Privacy Policy

PRUF Systems Inc. ("PRUF", "we") runs the PRUF.NET app and pruf.net. PRUF is designed not to ask for the information that tells us who you are. This policy explains what we do collect, why, how long we keep it, and what you can do about it.

01What we collect

Your account. Your usernames, which are public; an account ID that isn't based on who you are; the metro area your account belongs to; and anything you add to your profile.

Your recovery code, only in a form that lets us check it, not read it. If you set a Mind Code or a recovery PIN, we keep a coded copy of it too.

Your iCloud account code. If you're signed in to iCloud, we keep a code made one way from the ID Apple gives PRUF for your iCloud account. It can't be turned back into your Apple ID or email. We use it to keep one active PRUF account per iCloud account. It's deleted when you delete your account; if an account is banned, its code stays on our ban list.

Your iPhone. An identifier for the iPhone your account is on, its model, your app version, a notification token, and the results of Apple's checks that the app is genuine. When those checks run, such as when you join or recover your account, we also keep a coded copy of your IP address, with the time.

What you post. Your posts, comments, hearts, follows and blocks. When you tap Next on a photo, the app checks it and uploads it to get your post ready; if you don't post it, we delete it within a day. Photos and videos taken with PRUF's camera carry a capture record, shown with the post: when and where they were taken (the city, unless location was off), the iPhone model and camera settings, any edits, and checks that they came from a real camera, such as a depth reading and whether Face ID confirmed you.

Messages. Messages are end-to-end encrypted. We hold each one, encrypted, for up to 30 days, plus the records needed to deliver them, like who's in a conversation and when a message was sent.

Reports and support. What you report, or write to support. Reporting a message tells us who sent it and why, never what it said. Support in the app sends your username, app version and iOS version with your message. If you write to us by email or at pruf.net/support, we get your email address and use it only to answer you.

Diagnostics. Records of errors and of how the app is working, linked to your account, so we can find and fix problems.

Usage statistics, if you turn them on. They're off by default. If you turn them on, the app sends a daily count of how it's used, without your username or account ID.

Your agreement. A record that your account agreed to our Terms and this policy, with the versions, date and app build.

02What we never ask for

Your name, phone number, password, government ID or contacts, or an email address to join. We don't collect your phone's advertising identifier. The app refuses to post photos of IDs or payment cards; they stay in your vault.

03Face ID and the live-person check

Face ID is run by iOS and opens PRUF. The app only learns whether it succeeded.

The live-person check uses your front camera for a few seconds to check that a live person is there: when you join, and each time you take a selfie with PRUF's camera. You agree to it in its own box when you join. It runs only on your phone, and it doesn't identify you or sign you in. No image or measurement of your face is kept or sent to us or anyone else; a selfie's capture record notes that the check passed.

We keep no face data. A selfie or profile photo you post is handled like any other post, and we don't recognize or index faces in it.

04Location

Location is optional; you can turn it off for PRUF in iOS Settings.

• If location is on when you join, we keep the approximate area (about 1 km) where your account was created. If it's off, you choose your metro area.
• A post can show where you posted from, and where its photo was taken or its voice note recorded. The post's Location switch hides where you posted from. Where a photo was taken stays in its capture record, and shows with the post, unless location was off when you took it.
• Posts show a city, never an exact spot, and the files we serve carry no location data. Your vault keeps the exact spot of each capture, and what you export to Photos keeps it, like any iPhone photo.
• To turn a location into a place name, the app sends it to Apple.

05How we use it

To run PRUF and keep it safe: show your posts to the people you choose, deliver messages and alerts, keep out bots and banned accounts, check posts and act on reports, answer support and fix problems, and follow the law.

We don't sell or rent your information, use it for advertising, or use your posts or messages to train AI. If we want to use information we already have in a new way, we'll ask you first.

06How we check posts

Before anything appears, the app sends your photos, videos, voice notes, letters (with their titles) and profile photo straight from your phone to an outside AI service, which also receives your phone's IP address. The service checks them against our Terms and writes a short description and keywords for search, and a transcript of a voice note; these are published with the post. Captions, comments and your bio aren't sent to it; the app checks them on your phone for personal details instead. We ask your permission when you join, and you can't join without it. The service doesn't use your content to improve its products and keeps it only for a limited time to detect abuse. We don't use it to identify anyone or recognize faces. Messages aren't sent to it.

07Who can see what

• Public posts: anyone, in the app and on pruf.net, where search engines can find them. A public photo can be shared as a sealed export that shows your username and links back to the post.
• Followers: your followers.
• Only you: shown only to you, though still stored and checked like any other post.

Our team can see any post, including followers-only and "only you" posts. Anyone who can see something you post can save or share it.

08Who we share it with

• Companies that run parts of PRUF for us, like our hosting, email and AI moderation providers, under contracts that limit them to that work and require them to protect it.
• Apple, for iCloud backup, notifications, place names and its app checks.
• The law. With valid legal process, or in an emergency where someone's life is in danger, we may share what we hold about an account, including its records, its posts (including "only you" posts) and reports about it. We can't provide messages.
• NCMEC. We report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, as US law requires.
• A new owner, if PRUF is ever sold or reorganized. This policy still applies.

09Your vault

Your vault holds what you capture. It lives on your phone and, unless you turn iCloud backup off, encrypted in your own iCloud account; a few labels there aren't encrypted, such as capture dates, file sizes and usernames. It isn't on our servers, and PRUF can't open it. It opens only through your PRUF account, so export anything you want to keep.

10How long we keep it

• Your account, sign-up area and posts: until you delete them.
• A photo you got ready but didn't post: a day.
• Messages: up to 30 days.
• Records of your phones and conversations: as long as your account.
• Alerts: 30 days.
• IP addresses, sign-in records, diagnostics, reports and support requests: up to a year.
• Usage statistics: 90 days, then only totals that aren't linked to anyone.
• Your agreement record: kept after you delete your account.
• Your usernames, as a one-way code each: kept after you delete your account, so no one can register them again.
• Ban-list entries: as long as the ban stands.
• Backups: up to 14 days.
• Anything the law requires us to keep, for as long as it requires.

11Deleting your account

Delete your account anytime in Settings; it takes effect at once. Your account, profile, posts and files are deleted, along with your vault and messages in your iCloud, so export your vault first if you want it. Backups clear within 14 days. Messages you sent stay with the people who received them, and we can't recall copies others saved.

What stays: your agreement record, which doesn't name you; your usernames, retired: we keep a one-way code of each one, linked to nothing else, so no one can register them again; reports and support requests, for up to a year; a banned account's ban-list entry; and anything the law requires.

12Your choices

• Delete a post or your account, or export your vault to Photos, anytime.
• Turn off location, notifications or iCloud backup.
• Ask for a copy of your information, or to correct or delete it, through Support in the app. We'll confirm it's your signed-in account and answer as soon as we can.

13Security

We use encryption and other safeguards. No system is perfect. If a breach affects your information, we'll tell you in the app and on pruf.net, as the law requires.

14Age

PRUF is for people 18 and older. If we learn an account belongs to someone younger, we ban it and delete its information, except its ban-list entry and what the law requires.

15Where we are

PRUF is run from the United States for people there. Our providers may process information in other countries.

16pruf.net

pruf.net shows public posts and profiles. It uses no cookies, analytics or advertising trackers, and we don't keep logs of visits. If you allow it, pruf.net/square uses your browser's location to pick your city; only the city reaches us. PRUF doesn't track you across other apps or sites, so Do Not Track signals change nothing.

17Changes

We'll post changes at pruf.net/privacy with a new version and date, and tell you in the app's inbox, from PRUF SYSTEM, before a material change takes effect.

18Contact

Support in the app, pruf.net/support, or support@pruf.net. PRUF Systems Inc., Los Angeles, California.