This policy explains how ALON collects and uses information
to run school-separated communities, verify accounts,
provide safety tools, support users, and maintain the app.
Information We Collect
- Account details such as name, email, school, role, and profile information.
- Verification materials submitted during account review.
- User content such as posts, comments, listings, photos, reviews, reports, and chats.
- Device, notification, diagnostic, analytics, purchase, and advertising information
- For direct and group chats, message content, attachments, participants, timestamps, message type, delivery and read state, notification previews, attachment references, report metadata, and user-attached report images.
How We Use Information
- Authenticate users and separate access by school.
- Operate boards, chat, housing, trade, professor, food, and timetable features.
- Review safety reports and attached report images, prevent fraud, enforce rules, and respond to support requests.
- Improve reliability, measure performance, show ads, and process purchases.
Sharing
We do not sell personal information. We may share information with service providers that help
operate ALON, such as hosting, authentication, storage, analytics, crash reporting, ads,
notifications, payments, and moderation systems.
We may disclose information when required by law, valid legal process, safety needs,
fraud prevention, or enforcement of our terms.
Retention and Security
We keep information only as long as needed for app operations, safety, disputes, legal
obligations, audits, or legitimate business purposes. Verification files may be deleted
or de-identified after review unless retention is necessary.
When a user requests full account deletion, ALON deactivates the account immediately and schedules eligible account and profile data for permanent deletion 7 days after deactivation. Existing community activity may remain in the service but is anonymized as "Deleted User".
We use technical and organizational safeguards, but no online service can guarantee absolute security.
Chat Messages and Transport Security
Direct and group chat messages, including text, photos, voice messages, files, stickers, and GIFs, are transmitted between the app and ALON systems using HTTPS/TLS and are stored and synchronized through ALON servers.
Authorized ALON systems and personnel may process and store message content when necessary for delivery, synchronization, notifications, support, safety, moderation, fraud prevention, legal compliance, and service operations.
Available chat history may synchronize from the server when you sign in on another supported device. Protect your account password and device access because someone with authorized account access may be able to view that history.
ALON applies access controls and operational security measures to stored chat data, but no online service can guarantee absolute security. Do not send passwords, financial credentials, government identification numbers, or other information you do not want stored in an online service.
Chat Storage, Retention, and Moderation
ALON stores chat content and related service data such as participants, timestamps, message type, delivery and read state, notification previews, attachment references, and moderation records.
Messages and attachments may remain available until a user deletes them, the chat or account is deleted, or ALON removes or preserves them for safety, abuse prevention, legal compliance, dispute handling, backup integrity, or system operations.
Users may report messages or chats. Authorized reviewers may access reported content and relevant surrounding records when reasonably necessary to investigate abuse, enforce the Community Guidelines, protect users, respond to lawful requests, or maintain service integrity.
Access to chat records is limited to legitimate operational purposes and is subject to internal controls.
