Privacy Policy
Last updated April 15, 2026
A/SIDE is built by Lab 1908, based in Minnesota. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and what we do with it. We tried to keep it readable.
The short version: We collect the minimum needed to run the app. We don't sell your data, we don't show ads, and we don't train AI on your content. Your photos are stored on independent infrastructure — not AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.
1. What we collect
Information you provide
- Email address — used to sign in (via one-time passcode), and to send you account-related emails. This is the only credential we store.
- Display name — shown to people who follow you.
- Profile photo and bio — optional. Visible only to people who follow you.
- Posts — photos, videos, and text you share. Visible only to your followers (or a subset if you use Groups).
- Comments and direct messages — visible only to relevant recipients.
Information collected automatically
- Device token — a push notification token from Apple (APNs) or Google (FCM), used to deliver notifications. We store one token per device.
- Anonymous analytics — we use PostHog for aggregate, anonymous usage analytics (screen views, feature usage). We do not track individual behavior, build advertising profiles, or share analytics data with third parties. You are identified only by an internal user ID — never by name, email, or device fingerprint.
Information we hash before storing
- Contacts — if you choose to sync contacts, your phone numbers and email addresses are SHA-256 hashed on your device before being sent to our server. We never see or store your contacts in plain text. Hashes are used only to show you which of your contacts are already on A/SIDE. They are replaced on each sync and deleted when you delete your account.
Information we do not collect
- Location data (GPS, IP-based geolocation)
- Browsing history
- Device identifiers or advertising IDs
- Passwords (we use email + one-time passcode, not passwords)
- EXIF or GPS metadata from your photos (stripped on your device before upload)
2. How we use your data
- To run the app — display your posts to your followers, deliver messages, send notifications.
- To sign you in — send a one-time passcode to your email.
- To improve A/SIDE — anonymous, aggregate analytics help us understand which features are used. We don't analyze individual behavior.
- To process payments — subscription purchases are handled entirely by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) via RevenueCat. We receive a user ID and subscription status — never your payment method, card number, or billing address.
3. What stays on your device
Some features process data entirely on your device. This data never reaches our servers:
- Voice dictation — uses Apple's on-device speech recognition (SpeechAnalyzer, iOS 26+). Audio is processed locally and discarded. We receive only the transcribed text if you choose to post it.
- Photo metadata — EXIF data (including GPS coordinates) is stripped from photos on your device before upload. We store the compressed image only.
- Video metadata — GPS and location metadata is stripped from videos on your device before upload.
- Contact matching — your contacts are hashed on your device. We only receive the hashes.
4. Third-party services
We use a small number of services to operate A/SIDE. None of them receive your content (photos, videos, text).
| Service | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| PostHog | Anonymous analytics | Internal user ID, screen views, feature events |
| RevenueCat | Subscription management | Internal user ID, purchase events |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging | Push notifications | Device token, notification payload (sender name, truncated text) |
| Postmark | Transactional email | Email address, one-time passcode |
| DigitalOcean | Infrastructure & media storage | Encrypted data in transit and at rest |
We do not use advertising SDKs, tracking pixels, or data brokers.
5. Where your data lives
All data is stored on DigitalOcean infrastructure in the United States (NYC3 region). We chose DigitalOcean specifically because it is an independent provider — not Amazon, Google, or Microsoft. Your data is not commingled with big-tech ecosystems.
Data is encrypted in transit (TLS/HTTPS) between your device and our servers.
6. Data retention and deletion
- Deleting a post, comment, or message removes it from our servers. Deleted content is not recoverable.
- Deleting your account removes your profile, posts, comments, messages, group memberships, follow relationships, contact hashes, and device tokens. To delete your account, go to Settings → Delete Account in the app, or email hello@lab1908.com.
- Free tier history — on the free plan, feed and message history older than 7 days is not accessible. Upgrading to Pro restores access to your full history.
7. Children's privacy
A/SIDE is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 is using A/SIDE, please contact us at hello@lab1908.com and we will delete the account.
8. AI and your content
We do not use your photos, videos, text, messages, or any other content to train machine learning models or AI systems. We do not license your content to third parties for AI training. This is not a future plan — it is a permanent commitment.
9. Device permissions
A/SIDE requests the following device permissions, all of which are optional:
- Camera — to take photos and videos for posts.
- Photo library — to select existing photos and videos for posts.
- Microphone — to record video audio and use voice dictation.
- Speech recognition — to transcribe voice to text, on-device only.
- Contacts — to find friends already on A/SIDE. Contacts are hashed on-device.
- Notifications — to receive push notifications for new posts, comments, and messages.
You can revoke any permission at any time in your device settings. The app continues to work without any of these permissions — you just won't have access to that specific feature.
10. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes, we'll notify you in the app or by email before the changes take effect. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will always reflect the current version.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy? Email hello@lab1908.com.
Lab 1908
Minnesota, United States