Introduction
Cyrene LLC ("we," "us," or "our") operates the Circa mobile application and related services at usecirca.app. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have.
By using Circa, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here.
Where Circa Is Available
Circa is offered in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This Privacy Policy is written for users in those countries. We do not currently offer Circa in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or other territories outside that list.
Information We Collect
Account information: When you create an account, we collect your email address and authentication credentials through our identity provider (Supabase Auth). If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive the profile information those providers share with us (such as name and email).
Age: When you create an account we ask for your date of birth to check that you are 13 or older. We store that date with your profile. We do not use it for advertising.
Profile information: You may provide a display name, bio, profile photo, and backdrop color. Other members of your Groups can see this information according to Group membership.
Content you create: Photos, videos, captions, comments, reactions, chat messages, and Highlights you post in Circa are stored so your Group can view and interact with them.
Usage and device data: We collect basic diagnostic information (app version, device type, operating system version). Circa also collects crash reports, freeze reports, and app-speed timings automatically on a sample of sessions so we can find and fix bugs.
Push notifications: If you enable notifications, we register a device token with Apple Push Notification service so we can alert you about activity in your Groups. You can turn notifications off at any time in iOS Settings.
Contacts (on device only): If you choose to find friends already on Circa, your device hashes email addresses from your address book locally and sends only those hashes to Circa for a match. Your address book itself is never uploaded.
Waitlist Information
If you join the waitlist on usecirca.app, we collect your email address and any optional details you provide (such as first name, Group name, school or university, Group type, Group size, and your role). We use this only to email you when Circa launches.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve Circa
- Authenticate you and secure your account
- Display your content to members of your Groups
- Send in-app notifications about activity in your Groups (push notifications when enabled)
- Respond to support requests and enforce our Terms
- Comply with legal obligations
How We Store Data
Structured data (profiles, Groups, memories, captions, comments, chat text, and membership records) is stored in a PostgreSQL database hosted by Supabase in the United States (region us-east-1).
Photos and videos are stored in Cloudflare R2 and served through media.usecirca.app for about 30 days. After that window they leave Circa's servers and live on members' phones. Circa is not a backup of your camera roll. If you lose your phone without turning on Circa's iCloud backup in Settings → Storage, your copy of those photos can go with it. A member who joins after the window does not receive older photos from Circa.
Storage paths are kept in our database; full provider URLs are constructed at read time.
We do not sell your personal information.
Sharing With Others
Circa is a private, Group-based app. Content you post in a Group is visible to members of that Group according to memory membership and Group settings. Your profile information may be visible to other members when you post, comment, or appear in a member list.
We share information with the service providers who run Circa: Supabase (accounts and database), Cloudflare (media files, the media gateway, and the marketing site), Resend (email), PostHog (product analytics — a user id, not your name or email), Sentry (crash reports and app performance diagnostics — a user id, not your name or email), Google AdMob (non-personalized ads on the free tier), and Apple (Sign in with Apple, push notifications, and Circa+).
We may disclose information if required by law, including preservation and reporting of child sexual abuse material as described under Retention and Deletion.
Advertising
Free Circa shows ads on Today and Memory Lane (Feed, Grid, and Theater), served by Google AdMob. Ads do not appear in Group chat or Camera.
These ads are not personalized. Circa does not read Apple's advertising identifier (IDFA) to build an interest profile, and Circa does not show an App Tracking Transparency prompt.
Google may still use a mobile advertising identifier for frequency capping (so you do not see the same ad too often) and for aggregated reporting. That is not the same as targeting ads to you based on your activity in other apps.
Circa+ removes ads. Manage or cancel in Settings → Circa+ or in your Apple ID subscriptions.
Crash Reports and App Performance
Circa collects crash reports, freeze reports, and timings for a sample of sessions, to find and fix bugs.
Those reports carry your account ID, device model, operating system version, and app version — not your name, email, photos, videos, captions, or messages.
Circa does not record the screen. There is no session replay and no screenshots.
Media and network addresses are stripped of access tokens before they are sent.
This information is not used for advertising and is not sold.
It is processed by Sentry and expires automatically within the retention window (30 days on the free plan, 90 days on the paid plan).
Cookies and Analytics
Our website uses only the minimal cookies and similar technologies needed to operate the site and to protect our waitlist form from spam and abuse (using Cloudflare Turnstile). We may use privacy-respecting analytics to understand aggregate usage and improve Circa. The marketing website does not use advertising trackers. In the Circa iOS app, the free tier shows non-personalized ads on Today and Memory Lane (see Advertising above). We do not sell your personal information.
Cross-Border Transfers
Circa is operated from the United States. Structured data is stored in the United States (Supabase, us-east-1). Media files are stored in Cloudflare R2 and may be cached at Cloudflare edge locations. Analytics and crash reports are processed by PostHog and Sentry in the United States. Email is sent through Resend. Ads are served by Google AdMob.
If you use Circa from Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States and in other countries where our service providers operate. Those countries may have different data-protection laws than your country. We use contractual and technical safeguards with our service providers appropriate to the transfer.
Data Security
We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Retention and Deletion
Photos and videos leave Circa's servers after about 30 days and live on members' phones. Captions, comments, and chat text stay in our database. Circa does not sell storage, and nothing is deleted because a subscription changed — there is no Group storage plan.
When you delete your account in Settings → Delete Account, we delete your profile (including your date of birth), your sessions, your device push tokens, your comments and chat messages, and your analytics record. Photos and videos you posted in a Group stay in that Group so other members do not lose the thread, shown as from a Former member.
Deleting your account does not delete copies of your content that other members already hold on their devices (including photos they downloaded during the transit window or that Circa stored in their on-device archive). It also does not delete a backup you chose to keep in Apple iCloud Drive.
Some copies can remain for a limited time: database backups, email we already sent, Apple's record of a Circa+ purchase, the media edge cache (a deleted file can still be served for up to 24 hours from the gateway cache, and residual CDN copies may linger briefly), and Sentry crash and performance reports (which expire automatically within 30 days on the free plan or 90 days on the paid plan). If a report of child sexual abuse material is filed, we preserve the reported media for about 90 days as required by US law and may report it to NCMEC.
You can delete your account in the app under Settings → Delete Account. If you need help, contact support@usecirca.app from the email address associated with your account.
Your Choices
- Edit your profile information in the app
- Leave a Group at any time (subject to Group rules)
- Control notification preferences in Settings (when push is available)
- Delete your account in Settings, or email support@usecirca.app for a copy of your data
- Revoke Photos library access in iOS Settings
- Turn Circa+ on or off to remove or restore ads
Your Regional Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights regarding your personal information:
- United States (including California and other state privacy laws): You may have the right to know what personal information we collect, request access or deletion, and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. You may also contact the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general.
- Canada: You may have rights under PIPEDA and applicable provincial laws, including access and correction. You may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
- Australia: You may have rights under the Australian Privacy Principles, including access and correction. You may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
- New Zealand: You may have rights under the Privacy Act 2020, including access and correction. You may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
To exercise any of these rights, contact support@usecirca.app from the email address associated with your account.
Children
Circa is for people 13 and older. We ask for your date of birth before you create an account and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has an account, contact support@usecirca.app and we will delete it.
Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy in the app and at usecirca.app/privacy and update the "Last updated" date. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
Contact Us
Questions about this Privacy Policy? Email support@usecirca.app.
Operator: Cyrene LLC.