Privacy Policy

Effective: May 27, 2026

Teepo (“we”, “us”) is a social app that helps golfers find playing partners. We take your privacy seriously. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have.

This policy applies to the Teepo iOS app, the teepo.club website, and any related services that explicitly link to this policy (the “Services”). By using the Services you confirm you have read and agree to this policy.

1. Who We Are

Teepo is operated by an independent developer. You can reach us at mingqic@gmail.com. Use this address for any privacy-related question or request.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect the minimum information needed to run the Services. Specifically:

Account & profile

• Email address and phone number (for sign-in and account recovery)
• Display name, avatar, gender, home city (so other golfers can recognize you)
• Handicap and club memberships (optional, used for session matching)
• Bio and photo wall (whatever you voluntarily fill in)

Authentication

• If you sign in with Google: your Google account ID, email, name, profile photo
• If you sign in with Apple: your Apple account ID, name (if you grant it), relay email
• If you register with email/password: your email and an encrypted password (stored hashed by Firebase Authentication — we cannot see the plaintext)
• If you sign in with phone: your phone number and one-time verification code

Location

• With your permission, we use your current location (precise or approximate, per your iOS setting) to find nearby courts and players
• You can revoke location access at any time in iOS Settings; some “Nearby” features will stop working

Usage & content

• Sessions you create or join, invites you send, requests you make, chat messages
• Course check-ins, photos you upload, ratings and reviews for players or courses
• Round scores you record (including optional notes about other players in your group — these notes are visible only to you and are never shared)
• Referrals you trigger and the friends who join through your link

Device & logs

• Device model, OS version, app version, in-app language setting
• Push notification token (so we can deliver session and message alerts; you can disable push in iOS Settings)
• Access timestamps, IP address, crash logs (for debugging and abuse prevention)

AI chat

• Conversations with “Teepo Bear” (the in-app AI assistant) are forwarded through our server proxy to Anthropic (see “How We Share” below)

3. How We Use This Information

• Provide core features: session matching, chat, notifications, ratings, check-in footprint
• Account security: sign-in verification, fraud and abuse prevention
• Customer support: responding to your questions and feedback
• Product improvements: analyzing usage to fix bugs and improve the experience (never used for individual ad targeting)
• Legal obligations: cooperating with lawful requests when required

4. How We Share Your Information

With other users. Your public profile (display name, avatar, city, handicap, clubs, check-in footprint, ratings, bio, sessions you create or join) is visible to other golfers on the platform. Chat content is only shared with the people in that conversation.

With service providers. We use the following third parties to run Teepo. They may access your information only to perform services on our behalf:

• Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Messaging, Hosting) — accounts, data storage, push notifications, web hosting. Operated by Google LLC in the United States.
• Google Sign-In / Apple Sign-In — when you choose to authenticate via these providers
• Google Maps Platform — to render maps on court detail pages and provide navigation deep links
• Anthropic, PBC — when you chat with Teepo Bear, the conversation is forwarded through our server proxy to Anthropic to generate the reply. We do not pass your account identity to Anthropic, but the conversation content itself is transmitted to them and is subject to their privacy policy
• Vercel Inc. — hosting provider for teepo.club

Legal requirements. We may share information when we believe in good faith that it is necessary to comply with the law, protect rights, prevent fraud, or address safety.

We do not sell your personal information or share it with third-party advertisers for targeted advertising.

5. Data Retention

We keep your information for as long as needed to provide the Services. After you delete your account, we remove your personal data from our production systems within a reasonable period (typically 30 days). Backups expire on their natural schedule. We may retain limited log data longer to meet legal obligations, prevent fraud, or resolve disputes.

6. Your Rights

• Access & correction — review and edit your profile in Profile → Edit Profile. For other data we hold about you, email us.
• Deletion— see “Account Deletion” below
• System-level permissions (location, notifications, photos) — toggle anytime in iOS Settings → Teepo
• Opt out of AI chat — simply do not use Teepo Bear

If you live in a jurisdiction that grants additional rights (EU GDPR, California CCPA, China PIPL, etc.) — data portability, restriction of processing, objection to automated decisions — exercise them by emailing us.

7. Account Deletion

You can delete your Teepo account in two ways:

• In-app — open Teepo → Profile → Settings → scroll to the bottom → Delete Account, and confirm
• By email — from the email address you signed up with, send a deletion request to mingqic@gmail.com. We will process it within 7 business days.

After deletion: your profile, photos, chat history, check-ins, ratings, and invitations are removed from production; sessions you created are cancelled; content you contributed to other people’s invites or chats may remain for the integrity of their records but is disassociated from your identity.

8. Security

We use Firebase’s transport and at-rest encryption, strict server-side access rules (Firestore Security Rules), and a least-privilege approach to protect your data. That said, no internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure.

9. International Data Transfers

Our primary backend services (Firebase, Vercel, Anthropic) operate from servers in the United States. By using Teepo you understand and consent that your information may be transferred outside your country of residence and processed under U.S. law and applicable data-protection laws.

10. Minors

Teepo is intended for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has registered without parental consent, please contact us so we can delete the account.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced in the app and the effective date at the top will be updated. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact Us

For any questions, requests, or complaints related to this policy or your personal information, please contact mingqic@gmail.com.