Privacy Policy

Last updated 20 October 2026

jolr exists to get friends together, not to collect data about them. This policy explains what we collect, why, who sees it, and your choices. We don’t sell your data and we don’t show ads.

1. Who we are

jolr is run by Practagon (Pty) Ltd in South Africa. We are the responsible party for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). You can reach us, and our Information Officer, at support@practagon.co.za.

2. What we collect

Your account and profile

The email address or phone number you sign in with.
Your name, if you sign in with Apple and choose to share it.
Your username, display name, birthday, bio, profile photo and the avatar you design.
A phone number to share with friends, if you add one.

What you create and share

Messages, photos, videos, voice notes, documents, reactions and polls; plans, events and RSVPs; tasks and shared expenses; and the groups you set up or join.

Your calendars, if you connect them

From the calendars you pick, we copy events from 90 days ago to about a year ahead: title, time, location and notes. We use them to show your schedule and work out when you’re free. Friends only ever see busy times, and only if you turn that on.

Your location, only when you choose

I’m Out: your position, or just your area (about 500 m), for up to 24 hours. Your friends can see it.
Live location in a chat: your position for up to 8 hours. The people in that chat can see it.
Approximate area: if you turn it on, friends see your area (about 500 m).
Planning area: a rough area (about 5 km) we use to suggest things nearby. Nobody else sees it.
Nearby events and places: when you look for things to do, we search near you. Event searches get an approximate location; place searches get your location, never your name or account.

While you’re sharing, jolr keeps your location up to date even when the app is closed. It stops when you stop sharing or the time runs out. We never keep a history of where you’ve been.

Your contacts and your number

If you allow it, jolr reads the names and numbers in your contacts. To show which friends are already on jolr, the numbers are sent over an encrypted connection, compared against scrambled (hashed) copies of verified jolr numbers, and not stored. Names stay on your phone.

If you verify your number, we keep a scrambled copy so friends who have it can find you. You can turn this off in Profile. When you invite a contact, or a friend types their number on your invite page, we keep a scrambled copy of that number for 30 days so the invite is waiting when they join.

When someone opens a jolr.org invite link, we keep a scrambled copy of their network address and the phone type for one hour, so a new account on the same network can be asked “Did this friend invite you?” Nothing happens unless they say yes.

Your device, and how you use jolr

Push notification tokens, your phone model, operating system and jolr version, and when you were last active. We use these to deliver notifications and fix problems.

We also count what people do in jolr: which steps of sign-up are finished, when a status or pitch is posted, when a friend is added and how, and whether permissions were allowed. These counts carry a random account ID, never your name, messages, contacts or location. If jolr crashes, we receive a report of what went wrong, with the same account ID, your phone model and the jolr version.

Guests and venues

If you reply to a plan through a shared link without an account, we keep the name and reply you give. If you run a venue on jolr for business, we keep your venue details, contact email, team members’ names, listings and photos.

3. How we use it

To run jolr: show your content to the people you choose, send notifications, find free time and suggest things to do nearby.
To keep jolr safe: look into reports and enforce our rules.
To fix bugs and improve jolr.
To meet our legal obligations.

We do this to provide the service you signed up for, with your consent (for location, calendars, contacts, photos, camera and microphone), for our legitimate interest in a safe and working app, and where the law requires it.

Some features use Apple Intelligence, which runs on your iPhone. We don’t send your information to AI companies. We don’t sell your data, show ads, or track you across other apps, and we won’t send you marketing unless you agree to it.

5. Where your data is stored

Our providers may store and process your information outside South Africa, for example in the United States or Europe. We only use providers that are bound to protect it to a standard similar to POPIA.

6. How long we keep it

Your account and content stay until you delete them or your account.
Once you stop sharing your location, nobody can see it. We keep only your latest shared position, never a history. Pausing or deleting your account deletes it. A live location you shared in a chat ends on its last position, which stays in that chat.
Device diagnostics are deleted after 30 days.
Invites waiting for a number are deleted after 30 days, and invite link visits after one hour.
Usage counts are kept for up to 2 years and crash reports for 90 days. They carry only a random account ID, and once you delete your account nothing links that ID back to you.
We may keep information longer when the law requires it or while we deal with a safety report.

7. Deleting your account

In the app, go to Profile → Account → Delete account. We delete your account straight away, including your profile, messages, locations, calendars and photos. A few things you shared with others, such as a group’s photo, may stay with them. Copies in our providers’ backups are removed as those backups expire.

If you can’t sign in, email support@practagon.co.za from the email address on your account.

8. Your choices and rights

In the app you can edit your profile, stop sharing your location, turn off calendar sharing, and pause or delete your account.
In your iPhone’s Settings you can turn off jolr’s access to location, contacts, calendars, photos, camera, microphone and notifications at any time.
You can ask us for a copy of your information, or ask us to correct or delete it. You can object to how we use it, or withdraw your consent. Email support@practagon.co.za and we’ll reply within 30 days.
If you’re unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Regulator at inforeg.org.za. If you live in the EU or UK, you have similar rights under the GDPR and can complain to your local data protection authority.

9. Security

Your information is encrypted in transit, and database rules limit who can read each record. Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. No system is perfect. If a breach affects you, we’ll tell you and the Information Regulator as the law requires.

10. Age

jolr is for people aged 18 and over. If we learn that someone younger has an account, we’ll delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

If we make a significant change, we’ll tell you in the app or by email before it applies. The date at the top shows when this policy last changed.

12. Contact

Practagon (Pty) Ltd, South Africa. Email our Information Officer at support@practagon.co.za.