Privacy Policy

• Table of Contents

Effective June 29, 2026. Last revised June 29, 2026.

Introduction

Hello, friends. This Privacy Policy explains how Follk (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and otherwise handles personal information in connection with the Follk mobile application (the “App”), the websites we own and operate that link to this policy (the “Sites”), and the related content, features, and services we offer (collectively, the “Services”).

Follk is a free, location-based social app. We built it to help people connect to the places and people around them, and we try to collect as little as we reasonably can to do that. We do not and will not sell or trade your personal information.

If you choose to use the Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

Follk and the AT Protocol

Follk is built on the Authenticated Transfer Protocol (“AT Protocol”), the same open network that powers Bluesky. This has important consequences for your privacy, so please read this section carefully.

• You use Follk with an AT Protocol account. To use Follk you currently sign in with an AT Protocol account, such as a Bluesky account. Follk issues your handle (for example, yourname.follk.app) and operates its own server infrastructure, including a Personal Data Server at pds.follk.app and application servers.
• Some of your activity is public and federated. Content you publish through the AT Protocol — including your public posts, profile, follows, likes, and blocks — is public by design and may be distributed (“federated”) across the broader AT Protocol network to servers and services that we do not own or control. Once this information is public or federated, we cannot guarantee that it can be deleted everywhere. Please exercise care when deciding what to share publicly.
• Your account provider's policy also applies. Activity tied to your AT Protocol account is also governed by the privacy policy of your account's provider (for example, Bluesky) and the AT Protocol Network Services Privacy Policy. You can review Bluesky's privacy policy at bsky.social.
• Sights are different. Sights — Follk's location-pinned content — contain precise location information. Unlike public posts, Sights are not federated and are not made public through the AT Protocol. They are stored privately by Follk and are governed by this Privacy Policy.

Who Can Use Follk

You must be at least 17 years old to use Follk. When you sign up, you must confirm that you are 17 or older. Follk is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 17. If you believe a person under 17 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@follk.app and we will take appropriate steps to remove it.

Follk is currently offered as a beta (including through Apple TestFlight) and is intended for users in the United States. The Services are not directed to, or intended for, residents of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or other jurisdictions outside the United States, and we do not knowingly offer the Services in those regions during this period.

Information We Collect

Account and Identity Information

When you sign in to Follk with an AT Protocol account, we receive and store information that identifies your account on the network, including your decentralized identifier (DID), your handle, and your public display name and profile details. We use this information to authenticate you, operate your account, and display your profile within Follk. Identity information such as your email address or phone number is collected and held by your AT Protocol account provider (for example, Bluesky), not directly by Follk.

User Content

“User Content” is the content you create or transmit through the Services. This includes:

• Public posts and interactions. Posts, comments, and similar interactions you publish through the AT Protocol are public and federated, as described in “Follk and the AT Protocol” above.
• Sights. When you create a Sight, we collect and store the content of the Sight, its associated media, and its precise location (latitude, longitude, and, where supported, altitude and orientation) so that the Sight can be placed accurately. Sights are stored privately by Follk and are not federated.

Location Data

Follk uses location information only when needed to provide the Services, and only with your permission:

• General location (your “Area”). For purposes of Local Verification, you may elect for your device to transmit a general indication of your location (such as city, county, state, and country, or the equivalent).
• Precise location. Precise coordinates are collected only when you actively post a Sight or use a feature that requires them. Precise location is not collected through background processes.

You can control Follk's access to location through your device's Settings. Disabling location access may limit or disable certain features.

Media and Images

When you upload an image, your device removes embedded GPS location metadata before the image is uploaded, and the image is stored on our infrastructure. The location associated with a Sight comes only from the location you attach to that Sight, not from hidden metadata in your photos.

Log and Usage Data

When you use the Services, we automatically collect certain technical information, which may include your device type and operating system version, app configuration, IP address, identifiers, and the date, time, and time zone of your activity. For certain events, including errors, we collect diagnostic “log data” to help us operate, maintain, and improve the Services.

How We Use Personal Information

We use the personal information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Services, including authenticating your account and displaying content relevant to your location;
• Place and display your Sights and other User Content;
• Test, improve, personalize, and secure the Services, and diagnose and fix technical problems;
• Understand how the Services are used so we can make them better;
• Maintain the safety, security, and integrity of the Services, and detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, and unlawful activity;
• Respond to your inquiries and provide support;
• Comply with our legal obligations and enforce our terms and policies; and
• Fulfill any other purpose you consent to or direct.

How We Share Personal Information

We may share personal information in the following ways:

• Across the AT Protocol network. Public content you publish through the AT Protocol is shared publicly and may be federated across the network, as described above. Sights are not shared in this way.
• With other users. Your public profile and the content you choose to make visible are available to other users of the Services.
• With service providers. We use third-party providers to operate the Services, such as hosting and infrastructure. We host infrastructure with DigitalOcean; you can read about their practices at digitalocean.com/trust. These providers may process personal information on our behalf and are obligated not to use it for unrelated purposes.
• For legal reasons. We may disclose information where we believe in good faith that it is necessary to comply with applicable law or lawful requests, to enforce our agreements and policies, to protect the rights, property, or safety of our users, the public, or Follk, or to detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues.
• In a business transfer. If Follk is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• With your consent. We may share personal information with others when you direct us to or otherwise consent.

We do not sell your personal information.

Data Retention

We keep personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Services, and afterward as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, maintain safety and security, and enforce our agreements. Note that content you have published publicly or that has federated across the AT Protocol network may persist on servers we do not control even after you delete it from Follk.

Your Choices and Controls

• Device permissions. You can control Follk's access to location and other device features through your device's Settings. Disabling permissions may limit certain features.
• Push notifications. You can stop receiving push notifications by changing your preferences in the App or in your device's notification settings.
• Accessing, changing, or deleting your information. If you have questions about reviewing, updating, or deleting the information Follk holds, contact us at data@follk.app. Information governed by your AT Protocol account provider (such as Bluesky) is subject to that provider's controls and policies.

Security

We use reasonable physical and electronic safeguards designed to protect the information we maintain. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Follk does not use your personal information to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models. Some features may use on-device processing to personalize your experience. If we ever introduce uses of AI or ML that materially change how we handle your personal information, we will update this policy and, where required, give you the opportunity to review those changes.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last revised” date above and post the updated policy here. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of material changes. Your continued use of the Services after an update takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact Us

If you have questions or suggestions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at privacy@follk.app.