Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 14, 2026

Recess is a social planning app. You see real places and plans near you, say you're in, and go out with a small group. There are no profiles to browse, no matching, and no scores on people. Your privacy isn't a legal checkbox for us. This page explains, in plain English, what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and how you can delete it. It covers both the Recess app and this website (including the waitlist).

What we collect

Waitlist info. If you join the waitlist on this site, we collect your name, email, and (optionally) phone number so we can contact you about access to Recess.
Account info. When you create an account we collect your name, email, date of birth (to confirm you're 18 or older), and login credentials managed by our sign-in provider. Your birthday is never shown to anyone.
Profile info. The small set of things you tell us during setup: your first name, your ZIP code, what you're into, how full you like a table, when you're usually free, and an optional photo. Only your city is ever displayed, never your ZIP.
Plans and messages. The plans you propose or join, the messages you send in a plan's group chat or with a friend, venue feedback you leave, and your conversations with Recess's built-in AI assistants (Peirre and Hally).
Outing recaps. After an outing you can optionally add photos and a private note. Photos are visible only to people who were confirmed on that same plan and went. Your note is private to you.
Location. Places and plans near you are found from your ZIP code. If the app ever asks for your device location, it is read once, while you're using it, only to show what's around you. We never track your location in the background and we never keep a location history.
Safety records. Reports you file, people you block, and the results of automated screening on photos and messages.
Usage and device info. Basic information like device type, app activity, and a push notification token if you turn notifications on.

What we don't collect. We do not ask for your gender, who you're interested in, or what you're looking for. We do not read your contacts. We do not show anyone a list of people.

How we use your information

Showing you places and plans. Your ZIP code or one-time location, what you're into, and when you're free decide which venues, events, and open plans you see.
Running a plan. Before a plan has enough people, others see only a count. Once two people are in, the group gets a chat and members see each other's first name. Your photo, if you added one, is shown only to the members of a plan you're both confirmed on, so you can find each other.
AI assistants. Peirre helps you pick a place and time. Hally helps you get ready for an outing, privately. To power these features, the relevant information (your plans, your own messages to the assistant, and your setup answers) is processed by our AI service provider, which does not use it to train its models. Learning from your group chat or from your private recap notes is off by default, and stays off unless you turn on personal learning. Hally never tells one member what another member said.
Safety. Every plan title, message, note, and photo is screened by automated moderation before it is shown to anyone. We review every report, act on it promptly, and enforce blocks across the whole service.
Staying in touch. After an outing, each member can privately say whether they'd like to stay in touch. Only a mutual yes does anything. A no is never shown to anyone.
Running the service. To operate, maintain, and improve the app, respond to support requests, and send you service messages and plan notifications. You can opt out of marketing messages at any time, and you control push notifications in your device settings.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information. Ever. We share it only with:

Other members of your plan — your first name once the group chat opens, and your photo once the plan is confirmed. Friends you've mutually chosen to stay in touch with can also see plans you've been on together. Your email, phone, birthday, ZIP code, and exact location are never shown to anyone.
Service providers — companies that help us run Recess: cloud hosting and storage, sign-in and account security, AI processing, content moderation, venue and event data, push notifications, and website analytics. They can only use your information to provide their service to us, and are required to protect it.
Legal reasons — if required by law, or to protect the safety of our users or others.

How long we keep it, and how to delete it

We keep your information while your account is active.
You can delete your account at any time in the app (Settings → Delete Account) or by emailing us. When you delete your account, we delete it. Your login is removed, your profile, photos, recaps, answers and taste data are erased, your saved places and plans are withdrawn, and you are removed from every group chat you were in. Two things we keep: the messages you sent in a group conversation, and any safety report filed by or about you. Messages you sent are part of a conversation other people took part in, and a safety report is only useful while the message it is about still exists. Both are stripped of your name and are no longer connected to any account anyone can sign in to.
You can delete individual recap photos, notes, and anything the AI assistants have remembered about you at any time in the app.
Waitlist info is kept until we launch in your area or you ask us to remove you — one email to the address below does it.

Your choices and rights

Access and correction. You can view and edit your profile information in the app at any time.
Deletion. Delete your account in the app, or email us and we'll take care of it.
Consent. Location, notifications, your photo, and AI learning are all optional. You can turn any of them off at any time without losing access to the app.
Depending on where you live (for example, California or the EU), you may have additional rights, like requesting a copy of your data. Email us and we'll honor them.

Age

Recess is for adults. You must be 18 or older to create an account.

Security

We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls. Recap photos are stored in a private bucket and served only to signed-in members who are allowed to see them. No service can promise perfect security, but protecting your privacy is core to what Recess is, and we treat it that way.

Changes to this policy

If we make meaningful changes, we'll update this page and let you know in the app or by email. The effective date at the top always tells you the current version.

Contact us

Questions, requests, or concerns: info@recesslove.com