Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 1, 2025

Contact: support@loser-story.com

1. Introduction

At Loser Story, we prioritize your privacy and personal data protection. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights. We are committed to transparency and compliance with applicable laws including PIPEDA (Canada), GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), and DPDP (India).

2. What We Collect

  • Required: First Name, Last Name, Gender, Date of Birth, one security question (up to three).
  • Optional: Profile Image, Phone Number.
  • Authentication & Usage: Email (for OTPs), app activity, device & browser metadata, IP address, timezone, and general location.
  • Content: User-generated stories, comments, and reactions.
  • Logs: Timestamps, feature usage, error reports (anonymized).

3. Use of Data

  • To create, authenticate, and manage your account.
  • To display stories, enable social interactions, and support app features.
  • To moderate content and enforce community guidelines.
  • To detect and prevent fraud or abuse.
  • To improve platform security and performance.

4. Privacy & Visibility Controls

  • You control the visibility of your profile information and stories through settings.
  • You may disable profile view requests or revoke approvals at any time.
  • Shared story links are public; share responsibly.

5. Content Responsibility

  • All stories, comments, and images are submitted by users. You are responsible for your submissions.
  • Admins may moderate content but are not liable for posts made by users.
  • Do not submit sensitive personal information (e.g. medical data, government ID, financial records).

6. ID Verification (Optional)

  • ID is never required to join the platform.
  • If submitted for verification, IDs are auto-deleted permanently after review.

7. Story Reactions & Emotional Intensity

  • Each story is reviewed and categorized by our moderation team as Loss-Only, Mixed, or Resolved, based on its tone and emotional arc.
  • Each category has its own curated set of emoji-based reactions that reflect a spectrum of emotions (e.g. grief, confusion, strength, growth, or closure).
  • These reactions are subject to periodic updates and may change in icon, color, name, or description based on community input and emotional relevance.
  • Users may optionally react to stories. After selecting a reaction, users may also choose to indicate how intensely they felt that emotion. This input is optional and anonymous.
  • Intensity responses help generate a visual “Emotional Pulse” for each story — visible on the story’s detail screen. This map helps authors and readers understand collective emotional responses without revealing individual identities.

8. Whispers (Private Notes)

  • Whispers are one-on-one, private messages initiated by a reader and sent directly to the story creator. Story creators cannot initiate whispers.
  • Only users who have posted a comment on the story and whose accounts are older than 24 hours are eligible to send a whisper.
  • Each reader may initiate up to two whispers per story. The first message (max 300 characters) is sent by the reader. If the creator responds (also 300 characters max), both parties may reply once more (150 characters each).
  • After this final round, the conversation is closed and cannot be reopened.
  • Unattended whispers (i.e. no response from the creator) are automatically deleted after 14 days.
  • Completed whisper conversations are retained for 365 days and then permanently wiped. Early-closed whispers with no engagement may be deleted earlier.
  • Whispers are subject to moderation. Abuse or misuse of the feature can result in feature suspension or account restrictions.

8. Security

  • All communications are encrypted (HTTPS).
  • Data access is strictly restricted to authorized system processes.
  • We do not store passwords — OTP-based authentication only.
  • All optional sensitive data (e.g., ID verification) is purged post-verification.

9. Data Hosting & Processors

  • Data is hosted on Hostinger VPS located in Phoenix, Arizona (USA).
  • We use Firebase (Google LLC) for real-time functionality and Branch.io for deep linking.
  • All third-party services comply with relevant data protection laws via contractual obligations.

10. Children’s Privacy

  • Loser Story is not intended for users under 18.
  • Accounts found to be from minors will be deleted immediately.

11. Your Rights

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: Update inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Deletion: Delete your account and associated data.
  • Objection: Limit or object to specific types of data use.
  • Portability: Request transfer of your data (where applicable).

12. Cookies & Tracking

  • We do not use third-party ad trackers or personalized advertising cookies.
  • Session cookies may be used for login and functionality (e.g. language preferences).

13. Data Retention & Deletion

  • Inactive or deleted accounts are removed after 14 days of deletion request.
  • Temporary data (like verification ID) is removed immediately after use.

14. Updates to This Policy

  • This policy may be updated. We will notify you via app or email for major changes.
  • Continued use after updates implies your acceptance of the latest version.