Privacy Policy

The short version

• ✓We collect only what’s needed to run Porch and keep your account secure.
• ✓We never sell your data and we don’t run ads or behavioral targeting.
• ✓Posts fade after 30 days; deleting your account removes your data.
• ✓The only cookie we set is the one that keeps you signed in.

Information we collect

Account information — your name, username, email address, date of birth (to confirm you’re at least 13), and optionally a phone number and city, which you provide when you sign up. Unless you turn it off in Settings → Privacy, the month and day of your birthday — never the year — are shown to your neighbors on the day so they can wish you well.

Your password — stored only as a salted cryptographic hash (scrypt). We never store or see your actual password.

Content you create — posts, photos and videos, messages, Windowsill windows, quotes, polls and ratings, communities and events, and your profile details.

Connections — who your mutual neighbors are, your community memberships, and event RSVPs.

Security and device data — when you sign in we record your session, browser/user-agent, and IP address. We use these for sign-in alerts on new devices and to rate-limit abuse. We do not use them for advertising.

Settings — your preferences (theme, language, privacy controls, notification choices).

How we use your information

To operate Porch: show your feed, deliver your messages, run communities and events, and let neighbors connect. To keep your account secure: authentication, optional two-factor (email or authenticator app), new-device sign-in alerts, and abuse rate-limiting. To communicate with you: account and security emails (for example, password resets and verification codes), sent through our email provider.

That’s it. We don’t build advertising profiles, and we don’t feed your activity into an engagement-maximizing algorithm — Porch has no algorithmic feed.

What we never do

The absences are the point.

• ✕Sell or rent your personal data to anyone.
• ✕Show you ads or share data with advertisers or data brokers.
• ✕Track you across other websites or apps.
• ✕Publish follower counts, neighbor counts, or who knocked — your numbers are yours.

Who we share it with

We share data only with the service providers needed to run Porch, and only so they can perform that service for us:

Hosting — our application server and database. Media storage — your uploaded photos and videos are stored with an object-storage provider. Email delivery — our email provider sends account and security messages.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect the safety of people on Porch, or in connection with a future business transfer — in which case we’ll tell you first where we can.

How long we keep it

Posts fade from all feeds after 30 days. You can archive your own posts to keep them visible only to you. Ad-hoc group porches fold after 48 quiet hours; community porches after 7 quiet days. Messages and profile content are kept until you delete them or close your account. When you delete your account, we remove your account and associated content from our active systems; routine backups age out on their normal cycle.

Your choices and rights

You can edit your profile, delete individual posts and Windowsill windows, archive posts, change your privacy and notification settings, deactivate your account, or delete it entirely from Settings. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data — to make a request, contact us at support@your-domain.com.

Security

Traffic is served over HTTPS. Passwords are stored only as scrypt hashes. We offer two-factor authentication and alert you to sign-ins from new devices. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your account and will notify affected users of a breach as required by law.

Children

Porch is for people aged 13 and older. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us at support@your-domain.com and we’ll remove it.

Cookies

Porch sets a single essential cookie (porch_session) to keep you signed in. It’s marked HttpOnly, and Secure in production. We don’t use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we’ll update the effective date above and, where appropriate, let you know in the app. Continuing to use Porch after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about your privacy? Email Porch at support@your-domain.com.