WithMe Privacy Policy
Important: WithMe's core features continuously process precise location information and share location, history, and check-in status with the one partner you voluntarily connect with. Precise location and travel history are sensitive personal information. Please authorize access only after understanding its purpose and impact. You can turn off location access in Settings or disconnect from your partner at any time.
1. Scope and Controller
This policy applies to the WithMe iOS app and related services. The data controller is Charles Young (WithMe developer), referred to as “we” or “us.”
Contact: fealenyoung@163.com
Support: Help & Support
2. Information We Process and Why
We process only the information needed for features you choose to use. We do not show ads, track you across apps or websites, or sell personal information.
2.1 Account and identity
We process your username and password credential to create your account, verify your identity, and protect account security. You may add an email for password recovery. No code is sent when you link the email; a code is sent only when you request a password reset. An email is optional, but without one you cannot reset a forgotten password yourself. Phone recovery is not offered in this release. We also process your nickname, built-in avatar ID, and user ID so you and your partner can identify each other.
When you register, our server records the connection IP address and uses an offline database to infer its country or region for account security and internal service operations. We do not send your IP address to the database provider. This is an approximate network origin, not your precise location or proof of residence. We also retain the latest successful registration, login, or authenticated service-request time, including background requests, to understand service activity; this does not mean you opened the app. This information is available only to the operator, is not shared with your partner, and is deleted when account deletion completes.
2.2 Precise location, history, and motion
After you grant location access, we process precise coordinates, sample time, accuracy, speed, and device motion states such as stationary, walking, or driving. We use this information to:
- show real-time location, online status, and location history to your connected partner;
- detect arrival at or departure from places you configure and create automatic check-ins;
- adjust location frequency to improve accuracy and reduce battery use; and
- identify gaps and abnormal samples to improve service quality.
If “Always” location access is disabled, background sharing, history, and automatic check-ins may not work. If all location access is disabled, the app stops collecting new locations.
2.3 Relationship, places, and check-ins
When you create or accept an invitation, we process the invitation, relationship, and connection or disconnection time. For automatic check-ins, we process the place names you enter, place type, center coordinates, radius, arrival or departure preferences, and event times.
When you choose to send a “Thinking of You” interaction, we store the sender, recipient, current relationship, event identifier, aggregated tap count and sending time. This delivers the interaction to your paired partner, keeps it in Updates and prevents duplicate sends. Interactions do not include location, address, battery or online status and are not used for advertising or cross-app tracking. You can control arrival/departure, low-battery and interaction notifications separately; disabling notifications does not remove existing updates.
Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets read a minimal snapshot from the app's shared container on your device: nicknames, place text, location capture time, sharing status and accuracy status. Widgets do not collect location independently or store coordinates or login credentials. Lock Screen widgets hide nicknames and specific places. Signing out or unpairing clears the local widget snapshot.
2.4 Device and service status
To provide notifications, presence, and battery-efficient location, we process platform type, app version, Apple push token, network type, battery and charging state, online time, and service request status. We do not access contacts, messages, or advertising identifiers.
2.5 Camera, notifications, and motion permissions
- Camera: used only when you scan a partner's invitation QR code. The image is recognized on-device and is not uploaded.
- Notifications: used for arrival or departure updates and service messages related to location refresh.
- Motion & Fitness: used to distinguish stationary, walking, and driving states and adjust location frequency. It is not used for health profiling or advertising.
2.6 Network and security information
Apart from the registration origin and latest activity time retained with your account as described above, our server temporarily processes IP address, request time, endpoint path, and error information to communicate and protect the service. The production app contains no advertising SDK or third-party behavioral analytics SDK. Diagnostic files generated by development builds are not a feature of the App Store release.
2.7 Feedback and screenshots
When you submit feedback, we process the selected category, description, optional reply email, app version, iOS version, and device model. You may choose up to three screenshots. The system photo picker gives the app access only to the images you select. We do not automatically attach location, history, check-ins, or diagnostic files to feedback.
3. Permissions and Withdrawal
Permissions are requested only when relevant features need them. You can disable location, motion, camera, or notifications in iOS Settings. Disabling a permission does not affect processing already completed with your authorization, but related features may stop working.
- Use Me → Relationship to disconnect and stop sharing new locations with your partner.
- Logging out does not disconnect the relationship or delete server data.
- Use Me → Delete Account, or contact us by email, to exercise deletion and other rights.
4. Who Receives Information
4.1 Your connected partner
Once connected, your partner can see your nickname, avatar, real-time location, online and device status, history, and check-in events. This may reveal home, workplace, routines, and other sensitive information. Connect only with someone you trust and who knowingly agrees to mutual sharing.
4.2 Service providers
| Recipient | Information | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Inc. and related services | Push token and notification content; location and network information required by MapKit or CLGeocoder | Deliver notifications, display maps, and resolve place names under Apple's privacy terms. |
| Alibaba Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. | Account, location, relationship, and service data hosted on our server; recovery email and one-time code when requested | Provide infrastructure in mainland China and deliver password-recovery email. The information is not used for the provider's own marketing. |
| Thinking of You interaction records | Rolling 35 days; updates from a former relationship are not shown after unpairing | |
| Notification category preferences | For the life of the account; deleted when account deletion completes |
Except for these cases, separate consent, or legal requirements, we do not disclose personal information to other third parties.
5. Storage Location and Retention
Our business servers are located in mainland China.
| Information | Retention |
|---|---|
| Precise location and history points | Rolling 35 days |
| Arrival and departure events | Rolling 35 days |
| Push delivery records | Up to 90 days |
| Operational diagnostic records | Up to 60 days; deleted earlier when account deletion completes |
| Feedback and screenshots you submit | Up to 180 days; deleted earlier when account deletion completes |
| Account, current relationship, and saved places | For the life of the account, subject to the deletion process below |
| Thinking of You interaction records | Rolling 35 days; updates from a former relationship are not shown after unpairing |
| Notification category preferences | For the life of the account; deleted when account deletion completes |
After a deletion request, the account is logged out, invitations are canceled, and the relationship is disconnected. A three-day cooling-off period begins. You can log in during that period to cancel deletion. When it ends, we permanently delete the account and related profile, recovery method, relationship, invitations, credentials, devices, places, history, check-ins, push and payment-related logs, membership and order data, caches, diagnostics, and feedback. Deletion cannot be undone.
6. Your Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may request access, a copy, correction, supplementation, restriction, objection, withdrawal of consent, disconnection, or deletion. The app lets you manage account and partner details, recovery contacts, avatar, places, relationship, and account deletion. For other requests, email fealenyoung@163.com with your username and request. We may verify identity and generally respond within 15 business days.
7. Security
We use HTTPS, authentication, access controls, data minimization, and scheduled deletion. Location is returned only to the currently connected partner. No internet service can guarantee absolute security; if an incident may affect your rights, we will take remedial steps and provide notice as required by law.
8. Children
WithMe is not intended for children under 14. Users under 18 should use the service only after a guardian reads and agrees to this policy and the Terms of Service. If we learn that a child's information was processed without guardian consent, we will delete or anonymize it as required.
9. Policy Updates
If the purpose, method, categories, or recipients materially change, we will update this policy and request renewed consent where required. The latest effective date appears on this page.
10. Contact Us
For privacy questions, complaints, or rights requests, email fealenyoung@163.com. You may also complain to a competent data protection authority.