Privacy Policy

Who we are

Birthday Buddy is a WhatsApp companion that tracks the birthdays of people you choose to import and drafts the birthday message in your voice. Birthday Buddy is a product of SSS Tech LLC, the company that operates the service. To reach us about privacy, email ssstechbusiness@gmail.com.

What data we collect

We collect only what we need to run the service.

From WhatsApp

• Your WhatsApp phone number, so we know who you are and where to send your reminders.
• The messages you send to Birthday Buddy and the messages we send back. This is how the service works: you talk to it, it replies.

The people you import

• The contacts, birthdays, and anniversaries you choose to add. You can share a batch of contacts inside WhatsApp, type a person directly like "mom, March 5", connect Google Contacts, or sync your iPhone or iCloud contacts with our iOS Shortcut.
• For each person we may store a name, a birthday, an anniversary, a time zone, and small context you give us so reminders land at the right moment and sound right.
• Their profile picture, so you see a face on their card. Where a photograph comes with a person you import, from the contact file you share, from your iPhone or iCloud contacts, or from Google Contacts if one is attached there, we keep a copy so their reminder shows them rather than a placeholder. If live device link is on we also keep their WhatsApp profile picture, which is the picture WhatsApp already shows you for them. These photographs are stored encrypted, are shown only to you, are never used to identify anyone or shared with anyone, and are deleted when you remove that person or wipe your data. When we hold no picture for someone we draw their initials instead. If a picture is one you would rather we did not keep, remove that person and it goes with them.

Google Contacts, only if you connect it

• If you choose to connect Google Contacts, we read the contact names and birthdays you allow, so you do not have to type them in.
• We ask for the narrowest access that does the job. We use this data only to import the people you want tracked, nothing else. We do not use Google user data for advertising, we do not sell it, and no human reads it except with your permission, for security reasons, or where the law requires it.
• Birthday Buddy's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Basic technical data

• Standard logs that come with running software, like timestamps and error logs, so we can keep the service working and debug problems.

What we do not do

• We do not sell your data, and we do not use it to advertise. What we store from your chats depends on which learning option you choose (see "Chat Import & Voice Learning" below). A sensitive line filter drops anything that looks like a password, verification code, or card number before it can be saved.
• We do not sell your data to anyone.
• We do not use your contacts to advertise to you or to them.
• We do not message the people you import. Birthday Buddy drafts a message for you to send yourself. You stay in control of what goes out.

Chat Import & Voice Learning

Birthday Buddy can draft messages that sound like you, and remember a little context about the people you care about, so your messages land with meaning. There are two ways this can happen. Both are opt in and fully in your control, and we track which version of this disclosure you agreed to, so if it materially changes we ask you again.

• Chat import (available today). You choose a chat and share it with Birthday Buddy. Nothing is imported unless you start it. We keep a style profile plus short excerpts of your own sent lines, and we may note a little context about that person, like a new job. We do not keep the other person's messages word for word. One to one chats.
• Live device link (opt in, off by default). If you turn it on, Birthday Buddy reads your WhatsApp conversations the way a linked device such as WhatsApp Web does: both sides, in one to one and group chats. This lets it learn your voice and remember context about your people, like a new job, a trip, or a running joke. It also picks up the profile pictures WhatsApp already shows you for the people you track, so their birthday card carries their face. What it reads is stored encrypted, used only to draft messages and reminders for you, and never sold or shared. You can pause it, unlink, or wipe it at any time.

What we keep

• A style profile: writing style patterns like your typical length, emoji use, casing, and sign offs.
• Short excerpts of your own sent lines that guide the drafts so they sound like you.
• Facts and context about the people you track, like a new job or a trip, so your messages land at the right moment and sound right.
• With live device link turned on, an encrypted archive of the conversations it reads, used only to generate your drafts and reminders.
• A voice note you send to Birthday Buddy is transcribed to text so you can talk instead of type, then acted on exactly as if you had typed it. We keep the text, not the audio. See "Third parties" for who does the transcription.
• With live device link turned on, voice notes in those chats are transcribed to text so a message someone spoke counts the same as one they typed. The transcript is stored encrypted with the rest of the archive. See "Third parties" for who does the transcription.
• With live device link turned on, photos shared in those chats are described in words (for example "a birthday cake with candles"), so a picture of a celebration can still tell us something. We keep the description. See "Third parties" for who produces it.
• With live device link turned on, the fact that a one to one call happened: who it was with, when, and how long. Never the audio, and never anything said on it. It is used to tell how close you are to someone, so reminders reach the people you actually talk to.
• With live device link turned on, the WhatsApp profile pictures of the people you track, stored encrypted and shown only to you, so their cards and reminders carry their face.
• A sensitive line filter drops anything that looks like a password, verification code, or card number before it can be saved.

What we never do

• We never message your contacts. Birthday Buddy hands you a draft. You decide what to send.
• We never sell your data, and we never use it to advertise, to you or to your contacts.
• We do not build profiles of your contacts for any purpose other than helping you remember and celebrate them, and we do not share their information with anyone.

The style we learn is used only to draft messages that you review, approve, and send yourself. We never message your contacts. Birthday Buddy hands you a draft. You stay in control of what goes out.

You can delete everything Birthday Buddy has learned at any time. Message Birthday Buddy and ask to wipe your data: that clears your contacts, birthdays, their photographs, the learned style profile, every saved excerpt, the context we noted about your people, and any encrypted conversation archive from live device link. A full wipe also switches live device link off and unlinks your device, so nothing new gets read after it. The wiped data is held, unreachable, for up to 180 days so you can restore it if you come back, then permanently deleted, and you can reply erase everything now to delete it immediately instead. See "How long we keep it, and deleting it" below. You can also stop the reading on its own at any time, by turning live device link off or asking Birthday Buddy to wipe your learned voice. Because this is consent based, we track which version of this disclosure you agreed to, so if these terms materially change we will ask you again.

How we use your data

• Track the birthdays you import, with the right time zone.
• Nudge you a day or two before a birthday.
• Draft a birthday message written to sound like you, and offer you a couple of versions to tweak or send.
• Run, secure, and improve the service.
• Handle billing if you go Pro.
• Reply to you when you contact support.

We do not make decisions about you with legal or similarly significant effects using automated processing alone.

Third parties we share data with

We use a small number of service providers to run Birthday Buddy. They only get what they need to do their job, and they are not allowed to use your data for their own purposes.

• WhatsApp / Meta. The service lives inside WhatsApp. Meta processes the messages between you and Birthday Buddy as the messaging layer. Meta's own terms and privacy policy apply to your use of WhatsApp.
• Google, only if you connect Google Contacts. If you connect it, Google passes us the contact data you authorize. You can disconnect access anytime in your Google account settings. Our use of data from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
• Supabase. Our database and backend hosting, where your contacts, birthdays, and settings are stored.
• Vercel. Hosting for our website and parts of our infrastructure, and aggregate website analytics: how many people opened a page and which start button they tapped, with no cookie and nothing that identifies you.
• Our AI provider (OpenAI). To draft a message in your voice, we send the relevant context, like a contact's name and the occasion, to OpenAI's API, which generates the draft. We send only what is needed. OpenAI acts solely as our processor: under its API data usage terms it does not use content sent through the API to train or improve its models, and it does not retain it beyond what is needed to return the result. Voice notes. A voice note you send to Birthday Buddy is sent to the same provider to be turned into text, so we can act on what you said. This happens whether or not device link is on, because you sent it to us directly, and we keep the text rather than the audio. If live device link is also on, a voice note in one of your chats is transcribed the same way, and a photo shared in one of your chats is sent to be described in words. All of these are sent to produce that result and nothing else, under the same processor terms above: not used to train their models, not retained beyond returning the answer. If you would rather we never transcribe a voice note, type to us instead, and leave live device link off or turn it off and wipe what it learned. Web search, only when you ask for it. If you ask us to look someone or something up, we run a web search through the same provider. That means the words you searched, which can include a contact's name, are sent to a search engine and we read the public pages it returns. We do this only on request, never in the background, never for everyone in your contacts, and we do not publish anything about anyone. If you would rather we never search for a person, simply do not ask us to, and tell us their birthday directly instead. Limited Use: Birthday Buddy's use of raw or derived user data received from Google Workspace APIs (the contacts and birthdays you import) adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not use, transfer, or sell Google user data, raw, aggregated, or derived, to develop, train, or improve any generalized or foundational AI/ML models.

We may also share data if the law requires it, to protect the service or people's safety, or as part of a business transfer, for example if SSS Tech LLC is acquired. If that happens, your data stays subject to a policy at least as protective as this one.

Where your data is stored

Your data is stored with our hosting providers and may be processed in the United States and other countries where our providers operate. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

How long we keep it, and deleting it

We keep your data while you use Birthday Buddy. You are in control.

• Wipe. Message Birthday Buddy and ask to delete everything. One message wipes your contacts, birthdays, anniversaries, their photographs, settings, learned style profile, and saved excerpts, and unlinks your device if live device link was on.
• 180 day recovery window. When you wipe, your account immediately stops working as if the data were gone: it is hidden from the app, no reminders or messages are sent, live device link is switched off, and nothing new is read or added. We keep the data itself for up to 180 days so that if you come back you can restore your contacts, birthdays, and anniversaries instead of starting over, and you can do that yourself from the chat at any point in that window. If you cannot, email us and we will restore it for you. After 180 days it is permanently deleted automatically.
• Immediate deletion. If you do not want the recovery window, you can skip it. Reply erase everything now to Birthday Buddy after you wipe, or ask us by email, and we delete everything straight away instead of waiting the 180 days. Choosing to start fresh when you return also deletes the held data immediately.
• A copy of your data. There is no in app export. To get a copy of the personal data we hold, email ssstechbusiness@gmail.com and we will handle your request.

Your subscription is separate from your data. Wiping does not cancel Birthday Buddy Pro, and cancelling Pro does not wipe your data. To cancel, message Birthday Buddy and reply billing, which still works while your data is in the recovery window.

When data is deleted, whether at the end of the 180 days or immediately at your request, we delete it from our live systems promptly. Copies may remain in routine backups for a short period before they roll off, and we may keep a minimal record where the law requires it, for example billing records.

Security

We protect your data with reasonable technical and organizational measures, including encryption in transit and access controls. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot promise absolute security, but we work to keep your data safe and to fix problems quickly.

Children

Birthday Buddy is not for children. You must be at least 16, or 13 where local law allows, to use the service. We do not knowingly collect data from children under that age. If you believe a child has used Birthday Buddy, email ssstechbusiness@gmail.com and we will remove the data.

Your rights

If you are in the EU, UK, or a similar region (GDPR). You can ask to access, correct, or delete your data, get a copy of it, object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent you have given. Where we rely on consent, for example connecting Google Contacts, you can withdraw it anytime. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

If you are in California (CCPA/CPRA). You can ask to know what we collect, ask us to delete it, and ask for a copy. We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for cross context behavioral advertising. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

To delete your data, message Birthday Buddy in WhatsApp and ask to wipe it. For any other request, including access or a copy of your data, email ssstechbusiness@gmail.com. There is no self serve export, so we handle these requests by email. We may need to verify your request, usually by confirming the WhatsApp number tied to your account.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service changes. When we do, we will update the date at the top, and for important changes we will let you know in WhatsApp.

Contact

Birthday Buddy, a product of SSS Tech LLC.
Email ssstechbusiness@gmail.com.