Privacy Policy

When you create an account we collect the information you give us:

• Your email address (required) — used to sign in, verify your account, and send account emails (password resets, verification). While email notifications are on, also for circle notifications and occasional news about Covalent. Every news email has a link to stop news, and you can turn email notifications off from your dashboard.
• A username of your choosing (required) — this is the only identifier other members of your circle ever see.
• Your name (optional) — only our team sees it, never other members.
• The challenge you are facing and a short description of your situation (both required) — used to match you with a relevant circle.
• Your date of birth (required) — to check that your declared age is at least 18. Older accounts without a date must supply it before using chat. This is not identity verification, and other members cannot see your date of birth.
• Your country and the languages you speak (required), your gender (optional), and your timezone, which your device supplies — used to match you and to count your days in your local time.

As you use the Platform we also store the content you create: the messages you send in your circle's chat, your private conversation with Kai, your diary entries and the mood you attach to them, your answers to polls, feedback you send us, and any reports you submit. We record basic technical metadata: timestamps; the IP address and browser or device type used when you change or reset your password; IP addresses used briefly to limit repeated attempts; the device type of each device you register for notifications; and error reports from the app, which never include your email or message content.

What you tell us about your challenge, your situation, your mood and what you write can be sensitive, health-related information. We use it only to match you, to run your circle, to keep members safe and, in aggregated form that identifies no one, to improve matching. We never use it for advertising or advertising measurement, and we do not sell it or share it with advertisers.

We do not ask for, and you should not share, government identification numbers, financial details, or clinical records. Covalent is free during the launch period and we do not process payments.

Your diary is visible only to you. Access is enforced by a database-level security rule that permits reading and writing a diary entry only to the account that created it. No staff-facing moderation or administration tool can query, display, or export your diary entries. You can download your own entries with your data export (Settings → Privacy and devices on the website, You → Download my data in the app). There is no staff screen anywhere that shows them.

The one caveat we owe you honestly: your entries are stored in our database, and, like any hosted service, our infrastructure provider and a small number of technical personnel hold credentials capable of direct database access. That access is not used to read diaries, and no product feature exposes them. Your entries are not end-to-end encrypted, which means we cannot claim it is technically impossible for us to read them — only that we do not, and that nothing in the product allows it.

We do not use your diary entries to train machine-learning models, and we do not share them with anyone.

What we do record is that the diary was used, never what is in it: the dates on which you wrote an entry, to show you your diary streak, and each time the diary is opened. Our team can see how many times each member opened their diary and when they last did, to understand whether it is being used. That is all they see: never what you wrote, and never whether a given day's entry exists.

Messages you send in your circle are visible to the other members of that circle — normally 4 to 6 people, never more than 8 — and are not public or indexed. Other members see your chosen username, never your real name or email address.

Your circle has a shared streak: the number of days in a row on which at least two members wrote in the chat. To count it we record, for each day, which members wrote that day — not what they wrote. Members see only the circle's total; the streak never shows who did or did not write on a given day.

Missions and rewards are worked out from counts of your own activity, never from what you wrote: on how many days, and in how many weeks, you wrote in your circle, how many times you replied to someone, how many of your messages someone else answered, on how many days you wrote in your diary, and your circle's longest streak. Your progress is visible only to you. The avatar, frame, name colour, name style and badge you choose to wear are shown to the members of your circle. Some looks can only be earned by writing in your diary, so wearing one tells your circle that you use it; you choose whether to wear them.

Circle messages can be reviewed by our moderation team. This is a safety measure, not a marketing one, and we would rather state it plainly than imply a privacy we do not provide. Review happens when a member files a report, when our automated safety checks flag a message for possible risk (such as language suggesting someone may be in danger, sharing of contact details, or harassment), and when we investigate a suspected breach of the Terms. A message flagged for contact details or harassment is held back from the circle until a moderator reviews it; a message flagged because someone may be in danger stays visible, so the circle can still answer.

A moderator may remove a message from a circle. Removed messages stop being visible to members but are retained so the action can be reversed if it was a mistake, and so evidence remains available if a safety matter escalates.

• Other members of your circle: your username, and the messages you send in that circle. Nothing else.
• The Covalent map: only if you choose to appear on it, which is off until you turn it on. Signed-in members then see your username and the look you wear, joined to Kai and our team, and a line to anyone else on the map who shared a circle with you. People who are not signed in see only Kai, our team and example people, and no one who blocked you, or whom you blocked, sees you there. Nothing else is shown, no one can contact you from it, and turning it off or deleting your account removes you and your lines at once.
• Kai: Kai is written by our team, and some of Kai's messages are sent automatically. Our team reads what you write in your private conversation with Kai, and new replies are also sent to our team's email inbox so we can answer.
• Our team: your account details (including your email and your name if you gave one), your answers to Kai's polls, feedback you send, your circle messages when reviewed for the safety reasons described above, and any reports you file. Not your diary.
• Nobody else: we do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. The one exception is yours to make: if you arrived from a Reddit ad and allow it, Reddit learns that the ad led to an account (see "Optional advertising measurement" below).

We rely on a small number of third parties to operate the service. These providers process data on our behalf, under their own security obligations, and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes:

• Supabase: database and authentication. Stores your account, circle messages and diary.
• Amazon Web Services: hosting, in the United States. Runs the website and app, handles each request, including your IP address, and stores our encrypted database backups.
• Resend: email. Delivers verification, password-reset, notification and news emails to your address, and notifies our team of new reports, feedback and replies to Kai (which may include the first lines of a reply).
• Cloudflare Turnstile: bot protection on signup and login. Checks your browser to tell people from automated abuse.
• Google Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple Push Notification service: push notifications in the mobile apps. When someone answers your message the notification names their username, never what they wrote. On the website, your browser's own push service (for example Google, Mozilla or Apple) delivers them. They receive a device token and a notification that never includes message content or your circle's name.

These providers may store and process data outside Uruguay, including in Canada, the United States and the European Union. We rely on their contractual and security commitments to protect it, as the data-protection rules that apply to us require.

We advertise on Reddit. A Reddit ad link carries a code that identifies that one click. If you arrive through one, we ask whether we may tell Reddit when you create an account. If you choose Allow, we keep that code for up to 28 days in a cookie on your browser that only our server can read, and when you sign up our server sends Reddit the code and the fact that an account was created. Reddit can connect that to the ad you clicked and to your Reddit account. We never send your email, your name, your answers or anything you write, and no advertising scripts run on our website or in the apps. If you choose No thanks, nothing is kept or sent, and if you allowed it you can still turn it off on the signup form before creating your account. Declining does not prevent you from using Covalent.

We keep your account and its content while your account is open. If you delete your account, we delete your profile, diary entries, circle messages, and associated records. Reports and moderation records connected to a safety matter may be retained where we have a legitimate interest in protecting other members, and we may retain limited records where the law requires it. Feedback you sent us is kept without your name or email.

Password reset tokens expire 30 minutes after they are issued, and email verification links expire after 24 hours. Application error diagnostics and message-visibility events are scheduled for removal after 30 days. Diagnostics do not store your email or message content; linked diagnostics are deleted with your account.

You may request access to, correction of, export of, or deletion of your personal data, and you may object to or restrict certain processing, in accordance with the data-protection rules applicable where you live. Write to marocena@covalentcircles.com and we will respond. In Privacy and devices (in Settings on the website, and under You in the app) you can export your data, remove notification devices, sign out everywhere, manage blocked members, or choose Delete my account. Deletion is also available at /delete-account on our website. You must sign in and confirm your password; an enabled authenticator also requires its code. Deletion removes your account, diary, circle and private messages, and device registrations. Minimal deletion receipts and safety reports may remain for accountability and safety. Our database backups are deleted automatically within 75 days of being made and are not used to restore deleted accounts into ordinary service. Contact us if you cannot sign in or need help checking an unconfirmed deletion. Other members' messages and internal moderation records are excluded from your export.

When you block a circle member, the app hides your messages from each other, including quoted previews, and suppresses new message notifications between you. Blocking does not remove either member from the circle or restrict moderator access to evidence. We store the two account identifiers to enforce the block; you can remove your own blocks under Blocked members (Settings → Privacy and devices on the website, You in the app). Previously viewed content or notifications already accepted by a delivery provider cannot be recalled.

Covalent is peer support, not a clinical or emergency service, and we are not able to monitor circles in real time or intervene in an emergency. If we believe there is a credible risk of serious harm to someone, or if we are required to by a valid legal process, we may disclose relevant information to the appropriate authorities. If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis line — that is the fastest way to get real help.

Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and stored with access controls enforced at the database level. Passwords are stored hashed by our authentication provider and are never visible to us. No system is perfectly secure, and we will not pretend otherwise: if a breach affects your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authority as required by law.

Covalent is not intended for people under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a minor has created an account, write to us and we will remove it.

If we make a material change to how we handle your data, we will update the date at the top of this page and notify registered users by email before the change takes effect.

For any question about this policy or your data, write to marocena@covalentcircles.com. Covalent operates under the laws of Uruguay, as set out in our Terms & Conditions.