Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Pickle Pulse (“we,” “our,” or “us”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and related services.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your chosen username

Profile Information

To personalize your experience, we also collect:

• A short bio (provided by you)
• Your self-reported pickleball skill level
• How frequently you play

Gameplay Data

As you use the app, we collect:

• Game scores
• Win/loss records
• Drill history and activity
• Session and usage analytics (such as features accessed and time in app)

Communication Data

When you use social features, we collect:

• Chat messages exchanged between users in chat rooms
• AI coaching conversation content (questions you ask and responses generated)

Safety Data

To maintain a safe community, we collect:

• User reports submitted about other users or content
• Blocked users lists

Referral Data

When you participate in referral programs, we collect:

• Referral relationships (who referred whom)
• Promo code redemptions

Check-in Data

When you use daily check-in features, we collect:

• Daily check-in streak data
• Mood selections
• Drill completions

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account
• Personalize your experience based on your skill level, play frequency, and bio
• Save and display your game history and statistics
• Generate personalized drill suggestions and motivational content using AI
• Improve app performance and user experience
• Communicate with you about your account or app updates

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Consent: For account creation, contact form submissions, and AI coaching features. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Contractual necessity: For account management and delivery of our services, including maintaining your game history and profile.
• Legitimate interest: For security purposes (rate limiting, abuse prevention), analytics, and app improvement. We balance these interests against your privacy rights.

5. AI-Generated Content

Pickle Pulse uses Google's Gemini API to generate personalized drill suggestions, daily coaching messages, and AI-powered game setup. To do this, we may send general context such as your skill level and play frequency to Google — we do not send your name, email, bio, or other personal identifiers. For more information, see Google's Privacy Policy at policies.google.com/privacy.

AI coaching conversations: When you use the AI coaching feature, the content of your conversation (your questions and the AI's responses) is sent to Google Gemini for processing.

Player statistics in AI prompts: Your player statistics (such as win/loss records, skill level, and play frequency) may be included in AI prompts to provide personalized coaching. These statistics are anonymized and do not include your email address, name, or other personal identifiers.

6. Data Storage

Your data is stored securely in a Supabase PostgreSQL database. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We implement access controls so that only you can access your personal data.

7. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate Pickle Pulse:

• Supabase — PostgreSQL database that stores all user data including email, game history, chat messages, and profile information
• Vercel — Website hosting and deployment
• Resend — Email delivery for password reset and email verification
• Upstash Redis — Caching and rate limiting
• Google Gemini — AI coaching and drill recommendations. Conversation content is sent to Google for processing

Each third-party service only receives the data necessary to provide its specific function. For more information, review the privacy policies of each provider.

8. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share your data with third-party service providers only as needed to provide our services:

• Supabase (database storage for user accounts, game history, and chat messages)
• Vercel (website hosting and deployment)
• Resend (email delivery for password reset and verification emails)
• Upstash (caching and rate limiting)
• Google Gemini (AI content generation — conversation content, anonymized player statistics; no personal identifiers such as name or email)
• As required by law

9. Data Retention

We retain your data as follows:

• Account data: Retained until you delete your account
• Chat messages: Retained for the life of the chat room
• AI conversations: Stored in your browser's localStorage only and are not stored on our servers
• Game history: Retained until you delete your account
• Analytics: Aggregated data only, with no personal identifiers

10. Push Notifications

We may offer optional push notifications in the future. If and when we do, you will be asked for explicit permission and will be able to opt out at any time through your device settings.

11. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the email below.

12. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure: You can request deletion of your personal data
• Right to restriction of processing: You can request that we limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability: You can request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object: You can object to our processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in your country of residence.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@picklepulse.app. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

13. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know: You can request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you
• Right to delete: You can request deletion of your personal information
• Right to opt-out: You can opt out of the sale of your personal information

We do not sell your personal information.

To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at support@picklepulse.app.

14. International Data Transfers

Your data is stored and processed in the United States via our service providers Supabase and Vercel. If you are accessing Pickle Pulse from outside the United States, please be aware that your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. By using our app, you consent to the transfer of your data to the United States.

15. Children's Privacy

Pickle Pulse is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: support@picklepulse.app