Alleycat Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 6, 2026

The short version

Alleycat is built to be anonymous by default. We do not ask for your name, email address, phone number, contacts, ad ID, or social profile. We do not use third-party analytics, ads, tracking SDKs, or data brokers. We do not sell personal data. Ever.

Alleycat still needs some data to work: anonymous identity records, posts, comments, votes, reports, blocks, coarse location per post, timestamps, and standard server request logs.

Nightbuild operates Alleycat. Our site is nightbuild.studio. Contact us at hello@nightbuild.studio.

Who this policy covers

This policy explains how Nightbuild handles information when you use Alleycat, an anonymous hyperlocal social app for iOS currently limited to the Jaffa area.

Alleycat is for people 17 and older. It is not intended for children.

What we do not collect

We do not ask you to create an account. We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, contacts, precise address, advertising ID, or social-media login.

We do not use third-party analytics, advertising networks, tracking SDKs, or cross-app tracking.

We do not sell or rent data, and we do not share data for targeted advertising.

Information we collect

We collect the minimum information needed to run a local anonymous social app:

• Anonymous identity records: your device creates a cryptographic keypair. We receive and store the public key and an anonymous identity record. The private key stays on your device.
• Content and activity: posts, comments, votes, reports, blocks, timestamps, deleted-content tombstones, and moderation status.
• Coarse location per post: when you post, the server snaps the submitted location to an approximately 250 meter grid before storage. Exact coordinates are never persisted.
• Standard server request logs: logs may include information such as IP address, request path, date and time, device or app technical data, error information, and security events.
• Moderation and safety records: reports, abuse signals, bans, rate-limit signals, review decisions, and records needed to prevent repeat abuse.

In the current M0 API, Alleycat supports identity, posts, comments, votes, reports, and blocks. Chatrooms, direct messages, push notifications, and similar features may be added later; if they materially change what we collect, we will update this policy.

Location

Alleycat asks for location permission only while you are using the app.

Location is used to check whether you are inside the Jaffa geofenced beta, create local posts, and show nearby content. Exact coordinates are processed transiently so the server can coarsen them. Before storage, coordinates are snapped to an approximately 250 meter grid. We do not store exact coordinates.

You can disable location permission in iOS settings. Alleycat may not function properly without it because the product is intentionally local.

How we use information

We use information to:

• provide the local feed, post threads, comments, votes, reports, and blocks;
• generate per-thread cat personas so users have continuity inside a thread without a public profile across the app;
• enforce the Jaffa geofence and show nearby content;
• detect spam, rate-limit abuse, block banned identities or devices, and protect users;
• review reports and moderate content;
• debug, secure, maintain, and improve the service;
• comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

We do not use your data for ads, third-party analytics, tracking, or data sales.

Legal bases

Where privacy law requires a legal basis, we process information because it is necessary to provide Alleycat, because we have legitimate interests in safety, security, moderation, fraud prevention, and service improvement, because we need to comply with law, or because you gave permission, such as location permission while using the app.

Sharing

We share information only in limited ways:

• Service providers: we use infrastructure providers to host, store, secure, and operate Alleycat. Alleycat is hosted on AWS in Frankfurt, Germany (eu-central-1).
• Legal and safety: we may disclose information if required by law, legal process, or a valid government request, or if needed to protect users, Nightbuild, or the public.
• Business transfers: if Nightbuild reorganizes, merges, sells, or transfers Alleycat, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy.

We do not share data with advertisers, data brokers, or third-party analytics providers.

International storage

Alleycat is hosted on AWS in Frankfurt, Germany (eu-central-1). If you use Alleycat from Israel or another country, your information may be processed in Germany and wherever our limited service providers process it under appropriate safeguards.

Retention

We keep information only as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described in this policy.

Posts and comments remain until deleted, hidden, removed, or no longer needed for the service. When you delete your own content, it is tombstoned: the text is replaced with a deleted marker, while limited records may remain so threads, safety systems, and abuse prevention keep working.

Votes, reports, blocks, anonymous identity records, ban records, and moderation records may be kept while needed to operate the app, prevent abuse, enforce blocks and bans, preserve safety decisions, or comply with law.

Server request logs are kept for a limited operational period unless we need to keep them longer for security, debugging, abuse investigation, legal compliance, or service integrity.

Backups may retain information for a limited period before they are overwritten.

Your choices and rights

You can delete your own posts and comments in the app. You can block other identities in the app. You can stop using Alleycat at any time and remove the app from your device.

"Burn this identity" wipes the local keys from your device. A fresh anonymous identity is created the next time you use the app. Old content remains unless separately deleted, but it is no longer connected to the device by the old local keys.

Depending on where you live, including under GDPR-style rights, you may have the right to ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or withdrawal of consent where applicable. Contact hello@nightbuild.studio.

Because Alleycat does not collect name, email, or phone account information, we may need a way to verify that a request relates to your anonymous identity, such as proof from the device or identity key. If you burned the identity or lost the device, we may not be able to connect you to old content or records.

You can also change location permission in iOS settings.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect Alleycat, including anonymous public-key identity, server-side location coarsening, access controls, moderation controls, rate limits, and hosted infrastructure security.

No system is perfectly secure. Please do not post information that would put you or someone else at risk if copied, screenshotted, or shared outside the app.

Children's privacy

Alleycat is rated 17+ and is not intended for children. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 17. If you believe a child is using Alleycat or has posted information, contact hello@nightbuild.studio so we can review it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Alleycat changes. We will update the "Last updated" date and, where changes are material, use reasonable ways to tell you in the app or on our site.

Contact

Nightbuild operates Alleycat.

Email: hello@nightbuild.studio

Website: nightbuild.studio