Privacy Policy

Information we collect

We collect only the information needed to operate the service:

• Account information you provide when you sign up: your name, email address, and — if you choose to receive text notifications — your mobile phone number.
• Family and household information you enter to coordinate care: your children's first names and ages, saved care locations you choose to add, and the members of your household and any groups you create or join.
• Activity within the app: care requests you post or respond to, caregiver responses, confirmed bookings, and notifications generated by these actions.

We deliberately do not collect or store highly sensitive details such as medication dosages, home-entry codes, or Wi-Fi passwords. We practice data minimization: we ask for as little information as the service needs to function.

How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Operate the core service — post and match care requests, connect you with the people in your trusted circles, manage bookings, and generate notifications.
• Deliver the notifications you have chosen to receive, through in-app alerts, email, and — only if you opt in — SMS text messages.
• Maintain the security, integrity, and proper functioning of the service.
• Communicate with you about your account and important service updates.

We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell your information.

Children's information

The Village is intended for use by adults — parents, guardians, and the caregivers they invite. Information about children (such as a child's first name and age) is provided by the adult account holder about their own family, solely to coordinate that child's care. We limit children's information to what is necessary for coordination, and we restrict access so that a family's information is visible only to the household members and caregivers that family has specifically authorized. We do not knowingly allow children to create their own accounts or to provide information directly.

How your information is shared

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing. We use trusted service providers to operate The Village — including secure cloud hosting and database services, an email delivery provider, and, for text notifications, an SMS delivery provider. These providers process your information only to perform services for us, under agreements that limit how they may use it.

Phone numbers and SMS opt-in information are used only to deliver the messages you have requested. They are not shared with third parties, and they are not used for marketing.

We may disclose information if required by law, or where we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect the safety of a child or another person.

How we protect your information

We apply technical safeguards designed to keep each family's information private, including access controls that restrict data to authorized household and group members, and keeping sensitive credentials on our servers rather than exposing them in the app. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect the information you entrust to us.

Your choices

You can review and update your account and family information within the app. You can turn notifications on or off, and choose which channels (in-app, email, SMS) you receive. You can opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message. You can request that we delete your account and associated information by contacting us at the address below.

Text messages (SMS)

SMS notifications are off by default and are optional — you can use The Village fully without them. During onboarding, and anytime in your account settings, you can choose to opt in by actively checking a consent checkbox and entering your mobile number. Nothing is pre-checked, and you can continue without opting in by choosing "Skip for now."

If you opt in, we send text messages in three ways only: a morning update, an evening update, and instant alerts for urgent care requests. Morning and evening updates summarize new care activity (new requests, booking updates) and are not sent as separate additional texts. Message frequency varies based on your village's activity — typically a few messages per week, and up to roughly 40 per month for active villages, occasionally more. Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile phone service plan. Reply HELP for help or STOP to cancel at any time; STOP turns off all texts from The Village. You can also reduce texts by turning off the morning or evening summary texts in More → Notifications while keeping urgent alerts on.

Consent to receive text messages is not required to use Village, and it is never a condition of any purchase. We use your mobile number only to deliver the notifications you asked for and to operate the service. We do not sell your phone number, and no mobile information is shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Phone numbers are shared only with our messaging provider for the sole purpose of delivering your messages.

Data retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. When you close your account or request deletion, we remove your personal information, except where we are required to retain it by law.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you within the service.

Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your information, contact us at elliotkatz6@gmail.com.