Privacy Policy
Effective Date: July 15, 2025
Last Updated: July 5, 2026
Introduction
Via App, Inc. ("via," "we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information of individuals who use our mobile application for iOS and Android (the "App"), our website, and related services (collectively, the "Services"). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we collect it, every way we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and how you can exercise control over it — including how to withdraw consent and delete your data at any time.
This Privacy Policy is drafted to comply with applicable privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other applicable state and international laws, as well as the Apple App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play policies governing data collection, use, and sharing.
By accessing or using the Services, you agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described in this Privacy Policy. Where consent is required by law or by platform rules — including for the collection of precise geolocation — we will ask for it separately and you may decline or withdraw it at any time without losing access to the core Services.
1. Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to all users of the Services and covers any personal information that Via App, Inc. collects, uses, stores, shares, or otherwise processes in connection with your access to and use of the Services, whether through the App on iOS or Android, our website, or related channels such as SMS.
2. Information We Collect
a. Identifiers:
Name or username
Email address or phone number
Account login credentials
b. Sensitive Personal Information:
Precise geolocation (collected only with your separate, explicit opt-in consent through your device's location permission — see Section 4)
Optional demographic information that you choose to share, such as sexual orientation and gender identity (see subsection c below)
Account access credentials
c. Profile and User-Submitted Content:
Optional demographic data (e.g., age, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation). Some of this information — including sexual orientation — is treated as sensitive personal information under laws such as the GDPR and CPRA. You are never required to provide it; we collect and process it only if you voluntarily add it to your profile, which constitutes your explicit consent, and we use it solely to operate the matching and discovery features you'd expect it to power. You can edit or remove it at any time in your profile settings.
Self-authored profile descriptions and photos
Profile drop locations (the venues you choose to associate with your profile)
d. Device and Technical Data:
IP address
Browser type and device identifiers (including, on Android, the resettable Android Advertising ID, and on iOS, the IDFA only with your App Tracking Transparency consent)
App usage data
e. Location Data:
Approximate (coarse) geolocation
Precise geolocation, only with your consent, as described in Section 4
f. Internet and Network Activity:
Log data, usage trends, cookies, and analytics
g. Commercial Information:
Records of optional in-app purchases you make. Purchases made through the App are processed by Apple (through your App Store account) or Google (through your Google Play account); we receive transaction confirmations but do not receive or store your full payment card number.
We practice data minimization: we only request access to data that is relevant to the core functionality of the Services, and we only collect and use the data required to accomplish the relevant task.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the categories of information described above for the following purposes:
To operate, maintain, and improve the Services
To enable the location-based features described in Section 4
To personalize content and suggest connections
To process and fulfill optional in-app purchases
To communicate with you about your account and the Services
To detect fraud, enforce our Terms, review reports of objectionable content or conduct, and enhance safety and security
To comply with legal obligations
To analyze performance and usage of the Services
To market the Services where legally permitted and, where required, with your consent
We will not use your personal information for a purpose materially different from the purposes described in this Privacy Policy without first providing you notice and, where required, obtaining your consent. Data collected for one purpose is not repurposed for another without that further consent. We do not use sensitive personal information, including sexual orientation, for advertising or marketing, and we do not disclose it to third parties except to service providers as necessary to operate the Services.
4. Location Data
Location is at the heart of via. Because of that, we want to be unusually clear about exactly what location data we collect, when we collect it, what we do with it, and the controls you have.
4.1 Your Consent Comes First
We collect device location only after you grant permission through your device's operating system prompt (Apple's Location Services permission on iOS, or the system location permission on Android). We collect precise geolocation only if you have both (a) granted the App location permission and (b) enabled precise location for via (the "Precise Location" toggle on iOS; the "Precise" option on Android). You may grant approximate location only, and the App will continue to function.
4.2 When We Collect Location
While you are using the App ("When In Use" on iOS; "Only while using the app" on Android). If you grant this permission, we collect your device location while the App is open to show you nearby via verified locations, verify check-ins, and surface people and places around you.
In the background ("Always" on iOS; "Allow all the time" on Android), only if you separately opt in. If you grant background permission, the App can detect when you arrive at or leave a via verified location even when the App is closed, so you can be automatically checked in and so we can notify you of connection opportunities at that venue. Background location is used solely to power these arrival and departure features. We do not use background location to build a continuous record of your movements, and we do not collect background location for advertising or marketing purposes.
4.3 Precise vs. Approximate Location
Precise geolocation identifies your location within a small radius (typically a few meters). Approximate location identifies only a general area. Precise location allows accurate venue check-ins; approximate location still allows you to browse nearby venues. You can switch the App to approximate location at any time: on iOS, Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > via > turn off "Precise Location"; on Android, Settings > Location > App permissions > via > select "Approximate." The App will continue to work with approximate location.
4.4 Using via Without Location
You do not need to enable location access to use via. If you decline location permission, you can still create a profile, browse via verified locations, and check in manually by selecting a venue in the App. Features that require verifying your physical presence at a venue may be limited, but no core functionality, content, or compensation is conditioned on your enabling location access, and paid features do not require location access.
4.5 How We Use Location Data
To display via verified locations near you
To verify and record check-ins at via verified locations
To power profile drops and reconnect you with people you crossed paths with at a venue
To detect arrival at or departure from via verified locations (background location, only with your separate background permission)
To prevent fraud, spoofed check-ins, and abuse of the platform
4.6 How We Share (and Do Not Share) Location Data
We do not sell your precise geolocation, and we do not share it with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising.
We do not share precise geolocation with analytics or advertising platforms (such as Firebase Analytics, Google Analytics, Meta, or TikTok). Any location-related data used for analytics or marketing is first coarsened to an approximate area or aggregated so that it no longer identifies your precise position.
Other users never see your real-time location. They see only the check-ins and profile drops you choose to make visible.
Service providers that process location on our behalf (for example, our hosting and mapping providers) may do so solely to provide the Services to us, under contracts that require them to protect your data to the same standard described in this Privacy Policy and prohibit them from using it for their own purposes.
4.7 How Long We Keep Location Data
Raw precise coordinates collected to verify a check-in or venue arrival are retained only as long as needed to perform that verification and for fraud prevention, and in any event no longer than 30 days, after which they are deleted or reduced to the venue-level record (i.e., the name of the via verified location). Venue-level check-in history and profile drops are retained until you remove them or delete your account.
4.8 Withdrawing Consent for Location
You can withdraw your consent to location collection at any time, and doing so takes effect immediately:
On iOS: Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > via — set to "Never," restrict to "While Using," or turn off "Precise Location"
On Android: Settings > Location > App permissions > via — select "Don't allow," "Only while using the app," or "Approximate"
In the App: disable automatic check-in and background arrival detection in your via settings
To delete previously collected location data: use the in-app deletion controls or contact privacy@wemetvia.com
5. Profile Drops
via allows you to voluntarily associate your profile with specific physical locations ("profile drops"). This enables discovery by others visiting the same places. Profile drops are created only at your direction. We do not share real-time location through profile drops. Drop associations are stored until removed by you or until your account is deleted.
6. Messaging & Phone Number Use (SMS, RCS, and Mobile Communications)
If you provide your phone number to via — for example when you sign up, join a waitlist, participate in an event, or access certain features — we may use that number to send you SMS, MMS, or Rich Communication Services ("RCS") messages related to your use of the Services. These messages may include:
Account or login notifications
Check-in confirmations
Location-based or feature-related updates
Security alerts
Customer-support messages
Event reminders or follow-ups
Promotional or marketing messages, only if you have opted in
Message frequency will vary based on your activity and interaction with via. Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier and plan.
Opting out of mobile messages. You may opt out of receiving SMS or RCS messages at any time by replying STOP to any message we send. After doing so, you will receive one final confirmation message. You may continue to receive essential service-related notifications through the App or email as permitted under applicable law.
How we share mobile messaging information. We do not sell or share your phone number or messaging opt-in data with third parties for their own marketing or advertising purposes. We may share your phone number and messaging-related information with third-party service providers (such as Twilio) solely for the purpose of delivering messages, maintaining our messaging systems, preventing fraud, or performing analytics. These partners are contractually required to protect your information to the same standard described in this Privacy Policy and may not use it for their own purposes.
Retention of messaging data. We retain your phone number and messaging metadata (such as timestamps, delivery status, and carrier information) for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account or opt out of messaging, we will delete or anonymize this information within our normal deletion window, unless we are required to retain it for legal, security, or compliance reasons.
Your consent. By providing your phone number and interacting with via's mobile messaging features, you consent to the collection, use, and processing of your number as described in this section, and you acknowledge that no mobile carrier is liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
7. Disclosure of Information
We may share personal information with the following categories of recipients, for the purposes described:
Service providers (e.g., cloud hosting, Firebase, Google Analytics) that process data on our behalf to operate the Services
Business partners, in aggregated and anonymized form only
Marketing platforms (e.g., Meta, TikTok), which receive only non-precise data such as coarsened location, hashed identifiers, or campaign analytics — never your precise geolocation, and only in compliance with the consent and tracking rules described in Section 8
Location venues and community-building organizations, in aggregated form (for example, foot-traffic trends at a via verified location); we do not disclose your identity or precise coordinates to venues without your consent
Legal authorities, if required by law, subpoena, or legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, and property of via and our users
Acquirers and potential acquirers of our company, business, or all or substantially all of our assets, in which case this Privacy Policy will continue to apply to your information
Every third party with whom we share personal data — including analytics tools, advertising networks, third-party SDKs, and any parent, subsidiary, or related entity with access to user data — is required to provide the same or equal protection of your data as stated in this Privacy Policy. We do not sell personal information for monetary value, and we do not share precise geolocation or sexual orientation data with any third party for its own use.
8. Tracking, Advertising, and Platform Controls
We do not track your activity across other companies' apps and websites without your permission.
On iOS: if we ever seek to link your data with third-party data for advertising or to share identifiers with data brokers or ad networks in a way that constitutes "tracking" under Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework, we will first request your permission through the App Tracking Transparency prompt, and we will honor your choice. Declining tracking does not limit your access to any feature of the Services.
On Android: any advertising-related use of identifiers is limited to the resettable Android Advertising ID, and we honor your device-level choices: you may reset or delete your Advertising ID at any time in Settings > Privacy > Ads. If you delete your Advertising ID, we will not attempt to identify you for advertising through other means.
9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies on our website to analyze behavior, manage sessions, deliver marketing, and support third-party integrations (e.g., Maps API). See our Cookie Policy for more detail, including how to manage cookie preferences. We will honor opt-out preference signals, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC), as required by applicable law.
10. Retention of Personal Information
We retain personal information for as long as you maintain an active account, and only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Shorter periods apply to specific data types, including precise location (Section 4.7). Following account deletion, residual data may be retained for up to 90 days for legal, security, and operational reasons, after which it is deleted or anonymized, except where longer retention is required by law. Purchase records may be retained longer where required for tax, accounting, or legal compliance.
11. Your Privacy Rights and Choices
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information; to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale or sharing of personal information; to limit the use of sensitive personal information (including precise geolocation and sexual orientation); and to withdraw consent at any time.
Delete your account and data: in the App at Settings > Account > Delete Account, or by submitting a request through the account deletion page on our website — no reinstallation of the App required. Account deletion removes your profile, drops, check-in history, and associated personal information, subject to the retention windows in Section 10.
Withdraw location consent: at any time via your device settings or in-app controls (Section 4.8)
Remove optional demographic data: at any time in your profile settings
Opt out via browser signal: we honor applicable opt-out preference signals as described in Section 9
Exercise any other right: contact privacy@wemetvia.com. We will verify and respond to your request as required by applicable law, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
12. Children's Privacy
via is not intended for users under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18 and will delete such data upon discovery.
13. Security
We use encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and secure hosting to protect your data, and we apply heightened controls to sensitive data such as precise geolocation. No system is 100% secure; please also safeguard your login credentials.
14. International Users
via is U.S.-based. If you access the Services from outside the U.S., your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States or other jurisdictions, subject to safeguards required by applicable law.
15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy periodically. Material changes will be communicated as required by law, including in-App notice where appropriate. If a change materially expands how we collect, use, or share precise geolocation, we will obtain fresh consent before the change applies to you. The latest version will always be posted on our website.
16. Contact Us
Via App, Inc.
Email: privacy@wemetvia.com
