Privacy Policy

1 Introduction

Quadz ("we," "our," or "us") operates a mobile-first platform that connects verified college students through Private, Public, and Global Quads. Our platform is designed around the principle of controlled anonymity — students are verified through their official college email, but interact using self-chosen anonymous handles.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you download, register, or use the Quadz mobile application and any related services (collectively, the "Service").

2 Information We Collect

We collect different categories of information to provide and improve the Service. The table below summarizes what we collect and why:

What we do NOT collect: We do not collect your real name, phone number, profile photograph, social media accounts, or any identifying information beyond what is listed above. Your anonymous handle is the only identity visible to other users.

3 How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected for the following purposes:

• Verification: To confirm you are a genuine student at the college you claim to attend, using your official college email.
• Service Delivery: To provide access to Private, Public, and Global Quads, enable posting, replying, reacting, saving, and tag-following features.
• Safety & Moderation: To detect and prevent harassment, hate speech, doxing, spam, and other policy violations using both AI and human moderators.
• Platform Improvement: To analyze usage patterns, fix bugs, optimize performance, and develop new features.
• Security: To detect suspicious login attempts, prevent unauthorized access, and protect against platform abuse.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, respond to legal processes, and enforce our Terms of Service.

4 Anonymous Handles & Controlled Anonymity

Quadz's core design principle is controlled anonymity. Here's how it works:

• When you sign up, you choose a random anonymous handle (e.g., "GreenPanda42"). This is the only name other users see.
• Your real email address is used only for verification and is never displayed, shared, or linked to your handle in any user-facing context.
• Even within our internal systems, the mapping between your handle and your email is access-controlled and encrypted.
• If you change your handle, the previous handle is dissociated from your account and cannot be reclaimed by others for 30 days.

5 Data Sharing & Third Parties

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share limited data in the following scenarios:

• Service Providers: We use trusted third-party services for hosting, email delivery (verification emails), analytics (aggregated, non-personal), and crash reporting. These providers are contractually bound to protect your data and use it only as instructed.
• College Verification: Your email domain is checked against our verified college list. We do not share your email address with your college or any external institution.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, regulation, court order, or governmental authority. We will notify affected users when legally permitted to do so.
• Safety Emergencies: If we believe there is an imminent risk of harm to any person, we may share information with relevant authorities to prevent that harm.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to continued protection under this policy.

6 Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption at Rest: All personal data stored in our databases is encrypted using AES-256 or equivalent standards.
• Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers uses TLS 1.2+ encryption.
• Access Controls: Internal access to personal data is restricted to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis, with multi-factor authentication and audit logging.
• Handle-Email Separation: The mapping between anonymous handles and verification emails is stored in a separate, access-restricted subsystem.
• Regular Audits: We conduct periodic security assessments and vulnerability scans to identify and address potential threats.

7 Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service:

• Active Account: All data associated with your account is retained while your account is active.
• Account Deletion: When you request account deletion, we permanently remove your email, handle mapping, and profile data within 30 days. Your public posts and replies are anonymized (handle replaced with "[Deleted]") rather than removed, to preserve conversation context.
• Log Data: Server logs and analytics data are retained for up to 90 days, then automatically purged.
• Legal Holds: Data subject to legal hold or ongoing investigation may be retained beyond standard periods until the matter is resolved.

8 Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data (subject to retention exceptions above).
• Data Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: Object to certain types of data processing, such as processing for analytics purposes.
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for any processing based on your explicit consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@quadz.app. We will respond to all legitimate requests within 30 days. We may verify your identity before fulfilling a request to prevent unauthorized access.

9 Cookies & Tracking

The Quadz mobile application does not use traditional web cookies. However, we use the following mobile-equivalent technologies:

• Device Identifiers: We use anonymized device identifiers for session management and crash reporting. These are not shared with third parties for advertising purposes.
• Local Storage: We store preferences (such as theme settings and notification preferences) locally on your device.
• Analytics: We may use privacy-focused analytics SDKs that collect aggregated, non-personal usage data. No individual user profiles are built from this data.

If our web version is available, we use only essential cookies required for session management. No third-party advertising cookies are used.

10 Children's Privacy

Quadz is designed for college and university students who are typically 18 years or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 years of age. If we discover that a user under 16 has registered, we will promptly delete their account and associated data.

If you believe a minor is using Quadz, please contact us immediately at privacy@quadz.app.

11 AI & Automated Moderation

Quadz uses agentic AI systems to assist with content moderation. Here's how privacy is protected in this context:

• AI moderation analyzes content (posts, replies) — not user identity. The AI does not access or process your email address or handle-to-email mapping.
• AI-generated moderation decisions (flags, warnings, takedowns) are logged for accountability and appeal purposes.
• Human moderators may review flagged content. When they do, they see the anonymous handle and the content — not the user's real identity — unless a safety escalation requires deanonymization.
• We do not use your content to train third-party AI models. Any AI training on Quadz data is conducted in-house with appropriate anonymization.

12 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes:

• We will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
• We will notify you through an in-app notification or email at least 15 days before the new policy takes effect.
• Continued use of Quadz after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your privacy.

13 Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out: