Privacy Policy

The short version

Brown Note is an anonymous peer-support community. We collect the bare minimum to make it work. We don't run ads, we don't sell your data, and we don't track you across the web. Your identity is never shown to other users.

What we collect

• Your email address (for sign-in and account recovery)
• Messages and replies you post
• Usage data like nuggets earned, stickers collected, and login streaks
• Device push notification tokens (if you enable notifications)
• Your preferred language setting

We do not collect your real name or location.

Health data

Brown Note is a peer-support community for people living with IBS, Crohn's disease, and other digestive conditions. Because of this, the messages and replies you post may contain health-related information about your symptoms, experiences, treatments, or daily well-being. This is considered Health Data.

What health data we collect

• Messages you post describing your symptoms, flare-ups, or experiences
• Replies you write offering support or sharing your own health experiences

How we use health data

• To display your anonymous posts to the Brown Note community so other users can offer peer support
• To check content against our moderation and safety rules
• To detect crisis language and surface mental-health resources when appropriate

How we protect health data

• All posts are anonymous. No health data is ever linked to your real name or displayed alongside your email address.
• We do not sell, share, or use health data for advertising or analytics.
• Third-party services (listed below) do not receive the content of your messages.

How we use it

• To deliver the service: posting, replying, earning nuggets, collecting stickers
• To authenticate your account and keep it secure
• To check content against our moderation rules
• To send push notifications you've opted into (replies, hearts, achievements)

Anonymity

Other users never see your email address or any identifying information. Messages and replies are completely anonymous. The only person who knows your identity is you.

Third parties

We use a small number of services to keep Brown Note running:

• Stripe — processes optional donations. We never see or store your payment details.
• Expo — delivers push notifications to your device.
• Railway — hosts our servers and database.
• Apple and Google — if you use social sign-in, they verify your identity during login.

We do not sell your data. We do not show ads. We do not share your information with anyone else.

Data retention

Your account data is kept for as long as your account is active. Messages that have received replies are stored even after they're marked complete, so that the conversation remains available to participants.

Account deletion

To delete your account, email andrew@brownnote.app. We'll remove your account data. Anonymous messages and replies you've posted will remain in the community but cannot be traced back to you.

Children

Brown Note is not intended for anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

Changes to this policy

If we update this policy, we'll revise the date at the top of this page. We encourage you to check back occasionally.