Sillside · Privacy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 5 May 2026

Sillside lets you send photos to a small group of friends — directly onto their home-screen widgets. This policy explains what we collect, what your circle sees, and what never leaves your device. Designed to meet the GDPR, the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), and the Google Play User Data Policy.

1. Controller

The controller responsible for data processing under Art. 4(7) GDPR is:

2. What data we process

2.1 Account data

• Email address (from Google sign-in or email registration)
• Display name (from Google or chosen at registration)
• Google account ID (only if you sign in with Google)
• Password (only with email registration — stored as a salted hash by Firebase Authentication; never visible to us)
• Unique user ID (Firebase UID)
• Time-zone (auto-detected, used to display photo timestamps in your local time)

2.2 Circle data

When you create or join a circle (a small friend group, typically 2–8 people), we store the circle name, an invite code, the list of member user IDs, and your role within the circle.

2.3 Photos you send

Each photo you take in Sillside is stored as two files in Firebase Storage: a full-resolution JPEG (long edge ≤2048 px) and a 512 px square thumbnail used for the home-screen widget. The photo's metadata document records the uploader, the target circles, the recipients, an optional caption (≤30 characters), and a creation timestamp.

Photos are visible only to members of the circles you sent them to. There is no public album, no automatic forwarding, and no backup of your photos to anywhere outside the Firebase project described in section 4.

2.4 Reactions

When you tap a reaction (an emoji) on a photo, we store the emoji, your user ID, and a reference to the photo. Visible to the other circle members.

2.5 Device and diagnostic data

• Push token / topic subscription (Firebase Cloud Messaging) used to deliver silent data-pushes that refresh your widget when a new photo arrives. You're automatically subscribed to a per-user topic on sign-in and unsubscribed on sign-out.
• Diagnostic information automatically collected by Firebase during authentication and error reporting (OS version, app version, rough device model, crash logs). No analytics or advertising trackers.
• IP address, processed transiently by Firebase for connection establishment and abuse prevention.

2.6 Data we do not collect

Sillside does not collect location data, contacts, calls, SMS, health data, calendar entries, screen-time statistics, or photos other than the ones you explicitly send through the app. Sillside contains no advertising and processes no advertising IDs.

3. Purposes and legal bases

• Providing the service (account, circle membership, photo upload + delivery, widget refresh, reactions): performance of a contract, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.
• Push notifications and the widget refresh mechanism: your consent via the OS prompt, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.
• Camera access: your consent via the OS prompt — only used when you explicitly tap "send a photo".
• Security, debugging, abuse prevention: legitimate interest in a secure service, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

4. Recipients and processors

• Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC (Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging) — processes the data described in 2.1–2.5 for authentication, storage, and push delivery. Details: firebase.google.com/support/privacy.
• Google Play as the app store: app distribution and updates under its own privacy terms.

We do not sell personal data.

5. International transfers

Google may transfer personal data to the United States. Such transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (European Commission adequacy decision of 10 July 2023) and on the Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). Firebase services used by Sillside are configured to host data in the europe-west1 region (Belgium) wherever the product allows it.

6. Retention

• Account data: as long as your account exists. After deletion, all personal data is erased within 30 days (except where retention is required by law).
• Photos and reactions: retained for the life of your account. They're removed within 30 days when you delete your account. (Future versions may add an automatic 7-day expiry on the free tier; this policy will be updated before that change ships.)
• Circle memberships: when you leave a circle or delete your account, your membership record is deleted immediately and your user ID is removed from the circle's member list. Other members' photos remain.
• Push tokens / topic subscriptions: until you sign out or uninstall.
• Backups: Firebase backups rotate within 35 days.

7. Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time:

• In-app: Settings → Account → "Delete account".
• By email: send a request from your registered email to privacy@sillside.app. Processed within 30 days.

See /delete-account for the step-by-step.

8. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the following rights:

• Right of access (Art. 15)
• Right to rectification (Art. 16)
• Right to erasure (Art. 17)
• Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18)
• Right to data portability (Art. 20)
• Right to object (Art. 21)
• Right to withdraw consent (Art. 7(3))

For most rights, the in-app surface is the fastest path:

• Access + portability (Art. 15 + 20): Settings → Privacy → "export your data" generates a JSON download of everything we hold tied to your account.
• Rectification (Art. 16): Settings → Account → tap your name to update.
• Erasure (Art. 17): Settings → "delete account" permanently deletes your account and all data within 30 days.
• Withdrawal of consent (Art. 7(3)): Settings → Privacy → toggle off "send crash reports" and "send usage analytics" any time.

For the remaining rights, or if anything in the above paths doesn't work for you, email privacy@sillside.app. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR).

9. Data security

Communication between Sillside and our servers is exclusively over TLS-encrypted connections (HTTPS). Access to circle data, photos, and reactions is restricted via Firestore and Storage security rules — only signed-in members of the relevant circle can read them.

10. Children

Sillside is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect data from children under 13.

11. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version is always available at this URL. Material changes will be announced in the app.

12. Contact

For any privacy questions, reach us at privacy@sillside.app.