Privacy notice

Who is responsible

Egatherly runs on self-hosted software, so the operator of this domain is the party responsible for your data — not the authors of the software. Questions, corrections and deletion requests go to invite@egatherly.com.

What is collected

If you host events (you have an account):

• Your name, email address, time zone, and an optional US mobile number.
• A hashed password. The password itself is never stored and cannot be recovered, only reset.
• The events you create: title, date, place, description, design, settings, and any photos you upload.
• Your guest lists and everything on them (see below), plus messages you send to guests.
• When you last signed in, and the browser or device used for a "remember me" sign-in.

If you are a guest (you were invited; no account is created for you):

• Whatever the host entered — usually your name and an email address or mobile number, sometimes a group label such as "Family".
• Your reply: going, not going or maybe; how many adults and children; a note to the host; answers to any questions the host asked; and anything you post on the event wall or album.
• Activity about your invitation: when it was sent, when it was first opened, and when you replied. The host sees this so they know who to follow up with.
• Whether you have opted out of texts (STOP) or of email for an event or for the site.

Automatically:

• IP addresses, briefly, to limit abuse — sign-in attempts, RSVP submissions and similar are counted per address and the counters are deleted after a day.
• Delivery records for each email, text or push notification: the address or number, status, and any error from the provider. Successful deliveries are deleted after 45 days.
• Uploaded photos are re-encoded on arrival. That strips camera metadata, including GPS coordinates, before the file is stored. Only the re-encoded copy is kept.

The mobile apps

The iOS and Android apps are for hosts only. Guests never need them. In addition to the above, the app handles:

• Sign-in token. A random token identifying your account is kept in the device's secure storage. It expires 90 days after sign-in and is revoked sooner when you sign out, change your password, or delete your account.
• Server address. The address of the Egatherly installation you signed in to, stored on the device so you do not type it again.
• Push notifications (only if you allow them). A push token for your device is stored with your account so the server can tell you about new replies. Delivery goes through Expo's push service and then Apple or Google, which see the device token and the notification text.
• Contacts (only if you allow it, and only when you use "Import from contacts"). The app shows your address book on the device. Only the people you tick are sent to the server, and only their name, email and phone. Your contact list is never uploaded wholesale or kept by the app.
• Camera and photos (only if you allow it). A photo you take or choose is uploaded to the event album you picked, re-encoded as described above. The app does not read your photo library otherwise.
• Offline cache. Guest lists for your events are cached on the device so check-in works without a connection, and check-ins made offline are queued until it returns. The cache is cleared when you sign out.

The app collects no location, no advertising identifier and no usage analytics, and contains no third-party SDKs. It talks to one server: the one you signed in to.

What it is used for

Only to run the events you host or were invited to: delivering invitations, collecting replies, sending reminders and updates from the host, showing the host who is coming, and keeping the site working and free of abuse. Nothing is sold, rented, used to build profiles or used to target advertising.

Who sees it

• Your host sees your reply, party size, note, answers and activity. Co-hosts the host has added see the same.
• Other guests see the guest list — names and replies, never email addresses or phone numbers — only if the host has turned that on for the event. Wall posts and album photos are visible to everyone with the invitation link.
• The public sees an event only if the host has marked it public, in which case the event page is listed on the public events page and search engines may index it. Guest contact details are never public.
• Service providers, strictly to deliver messages: the operator's email server, the SMS provider if texting is enabled (Twilio or Telnyx), and Expo, Apple and Google for push notifications. Each receives only what delivery needs — an address or number and the message. There are no analytics, advertising or tracking providers.
• The operator of this installation, who can see everything stored in order to run and support it.

Data is disclosed to no one else unless the law requires it.

Messages you receive

Every email carries an unsubscribe link that stops messages about that event, or about everything on this site. Text messages honour STOP immediately and START turns them back on. How a number gets on the list, how often it is texted and what it costs is spelled out on the text messages page. Push notifications are controlled from your phone's settings and by signing out of the app.

Cookies

The site sets two cookies, both its own. gatherly_session keeps you signed in during a visit and is deleted when the browser closes. gatherly_remember is set only if you tick "remember me" and lasts 60 days. Neither is used for tracking, and there are no third-party cookies, fonts, scripts or embeds — the page you are reading loads nothing from any other domain.

How long it is kept

• Events, guest lists, replies, photos and wall posts: until the host deletes the event or the account.
• Successful delivery records: 45 days. Failed ones stay visible to the operator until the event is deleted.
• Sign-in, reset and verification links: until used or expired, then removed within a day.
• Rate-limit counters: one day.
• Opt-out records (STOP, unsubscribe): kept as long as the guest record exists, so the opt-out keeps working.

Your choices

• Hosts can view and edit their details on the account page, delete any event (which removes its guest list, replies, photos, wall and messages), and delete the account, which removes every event they host along with it. Both are immediate and permanent.
• Guests can change their reply any time through their invitation link, opt out of email or text from any message, and ask the host — or the operator — to correct or remove their details.
• Anyone can ask the operator what is held about them and have it corrected or deleted.

Security

Connections are encrypted (HTTPS). Passwords are hashed with a modern algorithm. Invitation links use long random tokens rather than guessable numbers. API and sign-in tokens are stored hashed. Uploaded files are never served as uploaded. No system is perfect; if a breach affecting you is discovered the operator will tell you.

Children

Accounts are for adults. Guests may be any age — a host can invite a child's whole class — but the site collects nothing from a child beyond what their parent or host enters, and never knowingly collects personal information from a child under 13 directly.

Changes

If this notice changes in a way that matters, the date at the top changes with it and hosts are told by email.