Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, why we use it, who we may share it with and what choices and rights you have.

This policy applies when you visit, sign up to or use FriendsNearby.co.uk, including profiles, posts, comments, messages, groups, notifications, safety reports and account settings.

You should also read our Terms and Conditions, which explain the rules for using the site.

2. Who is responsible for your information

For data protection purposes, the data controller is:

If any of these details are updated, we will update this page.

3. Information we collect

We collect information you provide directly, information generated when you use the site and technical information needed to keep the service secure and working.

Account information

• username;
• email address;
• password, stored securely as a hashed password;
• first name and surname;
• date of birth or age-related information;
• gender, if collected as part of your profile;
• region, city, town or local area;
• friendship preferences, such as online, in-person or both;
• profile picture and profile details;
• account role, settings, credits and status.

Content and activity

• posts, comments, likes and reactions;
• photos, videos and other uploads;
• groups you create, join or interact with;
• friend list activity;
• messages you send and receive;
• notifications and interactions with other users;
• safety reports and moderation activity.

Technical and security information

• IP address, including Cloudflare-forwarded IP where applicable;
• browser and device information;
• user agent;
• login times, last active times and access logs;
• cookie and session information;
• security, error and diagnostic logs.

Information from reports

If you report a user, profile, message, post, group or safety concern, we may collect the details you provide, the reported URL or content, related messages, relevant account information and technical information needed to review the issue.

4. How we use your information

We use personal information to run, protect and improve Friends Nearby.

We may also use information to respond to your requests, fix technical issues, improve features, enforce our terms, manage credits, maintain records and comply with legal obligations.

5. Our lawful bases for using personal information

Under UK data protection law, we need a lawful basis to use personal information. Depending on the situation, we may rely on:

• Contract: to provide the account, profile, messaging, group and community features you ask to use.
• Legitimate interests: to keep the site safe, prevent misuse, improve the service, manage reports and protect users.
• Legal obligation: where we need to keep or share information to comply with the law.
• Consent: where we ask for your permission, such as certain optional cookies, marketing or optional settings.
• Vital interests: in rare situations where information may be needed to protect someone’s life or safety.

If you choose to include sensitive information in posts, messages, profiles or reports, we may process that information only as needed to provide the feature, respond to your request, investigate a concern or protect users.

6. Profile visibility and what other users can see

Friends Nearby is a social network, so some information is designed to be visible to other users.

Depending on your settings and how the site is configured, other users may be able to see:

• your profile name or username;
• your profile picture;
• your age or age band, if enabled;
• your town, city or region, if enabled;
• your friendship type or interests;
• your posts, comments, likes and group activity;
• whether you are a member of certain groups;
• your last active status, if enabled.

You should use your privacy settings to control what you show where settings are available. You should not share your home address, financial details, private contact details or anything that could put you at risk.

7. Messages and private conversations

Messages are intended for friendly conversations between users. They are not publicly visible like posts, but they are not guaranteed to be completely private from site safety, moderation or technical review.

We may access or review messages if needed to:

• investigate a user report;
• protect users from harm, scams, abuse or harassment;
• enforce our terms;
• fix technical issues;
• comply with legal duties.

You should not use messages to share sensitive information, passwords, financial details or anything you would not want another person to keep or screenshot.

8. Safety, moderation and reports

We use personal information to help keep the community safer. This may include reviewing posts, profiles, messages, comments, groups, reports, account history and technical logs.

If a report is made, we may use the information in that report to investigate, take moderation action, contact users, restrict accounts or improve safety processes.

We may keep moderation records even after content or accounts are removed if this is needed for safety, abuse prevention, legal reasons or to prevent repeat misuse.

If we believe there is a serious risk of harm or illegal activity, we may share relevant information with appropriate authorities where lawful and necessary.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember settings, protect the site, understand how the site is used and improve the service.

Essential cookies

Essential cookies are needed for the site to work. For example, they may help manage sessions, login status, security protections and basic account functionality.

Analytics and optional cookies

If we use analytics, advertising or optional tracking cookies, we should ask for consent where required and give you clear information about what those cookies do.

Managing cookies

You can usually manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Some parts of the site may not work properly if essential cookies are blocked.

10. Emails, notifications and marketing

We may send you service emails and notifications about your account, security, messages, interactions, reports, important updates or changes. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share information with:

• hosting providers and technical service providers who help run the site;
• email or notification providers who help us send account messages;
• security, anti-spam or fraud prevention providers;
• payment providers, if paid features are introduced;
• professional advisers, such as legal or accounting advisers;
• law enforcement, regulators or authorities where required or appropriate;
• another organisation if the site, business or assets are transferred in future.

Where we use service providers, we expect them to protect personal information and only use it for the purposes we allow.

12. Location and local friendship features

Friends Nearby uses location-related profile information, such as region, city or town, to help users find local friends, groups and community activity.

We do not need your exact home address to provide the core site features, and you should not post your full address publicly.

Where privacy settings are available, you may be able to hide or limit some location information. However, if you post your location in content, comments, messages or group discussions, other users may see it.

13. How long we keep information

We keep personal information for as long as needed to provide the site, manage your account, meet legal duties, resolve disputes, prevent misuse and keep users safe.

As a general guide:

• account information is usually kept while your account is active;
• posts, comments, media and group content may remain while published on the site;
• messages may remain unless deleted according to the site’s message deletion tools;
• technical logs are usually kept for a limited period unless needed for security or investigation;
• reports and moderation records may be kept for longer where needed for safety, abuse prevention or legal reasons;
• some information may remain in backups for a limited period before being overwritten.

If you ask us to delete your account, we will delete or anonymise information where appropriate, but we may retain some information where needed for legal, safety, fraud prevention, moderation or legitimate business reasons.

14. How we protect information

We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration.

These may include password hashing, access controls, secure coding practices, server security, logging, backups, spam prevention and moderation tools.

No website or online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You should choose a strong password, keep your login details private and tell us if you think your account has been compromised.

15. Children and under-18s

Friends Nearby is intended for adults aged 18 and over. Users under 18 must not create an account or use the site.

If we believe an account belongs to someone under 18, we may restrict, suspend or delete the account.

If you believe someone under 18 is using the site, please contact us at support@friendsnearby.co.uk.

If the site is likely to be accessed by children, further child privacy and safety duties may apply. We will review and update our approach if the service changes or if younger users are likely to access it.

16. Your privacy rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights over your personal information. These can include the right to:

• ask for a copy of your personal information;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to delete information in certain circumstances;
• ask us to restrict how we use information in certain circumstances;
• object to certain uses of your information;
• withdraw consent where we rely on consent;
• ask for certain information in a portable format;
• complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Some rights only apply in certain situations. For example, we may need to keep certain information for safety, legal, moderation, fraud prevention or security reasons.

To make a privacy request, contact: privacy@friendsnearby.co.uk.

17. International transfers

Some service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. If this happens, we will aim to use appropriate safeguards where required by data protection law.

This may include using providers based in countries with recognised protection standards or using approved contractual safeguards.

18. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the “last updated” date on this page.

If the changes are significant, we may also provide a notice on the site or ask you to review the updated policy.

19. Contact us or make a complaint

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use personal information, contact us.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how your personal information has been handled.

The ICO website is: ico.org.uk.