Gems Privacy Policy
Effective date: 11 October 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how SVG Gems (SVG Gems, we, us or our) collects, uses, shares and protects personal data when you use the Gems mobile application (package com.kizen.app), the website at svggems.com and our related services (together, Gems). It forms part of the Gems Terms of Service. Words defined in the Terms of Service have the same meaning here.
1. Summary
- We collect what you give us, what you choose to make public, and a limited set of technical and usage information needed to run Gems.
- We do not store your exact location. Every location we keep about a person is blurred by the database before it is saved. The only exception is a private place you deliberately pin and share.
- We do not use advertising identifiers or third-party tracking or analytics tools, and we do not use your personal data to target advertising.
- We do not sell personal data. We may publish or license statistics only in aggregated or de-identified form that does not identify anyone.
- You can delete your Account and the content attached to it from inside the app at any time.
2. Who is responsible for your data
SVG Gems, St Vincent and the Grenadines, is responsible for the personal data described in this policy (the "data controller"). You can contact us about privacy at hello@svggems.com, with "Privacy" in the subject line.
3. Scope
3.1 This policy applies to personal data processed through Gems by SVG Gems. It does not apply to third-party websites, apps or services that Gems links to, including the websites of Businesses listed on Gems, which have their own policies.
3.2 Content you make public on Gems can be seen by anyone, including people who do not use Gems. Please think carefully before you post personal information about yourself or anyone else.
4. The personal data we collect
4.1 Information you give us
| Category | Examples | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | Email address; your name and profile photo if you sign in with Google or Apple | Yes, to create an Account |
| Profile information | Display name, handle, profile photo, bio, headline, area | Display name required; the rest optional |
| Content | Places, events and crews you add; posts, comments, photos and check-ins; private places you share | Optional |
| Communications | Messages, feedback, reports, appeals and requests you send us, including Business ownership claims | Optional |
| Business and payment information | If you use Paid Features: business name, contact details, billing details and transaction records. Card details are handled by our payment provider and are not stored by us | Only for Paid Features |
4.2 Information collected when you use Gems
| Category | What it is |
|---|---|
| Location | Your device's location, only while you are using Gems and only if you allow it (see section 5) |
| Usage events | A fixed list of in-app actions, such as screens opened, a place pinned or a search with no results, recorded with a visit identifier and an install number (see section 6) |
| Search text | What you type into search, stored without any link to you, so we can see what people look for that Gems does not yet have |
| Technical information | Device type, operating system, app version, and the internet (IP) address your device connects from, which our hosting providers receive to deliver the Service |
| Error reports | Details of app errors (the error message, the screen and the app version), with email addresses, links and long numbers removed before storage |
| Push token | An address for your device issued by Expo and, on Android, Google Firebase Cloud Messaging, if you allow notifications |
| Safety and security records | Rate-limit records, reports, blocks, moderation decisions and suspensions |
4.3 Information from third parties
- Google or Apple sign-in: your email address and, if you allow it, your name and profile photo. We do not receive your contacts, calendar or any other data, and we never post on your behalf.
- Other Members: information about you that other Members include in their Content or reports.
4.4 Information we do not collect
We do not collect your contacts, call log, SMS messages, calendar, browsing history from other apps, advertising identifier (the Android advertising ID is blocked in the app), audio (the app cannot record sound), or the contents of your photo library (you choose each photo individually).
5. Location
5.1 Only while you use the app. Gems asks for location permission only while the app is open. There is no background location tracking.
5.2 How we use it. We use your location to centre the map on you (on your device only); to sort results by distance (your location is sent with the request and is not stored against your profile); and to confirm a check-in, where our server checks that you are near the place.
5.3 Blurring. Every coordinate we store about a person, such as the point of a check-in, is first passed through a blurring step that is enforced by the database itself. What is stored is an approximate point, not your exact position. This applies to everyone, including our administrators.
5.4 Private places. A private place keeps the exact point you chose, because you are deliberately sharing it. It is visible only to you and the Members and crews you share it with.
5.5 Your choice. You can refuse or withdraw location permission at any time in your device settings. Gems will still work, but the map will not centre on you, results will not be sorted by distance, and you will not be able to check in.
6. Usage information and the install number
6.1 Gems records a closed list of in-app actions. The app cannot send any action that is not on that list, and no free text you type is attached to these records, except search text, which is stored without any link to you.
6.2 Actions are grouped by visit and by an install number: a random number created the first time Gems runs on a device or in a browser and stored there. It does not contain your name, email or phone number, and a new one is created if you reinstall the app or clear the website's data. If you are signed in, actions are also linked to your Account for up to 90 days. On the website we record the campaign link you arrived by (for example ?ref=whatsapp) or the domain of the site that referred you, never the full address.
6.3 We use this information to understand which features are used, to find faults, to measure whether people return, and to improve Gems. We do not use it to build advertising profiles.
7. How we use personal data, and our legal bases
St Vincent and the Grenadines does not currently have a comprehensive data protection law in force. We nevertheless follow the standards of the European Union and United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulations as a matter of good practice, and they apply by law to visitors from those places. The table below sets out each purpose and the legal basis we rely on.
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your Account, signing you in and sending sign-in codes | Performance of our contract with you (the Terms of Service) |
| Publishing your Content and showing it to other Members | Performance of our contract with you |
| Showing the map, sorting by distance and verifying check-ins | Performance of our contract with you; your consent to location access, given through your device |
| Sending notifications you have allowed | Your consent, which you can withdraw in your device settings |
| Moderating Content, enforcing the Terms, preventing spam, fraud and abuse, and keeping Members safe | Our legitimate interests in operating a safe and lawful service, and the interests of Members and the public |
| Usage statistics, error reports and improving Gems | Our legitimate interests in understanding and improving the Service |
| Answering your messages, reports, appeals and requests | Our legitimate interests, and performance of our contract with you |
| Paid Features, billing and accounting records | Performance of our contract with you, and compliance with legal obligations |
| Creating aggregated or de-identified statistics | Our legitimate interests; once information is properly aggregated or de-identified, it is no longer personal data |
| Complying with the law, court orders and lawful requests, and establishing, exercising or defending legal claims | Legal obligation, and our legitimate interests |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered that our interests are not overridden by your rights, taking account of the safeguards in this policy. You may object, as described in section 12.
8. Specific features
8.1 Photos and camera. When you add a photo, Gems opens its camera or your device's photo picker. Gems receives only the photo you take or select. Before upload, photos are resized and their hidden location and camera data (EXIF metadata) is removed. Photos attached to public Content are public.
8.2 Notifications. Notifications are kept in your in-app inbox for 90 days. If you allow push notifications, their text passes through Expo and, on Android, Google Firebase Cloud Messaging, to reach your device.
8.3 AI Features. When you use Plan my day, your question, the earlier messages in that conversation and a list of public places and events on Gems are sent to Anthropic, which provides the AI model. We do not send your name, email, profile, location or private places, and we do not store your conversations. Anthropic processes the request to provide the answer under its commercial terms, which do not permit it to train its models on that data. Do not include personal or sensitive information in your questions.
8.4 Automated moderation. Text you post is automatically checked, inside our own database, for slurs, threats and similar content as it is saved. Some content is blocked automatically and some is flagged for human review. Content reported by several established Accounts may be hidden automatically until a person reviews it. Decisions to suspend or terminate an Account are made by a person. You can ask for any decision to be reviewed, as described in the Moderation, Appeals and Transparency Policy.
8.5 Information kept on your device. Gems keeps some information only on your device, including a cached copy of public lists for offline use, your settings, event reminders and share-card images. We do not receive this information. On the website, your browser's local storage keeps you signed in and holds your settings. The website does not set its own cookies and does not use analytics or advertising scripts.
8.6 Advertising. If we show advertising or sponsored content, it will be chosen on the basis of the page, place or area being viewed, not by tracking you across other apps or websites. We will not use your personal data to target advertising without telling you first and, where the law requires it, asking for your consent.
9. How we share personal data
9.1 With other Members and the public. Your profile, public Content, public places, posts, comments, photos and position on mapper leaderboards can be seen by anyone. Private places are seen only by those you share them with. Your email address is never shown.
9.2 With our service providers. We use the following providers to operate Gems. They process personal data on our instructions and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.
| Provider | Service | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, authentication and file storage | United States |
| Resend | Sending sign-in codes and account emails | United States |
| Cloudflare | Website hosting, security and email forwarding | Global network |
| Google (Maps Platform) | Map display in the app and on the website | Global |
| Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging) | Delivering push notifications to Android devices | Global |
| Expo | Delivering push notifications | United States |
| Anthropic | AI Features (Plan my day) | United States |
| Google and Apple | Sign-in, only if you choose it | Global |
| Open-Meteo | Weather and sea forecasts, requested using fixed island coordinates, never yours | Europe |
| United States National Hurricane Center | Public storm data | United States |
| A payment provider (if Paid Features are offered) | Processing payments | To be named before launch of Paid Features |
The forecast and storm services receive no Account information; like any website, they receive the IP address of the device making the request.
9.3 With Businesses and partners: aggregated or de-identified information only. We may share, publish or license statistics and insights, for example the number of visits to an area or the popularity of a type of place over a season. We only do so in aggregated or de-identified form that does not identify any individual, and we combine information so that small groups of people cannot be singled out. We contractually prohibit recipients from attempting to re-identify anyone.
9.4 For legal reasons and to protect people. We may preserve and disclose personal data where we believe in good faith that it is required by a valid legal process or order of a court or authority of competent jurisdiction, or reasonably necessary to prevent death or serious harm to any person, to investigate or prevent fraud, abuse or security incidents, to enforce our Terms, or to protect the rights, property or safety of SVG Gems, our Members or the public. We report child sexual abuse material to the appropriate authorities as described in our Child Safety Standards. Our approach to requests from law enforcement is described in the Moderation, Appeals and Transparency Policy.
9.5 Business transfers. If SVG Gems, or Gems or its assets, are transferred to a company incorporated to own or operate Gems, or are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganisation or sale, personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy.
9.6 We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers, data brokers or anyone else for their own marketing.
10. International transfers
Gems is operated from St Vincent and the Grenadines, and our service providers store and process data in the United States and other countries. Where we transfer personal data of people in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on our providers' data processing agreements, which include the European Commission's standard contractual clauses or other recognised safeguards.
11. How long we keep personal data
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account and profile | Until you delete your Account |
| Content you delete | Hidden immediately; permanently removed after 30 days, so that reports about content deleted to avoid moderation can still be reviewed |
| Map Data you contributed | Places you added are removed when you delete your Account; factual details of places confirmed by other Members may be kept without any link to you |
| Notifications | 90 days |
| Usage events | Unlinked from your Account after 90 days; deleted after 13 months |
| Search text | 90 days, never linked to you |
| Error reports | 90 days |
| Rate-limit records | 2 days |
| Reports, moderation decisions and suspensions | For as long as the Account concerned exists, and afterwards where needed to prevent a banned person from returning or to respond to a legal claim |
| Business, payment and accounting records | For as long as required by tax and accounting law, generally 7 years |
| AI conversations | Not stored by us |
We may keep information for longer where required by law, or where needed to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
12. Your rights and choices
12.1 In the app. You can view, edit or clear your profile; delete any Content you posted; change or stop sharing private places; block other Members; switch off location and notifications in your device settings; and delete your Account (see svggems.com/delete-account). Deleting your Account removes your profile, posts, comments, photos, places, check-ins, notifications, push tokens and sign-in record. Crews you started pass to another member. Deletion cannot be undone.
12.2 By request. Whatever your country, you may ask us at hello@svggems.com to give you a copy of your personal data, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to our use of it, or provide it in a portable format. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity, and may decline requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive, or where an exemption applies, for example where data must be kept to comply with the law or to protect others.
12.3 Withdrawing consent. Where we rely on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time, without affecting processing before withdrawal.
12.4 Complaints. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact us again. If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
13. Children
Gems is not directed to children, and you must be at least 16 to create an Account. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 through Accounts. If we learn that an Account belongs to someone under 16, we will close it and delete its personal data. If you believe a child under 16 has an Account, please write to hello@svggems.com.
14. Security
14.1 We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data, including encryption in transit, database-level row security that limits each request to the data it is entitled to, hashing of passwords by our authentication provider, removal of photo metadata, restricted administrative access and activity limits.
14.2 No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your sign-in details secure.
14.3 Data breaches. If we become aware of a security breach that is likely to put your personal data at risk, we will notify affected people and any authority as required by applicable law, without undue delay.
14.4 Reporting vulnerabilities. If you believe you have found a security vulnerability in Gems, please report it to hello@svggems.com with "Security" in the subject line and do not disclose it publicly until we have had a reasonable opportunity to fix it. Do not access, modify or delete other people's data, disrupt the Service, or use social engineering. We will not take legal action against good-faith research carried out in line with this section.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will publish the updated policy with a new effective date and, if a change materially affects how we use your personal data, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
16. Contact
SVG Gems, St Vincent and the Grenadines. Email: hello@svggems.com (subject line "Privacy").