Merkats — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-09-06

Merkats is a small app for running a shared-cooking community — scheduling meals, taking turns on chores, and chatting with your group. This policy explains what it stores and why.

What we collect

Account: a username, an email address, and a password (stored only as a secure hash by our authentication provider — we never see it). You may also add a separate recovery email.
Profile you provide: display name, avatar, short bio, dietary restrictions, and any "fun facts" you choose to add.
Community activity: the communities you create or join, meal times, chores, your meal-poll responses, the two chore proof photos you submit each week, dish photos and recipe links, group and direct messages, message reactions, friend connections, appreciation notes ("kudos"), and the list of users you have blocked.
Safety reports: if you report a message or profile, we store the report, a snapshot of the reported content, and your account id.
Photos: profile pictures, community pictures, dish photos, and chore proof photos that you take or select.
Usage events: a record of key actions (e.g. "joined a community", "voted on a meal", "submitted a chore") used to understand how the app is used and improve it.

We do not collect your contacts, precise location, advertising identifiers, or browsing activity, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

How it's stored

Data is stored in our backend database (Supabase, hosted in the region chosen for the project) and a media bucket for photos.
Your recovery email is stored encrypted; it is not readable by other users or in normal database access.
The app also keeps a copy on your device so it works offline.

Who can see it

Other members of your communities can see your username, display name, avatar, bio, fun facts, dietary restrictions, kudos about you, and the messages and content you post in that community. Admins of a community can additionally see chore submissions and manage members.
Direct messages are visible to you and the recipient.
The app developer can access aggregate usage data and, for support and safety, the underlying records. Encrypted fields (recovery email) are only accessible to the developer.
We do not sell your data or share it with advertisers.

Chore proof photos

Chore proof photos are automatically deleted at the end of each weekly cycle (or when the next cycle begins). They are not kept indefinitely.

Safety and moderation

Merkats has zero tolerance for abusive, harassing, or otherwise objectionable content. In the app you can block any user (they can no longer message you or see your profile, and you no longer see theirs) and report any message or profile. Reports are reviewed within 24 hours; content that violates our terms is removed and the responsible account may be suspended or deleted.

Your choices

Edit or remove most profile information any time in the app.
Block or report any user from their profile or a message.
Leave a community to stop sharing new activity with it.
Delete your account: Profile → Delete account removes your profile, memberships, messages, photos, and encrypted data. You can also email the address below. Some content you posted in shared community spaces may remain in an anonymised form.

Children

Merkats is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

Changes

We may update this policy; material changes will be noted in the app or via the recovery email on file.

Contact

Questions or deletion requests: support@merkats.app

Privacy · Terms · support@merkats.app