Privacy Policy

1. What we collect

We only collect what we need to run a functioning neighborhood platform:

• Account info — username, display name, email address, and a hashed password (we never store the password in plaintext).
• Profile info you choose to add — bio, avatar image, phone number (optional).
• Neighborhood data — which neighborhoods you join, what role you hold there (member, moderator, admin).
• Content you post — posts, comments, reactions, event RSVPs, classifieds, poll votes, messages you send.
• Technical data — IP address at login, timestamp of last activity, browser user-agent for security logging.
• Cookies — a session cookie to keep you logged in, plus a small cookie (cc_tour_seen) to remember whether you've seen our welcome tour.

2. How we use it

Your data powers the features you use. Specifically, we use it to:

• Authenticate you and keep your account secure.
• Show you posts, events, and conversations from the neighborhoods you joined.
• Deliver notifications (in-app, email digests).
• Moderate the platform and enforce our Community Guidelines.
• Maintain an audit log of administrative actions for accountability.
• Investigate abuse, spam, or security incidents.

We do not sell your personal data, rent it, or use it to train advertising profiles. We also do not run third-party ad trackers or analytics beacons on our pages.

3. Who we share it with

Your data stays inside our infrastructure except in these limited cases:

• Authentication — we use the CodeIgniter Shield library to manage accounts. Shield runs on our own servers; no third-party auth provider sees your credentials.
• Email delivery — outgoing email (verification, password resets, digests, deletion confirmations) is sent through our hosting provider's mail server (cPanel / Exim). The email contents and your address are visible to that system while the message is in transit.
• Other neighbors — posts, comments, and profile details you share in a neighborhood are visible to other members of that neighborhood. Assume anything you post is visible to your neighbors.
• Lawful requests — if compelled by valid legal process, we will comply, but we will push back on overreach and notify you when legally permitted.

4. Your rights (GDPR / CCPA and beyond)

No matter where you live, you have the right to:

• Access — download a copy of your data via the Privacy Center.
• Correct — edit your profile, display name, and bio at any time.
• Delete — request account deletion; we hard-delete after a 14-day grace period.
• Port — the export is a structured JSON file you can take elsewhere.
• Object / restrict — email us and we'll stop processing specific data on request.

California residents (CCPA) and EU / UK residents (GDPR) have the same rights via the same tools. We don't distinguish — everyone gets the same self-service controls.

5. How long we keep it

• Active accounts: indefinitely, until you delete.
• Deleted accounts: a 14-day grace window, then the account record and its directly-owned content are removed. Certain audit entries (e.g., "user X was banned for abuse") may be retained in pseudonymized form to preserve accountability.
• Server logs: 30 days maximum.
• Email bounce records: 90 days.

6. Cookies & tracking

We use the minimum viable cookies. There's a session cookie (required — it's how we know it's you), and cc_tour_seen which remembers whether you dismissed the welcome tour on your first visit. We do not set cross-site tracking cookies, pixels, or fingerprinting scripts.

7. Children

ClubCity is not intended for users under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, email us and we will remove it.

8. Changes to this policy

When we update this policy, we'll change the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, notify active users by in-app notification and/or email. Continued use after a change means you accept the new terms.

9. Contact

Privacy questions, requests, or concerns: admin@clubcity.org.