Privacy

Who we are

YouVS makes the YouVS iPhone app and runs the website youvs.app. In this policy "YouVS", "we" and "us" mean the people who run YouVS. This policy says what we collect, why, who helps us run YouVS, how long we keep things and what you can do. Questions or requests: support@youvs.app.

What we collect

Account: your email address, and a password (stored scrambled, never readable) if you made one on the website; in the app you can sign in with a one-time code we email you. Or, if you sign in with Apple, the email Apple shares with us (which can be a private relay address) and a sign-in token from Apple. We keep that token only so we can tell Apple to end your Sign in with Apple link when you delete your account; we never use it for anything else. Your @name, display name, photo and bio.

Age: your birthday, and the age range Apple's Declared Age Range gives us when you allow it. In Texas, whether a parent has agreed through Apple. If someone says they are under 13 we keep a record of that answer, with no name or email when it happens before an account exists.

What you post: clips (video and sound), captions, comments, stories, the games you make, entries in the weekly contest, and live video, sound and chat while you are live. With each clip the app also sends a fingerprint of the file (a code made from its contents) and, for an uploaded clip, the month it was made; we keep the fingerprints private and use them to stop people posting other people's clips. Drafts and recent uploads you keep in the app are stored with your account so you can post them later.

Stories: the photo or video, and what you put on it: text, @mentions and a place name you type. The app draws them into the picture; we also keep the words and mentions as text, to run the word filter and so moderators can read a reported story. A place on a story is only the name you type, never your position. Your Close friends list, if you make one, and the highlights you save your stories into.

Messages: the messages, photos and GIFs you send in chats and group chats, and replies to stories (a reply to a story is a message). Before a photo leaves your phone the app turns it into a new picture without its hidden details, so it carries no location. Photos are kept private and are shown only to the people in the chat, through links that stop working after an hour, and to our moderators if a photo is reported; a reported photo is kept. A photo you upload but never send is deleted after an hour. Where you turned on Apple's Sensitive Content Warning (or Communication Safety for a child), your iPhone checks photos you receive and blurs ones that may show nudity; that check happens on your phone and nothing about it is sent to us.

What you do: verses you play, votes and picks, follows, likes, blocks and mutes, reports you make, who viewed or liked a story, your points, Gems, gifts, levels, daily streaks, mystery boxes and other rewards, and who invited you (Send a friend a verse). Which clips and verses you watched (to count views and to skip what you've seen) and which live rooms you watched (to count viewers).

Your ELO rating: a skill number worked out from the 1v1 verses you play that count for ranks, with its history (each change, and the verse that caused it).

Purchases: for purchases made with Apple, the transaction id, the product, the price and currency, the App Store country, and whether it was refunded. We never see your card or Apple account details.

Phone number: only if you verify one. We text you a code to check it (the text is sent by Twilio). We use the number to keep one-per-person rewards fair and, if you leave texts on, to text you about your verses.

Alerts: if you allow notifications, the device token Apple gives us to send them to this phone.

Support: what you write to us through Help & support or by email, the topic and the app version.

Brand accounts: if you apply for a brand account, what you put in the application: the brand's name, the @name you want, its logo, website, category and country, your work email, your name and job title, social links and what you plan to promote. Staff read it to decide, and keep a note of the decision. A brand account is separate from your personal account.

Fair play: a keyed hash of your network address (IP) and of a random id the app or browser makes for itself (it is not your phone's advertising id or serial number). A keyed hash is a scrambled code that can't be turned back into the address. It only tells us that two accounts used the same phone or network. The website uses these for votes and points; the iPhone app sends them when you get your invite link or arrive on a friend's invite (Send a friend a verse), so the free points for a friend's first verse can't be claimed twice.

Technical: like any website or app, our servers log requests (time, network address, device type) for security and to fix problems. On the website, crash reports may be sent to an error-tracking service without your name or account.

Photo library: if you allow it, the app reads your photo library on your phone to show your photos and videos when you pick one to post. Nothing in your library leaves your phone until you pick it, and then only what you picked is uploaded. An uploaded clip leaves your phone without its location. You can change this any time in iPhone Settings (Photos access: none, some, or all).

We don't collect your location or your contacts.

Why we use it

To run YouVS: your account, your profile, posting, playing verses, counting votes, live, points, gifts and purchases.

To keep it safe and fair: checking age, applying the limits for teens, the word filter, reviewing reports, stopping fake accounts, vote fixing and fraud, and taking back purchases Apple refunds.

To talk to you: alerts you turned on, emails about your account (like a password reset), and answers to your support requests.

To fix and improve the app: finding bugs and seeing which features work.

We don't sell your personal information. We don't show ads. We don't track you across other companies' apps or websites, and we don't share your data with data brokers.

What other people see

Your @name, display name, photo, bio, the clips you post, your comments, your verses and their results, your weekly contest entries, your level, rank, ELO rating (once you have played 10 counted verses), badges, the card skins, effects and charms you own and gift counts are public on YouVS. A tip you send shows its amount in the tip moment, with your @name (or as "Someone" if Show my wins is off). Your wins can appear in the win ticker. Your birthday, age range, email, phone number and purchases are never shown to anyone.

Stories: a story is up for 24 hours (on the website you can pick 48). People who follow you see it in their stories row, anyone signed in who opens your profile can watch it unless you blocked them, and anyone with a link to your story, even without an account, can watch your newest story while it is up. You can see who viewed and liked your story. A story you put in a highlight stays on your profile after its 24 hours, for the people who can see your stories.

Close friends: a story you share to Close friends is shown only to the people on your list (and never through a public link). Your list is yours alone: nobody else can see it, and nobody is told they are on it, except that they see those stories. Taking someone off the list stops the app showing them your close friends stories; someone who already has a story's file link can still open it until the story's files are deleted.

Mentions: when you mention someone in a story, they get a notice (unless they muted or reported you). You can only mention people you are allowed to message, and in a close friends story only people on your list.

Links: youvs.app links open in the app when it is installed. When you share a link to a profile, clip or story, the preview (your @name, display name, photo, and the title, caption, picture or video of what you shared) can be seen by anyone the link reaches, including people without an account. A link to something private shows no preview.

Views are counted, never shown by name: people see how many views a clip or verse has, not who watched it. Votes are private: while voting is open everyone sees the split, but nobody is ever shown who voted or for whom. If you turn off Show my wins in Settings, your wins and gift counts are hidden from others and you appear as "Someone" in gift moments.

Who helps us run YouVS

We share data only with companies that run parts of YouVS for us, only what each one needs, and only under terms that require them to protect it:

Supabase: our database, sign-in and file storage. Cloudflare: clip file storage, when we store clips there. Vercel: hosts the website and the server the app talks to. Mux: processes and plays videos. LiveKit: carries live video and sound. Apple: Sign in with Apple (and ending that link when you delete your account), purchases, notifications and age range. Resend: sends our emails. Twilio: sends texts (phone number codes and texts you leave on). GIPHY: GIF search in chats (it sees the search words and your network address when a GIF loads). Sentry: error reports from the website and our servers (without your name).

Clips uploaded on the website (not in the iPhone app) can be checked by an outside service for AI-made video. We name that service here before it is switched on.

We also share information when the law requires it, to protect someone in danger, or when we report child sexual abuse material to the authorities. If YouVS is ever sold or merged, this policy keeps applying to your data.

How long we keep it

While your account is open, we keep your data so YouVS works. Who watched which clip or verse is used to count views and to skip verses you've already seen. When you delete your account, your profile, clips, stories, comments, votes, follows, your ELO rating and its history, alert tokens and the rest of your account data are deleted. If you signed in with Apple, we ask Apple to end that link and then delete the token; if Apple can't be reached we keep trying for up to 30 days, then delete it. We keep only a note of what happened, never the token. Stored clip files are cleared out by a nightly job. A story stops showing when its 24 or 48 hours end, unless you put it in a highlight.

Some records are kept after you delete, only for the reasons given: Apple purchase records and the records of Gems, gifts and creator earnings, for accounting, refunds and the law. The fair-play record of votes and points put on players (with the scrambled codes), for 2 years after the verse. A phone number used for a one-time reward, so the reward can't be claimed twice. Our log of moderation decisions, to keep people safe. Content we removed and the reports about it, where the law requires us to keep them as evidence (for example, reported child sexual abuse material for 1 year), then deleted. Support messages, with the link to your account removed (copies in our support inbox may still show your @name). Who invited whom, with the account removed and with the scrambled codes, so an invite reward can't be claimed again. A count of under-13 answers given before an account exists, with no name or account.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account any time in the app: Settings, then Delete account. If you are in a verse that hasn't finished, we hide your profile at once, sign you out, and finish the deletion as soon as the verse ends, within 7 days at most. Unspent points, Gems and gift earnings are lost; the app shows them before you confirm.

Your choices

Notifications: turn them off any time in iPhone Settings or in the app's Settings. Show my wins: hide your wins and gifts. Block and mute anyone.

Ask us: you can ask for a copy of your data, to fix something wrong, or to delete it, by writing to support@youvs.app from your account's email. Depending on where you live, you may have more rights, such as objecting to how we use your data or complaining to your data protection authority. We use your data because it is needed to provide YouVS to you, to keep it safe and fair (our legitimate interest), to meet the law, or because you agreed (for example to notifications).

Children and teens

YouVS is not for children under 13. We ask your age before you make an account and refuse anyone under 13. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 13, we lock it and delete it once we confirm it. If you think a child under 13 is using YouVS, tell us at support@youvs.app.

Teens (13 to 17) get extra limits: they can't buy anything with money, send or receive gifts, open the paid box, or play for points in the iPhone app. Where the law asks for a parent's consent, we follow what Apple tells us about it.

Security and where data is stored

We protect data with encryption in transit, access limits and keyed hashes, but no service is perfectly secure. Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries, which may have different data protection laws from yours.

Changes and contact

When we change this policy we update the date and version on this page, and tell you in the app if the change is important. Questions, requests or complaints: support@youvs.app.