Privacy Policy

Who we are

This Privacy Policy explains what information Birds Galaxy ("we", "us") collects when you use the Birds Galaxy mobile app and website, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

If you have questions about your privacy, email us at [email protected].

Information we collect

Information you give us

Account details: your name, username, email address, password (stored in encrypted form), profile photo, bio, and, if you choose to add them, your gender, date of birth, country and phone number.
Sign-in with Google, Facebook or Apple: if you use one of these, we receive basic profile details from that service, such as your name, email address and profile picture. We never receive your password for those services.
Posts and stories: photos, videos and text you share, along with captions, hashtags, tagged users, a location you add and a "feeling" you choose.
Comments, likes, saves and follows.
Messages: text, photos and videos you send in chat. We store these so they can be delivered and shown in your conversation.
Aviary records: aviaries, birds, nest boxes, eggs, chicks, breeding calendar events and activity log entries.
Marketplace activity: your listings and photos, confirmed sales, the ratings you give and receive, and reports you submit.
Genetic Calculator: the pairings you choose to save.
Bird Care Assistant: the questions you ask and the bird type and species you pick.
Settings: notification settings, feed and reel topic preferences, privacy settings, and accounts you mark as favourite, muted, restricted or blocked.
Support messages: anything you send us by email.

Information collected automatically

IP address and device identifier: used to keep you signed in securely, to protect the service from abuse, and to count each video view only once.
Activity information: for example, which posts you like, which stories you have seen, when you are online, when you are typing in a chat, and which parts of the app you use and for how long (used to understand and improve the app).
Technical information: such as your device type, operating system and app version, and error information when something goes wrong.
Camera and microphone: the app uses your camera only when you choose to take a photo or video, and your microphone only when you record a video or a voiceover for a reel. Nothing is recorded in the background, and a recording is only uploaded when you choose to post or send it.

How we use your information

To create and run your account and let you sign in.
To show your posts, stories, reels, comments and profile to the people allowed to see them.
To deliver your chat messages, show online status and typing indicators.
To sort your feed and reels, for example by showing people you follow first, and by using the topics you choose in "Your algorithm".
To send notifications you have turned on, such as likes, comments, follows and mentions.
To run the marketplace, record confirmed sales, show ratings and award the Verified Seller badge.
To answer Bird Care Assistant questions and run the Genetic Calculator.
To keep people safe: to detect threats and abuse, review reports, hide or remove content that breaks our rules, and show the scam list. Photos and videos you upload are automatically checked for explicit content on our own servers before they are published. They are not sent to an outside company for this check.
To fix problems and improve the app.
To follow the law and respond to lawful requests.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not show third-party advertising based on it.

What other people can see

Public account: your profile, posts and reels can be seen by other users.
Private account: only followers you approve can see your posts. Your name, username and profile photo remain visible so people can find you and send a follow request.
Stories are shown for 24 hours. Only you can see who viewed your story.
Marketplace listings, your seller ratings and your Verified Seller badge are visible to other users.
Messages are visible only to the people in the conversation, and to our moderators if a conversation is reported or we need to investigate abuse.
Blocking someone makes you and that person invisible to each other.

We share information only in these cases:

Service providers who help us run Birds Galaxy, such as hosting and storage providers. They may only use the information to provide their service to us.
AI provider for the Bird Care Assistant: when the assistant cannot answer from our own care topics, your question is sent to an AI service (currently Groq) to generate an answer. Only the question text is sent. Please do not include personal details in your questions.
Sign-in providers: Google, Facebook or Apple, if you choose to sign in with them.
Place search: when you search for a place to add to a post, the text you type is sent from our server to OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) to find matching places. Your account details are not sent with it.
Legal reasons: when the law requires it, or when it is needed to protect the safety of our users or the public.
Business transfer: if Birds Galaxy is sold or merged, your information may move to the new owner, who must keep this policy or tell you about changes.

Genetic Calculator results

When the calculator works out a pairing result that is not yet in our records, the result (the parent colours and the expected chick colours) is added to our shared pairing tables so future answers are faster. This contains no personal information. Pairings you choose to save are linked to your account and only you can see them.

How long we keep information

We keep your account information for as long as your account is active.
Stories stop being shown after 24 hours.
When you delete a post, comment or listing, it is removed from the app.
When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information as described in our Data Deletion Policy. Some records may be kept longer where the law requires it, or to resolve disputes, prevent fraud and enforce our rules. For example, a record that a confirmed sale took place may be kept without your personal details.

Security

We use reasonable measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections, encrypted password storage and access controls. No online service can be 100% secure, so please use a strong password that you don't use anywhere else.

Your choices and rights

Access and correct: you can view and edit your profile at any time in the app under Edit Profile.
Control visibility: make your account private, turn off comments on a post, and choose who can message you.
Notifications: turn each type on or off in Notification Settings.
Delete: you can delete your posts at any time, or ask us to delete your whole account. See the Data Deletion Policy.
Get a copy: you can ask for a copy of your personal information by emailing us.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law. Contact us to use any of them.

Children

Birds Galaxy is not for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under this age. If you believe a child has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make important changes, we will tell you in the app or by email. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.

Contact us

Email: [email protected]