Privacy Policy — Suomoto Club

Effective date: 15 June 2026

Suomoto Club ("we", "us", "the app") is an accessible social platform built for visually impaired and low-vision users. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. By creating an account or using the app, you agree to this policy.

Contact: For any privacy question or request, email support@suomoto.academy.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide when you create an account

• Mobile phone number (used to sign in and verify your account via a one-time code).
• Name.
• Account type (Individual, or NGO / Creator).
• Interests you select (e.g. Travel, Music, Exams).
• An optional audio "bio" recording and its automatically generated text transcription.
• If you sign in with Google, the email address and name associated with that Google account.

Content you create or share in the app

• Forum topics, comments, questions and answers, and event/opportunity posts.
• Voice notes and their text transcriptions.
• Images you attach, and the descriptive "alt text" you provide for them.
• Group-chat and event-chat messages.
• Friend connections and your interactions (likes, "interested", "joined").

Location information (only if you turn it on)

• If you opt in to the proximity feature, we collect your approximate latitude/longitude to help you find nearby event peers and sighted guides. This is off unless you enable it, and you can turn it off at any time.

Device permissions we use

• Microphone — to record voice notes, your audio bio, spoken questions to the AI image assistant, and to talk in live voice rooms and calls. We access the microphone only while you are recording or in a call.
• Camera — the live calling feature may request the camera for video calls; voice rooms are audio-only and do not use the camera.
• Motion sensors — to detect a "shake" gesture that mutes/unmutes calls. Motion data is processed on your device for that gesture and is not stored.

2. How we use your information

We use the information above to:

• Create and operate your account and authenticate sign-in.
• Show your profile, posts, and content to other users as part of the social features you choose to use.
• Power accessibility features such as audio digests, voice search, transcription, and AI image descriptions.
• Connect you with friends, events, voice rooms, and (if enabled) nearby peers.
• Send you in-app notifications about activity relevant to you.
• Keep the service secure and working correctly.

3. How your information is shared

With other users. Your name, profile details, and any content you post (topics, comments, Q&A, chat messages, voice notes, attendee status) are visible to other users of the app, consistent with the feature you use. Don't post anything you wouldn't want other members to see.

With an AI image-description provider. When you use the "AI Sight" feature, the image (or its alt text) and your question are sent to a third-party AI service to generate a description. Please review that provider's privacy terms; do not submit images containing sensitive personal information.

With service providers. We use hosting and infrastructure providers to run the app's backend. They process data only to provide the service to us.

We do not sell your personal information.

We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users and the service.

4. Account deletion and data retention

You can permanently delete your account at any time from inside the app: open the navigation menu and choose "Delete My Account", then confirm.

When you delete your account, we remove your account record and associated data (including your profile, notifications, location, and your entries in friends and event-attendee lists). Some content may persist in backups for a limited period before being overwritten, and aggregated or de-identified data that cannot identify you may be retained.

5. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Children

Suomoto Club is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information, and to object to or restrict certain processing. You can delete your account in-app (Section 4), or contact us using the email above to exercise other rights.

8. International users

Your information may be processed and stored in countries other than your own, which may have different data-protection laws. By using the app you consent to this transfer where permitted by law.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Effective date" above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Your continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

10. Contact us

Questions or requests about this policy or your data: support@suomoto.academy.