, so times show correctly for you and your connections.
• Connections: who you're connected with, invite codes you create, requests to connect you send or get, suggestions you hide, and your choices in Profile > Privacy.
• Availability: the times you say you're open to talk, who can see each one, and when you tap "I'm free now" (with the note you add, if any).
• Stay in touch: for people you choose, how often you'd like a reminder and when you last talked (from tapping Call, FaceTime, Message or "We talked today" in Cete). Only you can see this.
• Birthdays you add for people who aren't on Cete: a name and a date.
• Memories: the groups you're in, the stories, photos, voice recordings, questions, comments and reactions you share in them, and when you last opened each group (to show what's new).
• Notifications: an address for your phone from Apple, so Cete can send it notifications, which kinds of notification you want, and who or which groups you've muted. Birthday reminder choices stay on your device.
• Reports: if you report a memory, a comment or a person, what you reported, the reason and anything you write.
• Blocks: the people you've blocked, so they can't connect with you again.
• Terms: when you agreed to the terms of use.

Cete does not collect your location, contacts, advertising identifiers or browsing activity, and does not use analytics or tracking tools.

Finding people from your contacts

If you choose Search your contacts, Cete reads your contacts' phone numbers and email addresses on your phone and turns each one into a one-way code (a SHA-256 hash) that can't be turned back into the number or email. Only those codes are sent, to compare with the codes of Cete accounts' emails and phone numbers. Your contacts, and the codes, aren't saved. Cete only asks for access to your contacts when you tap Search your contacts.

In the same way, people who have your email or phone number in their contacts can see that you're on Cete, with your name, and ask to connect. You can turn this off in Profile > Privacy.

Who can see it

• Connections (people you connected with by invite or request) see your name, photo, birthday (without the year if you hide it), phone number if you add one, and time zone, and the availability you share with them. Nobody can see who you've muted.
• People who can find you (those with your email or phone number in their contacts, and people connected to your connections) see only your name, and how many connections you share, until you accept a request from them. Either can be turned off in Profile > Privacy. People you've blocked never see you.
• Requests to connect are seen by you and the other person. If you decline one, they aren't told.
• Members of your groups see what you share in that group, plus your name, photo and time zone. Group members you aren't connected with don't see your birthday.
• Question schedules are visible only to the person who set one up and the person who receives the questions.
• Birthdays you add yourself are visible only to you.
• Reports are seen only by you and by the person at Cete who reviews them. The person you report isn't told.
• Blocks are seen only by you. The person you block isn't told.

Microphone, photos and notifications

• The microphone is used only while you record a voice memory or comment, and only after you allow it.
• Photos you choose are made smaller and uploaded only when you share them. Cete can't see the rest of your photo library.
• Contacts are read only when you tap Search your contacts, and only after you allow it (see above).
• Notifications: Cete sends notifications when a connection is free to talk, when there's a question for you, when someone shares in your groups, and when someone asks to connect or accepts your request. Birthday reminders are scheduled on your phone. You can choose which ones you get in the app, or turn them all off in the iPhone's Settings.

Service providers

Cete uses a small number of providers to run the app. They process data only to provide their service to Cete:

• Supabase stores the app's data and files and handles sign-in.
• Resend sends emails such as sign-up and password reset codes, and passes reports on to Cete's support inbox.
• Apple handles Sign in with Apple, if you use it, and delivers notifications.

Your data may be stored and processed in countries other than your own, including the United States.

How long it's kept

Your data is kept while your account exists. When you delete your account, it's deleted straight away from the app's database and file storage. Backups kept by our providers are removed on their normal schedule, typically within a few weeks.

Deleting your account

In the app, go to Profile > Delete account. This deletes your sign-in, profile, photo, phone number, notification settings, privacy choices, reports you made, the people you blocked, requests to connect, connections, invites, availability, the birthdays you added, and your place in your groups. You can choose whether the memories and comments you shared stay in your groups for the others to keep (shown as from "A former member") or are deleted too. If you use Sign in with Apple, Cete is also disconnected from your Apple ID. You can also email us to ask for deletion.

Children

Cete is not meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child has an account, contact us and we'll delete it.

Your rights

You can see and change your profile in the app at any time, download a copy of a group's memories (Group settings > Export archive), and delete your account and data. Depending on where you live, you may have other rights, such as getting a copy of your data. Email us and we'll help.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app.

Contact

Questions or requests: support@joincete.com