Pilot draft. This page covers Bamgbopa's private testing. It will be reviewed and finalised before Bamgbopa opens beyond the pilot.
Who we are
Bamgbopa is run by Total Serenity Ltd (“we”, “us”), a private limited company registered in England and Wales, company number 12791843. We decide how your information is used in the Bamgbopa app and on bamgbopa.com, which makes us the data controller.
We're registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator, under registration number ZC283196.
You can reach us about anything in this policy at support@bamgbopa.com.
The short version
- We collect only what Bamgbopa needs to work, and to keep members safe.
- We never sell your information, and we never show you ads.
- There is no third-party tracking in the app or on this website.
- You can download everything we hold about you, or delete your account, at any time from the app.
What we collect
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Your account | Your email address, when your account was created, when you last signed in, when you confirmed you are 18 or over, and when you agreed to our terms and privacy policy (and which version). The version of the app you last used, so we know when everyone has updated, and which reminders to update we have sent you. If you choose to answer when you join, how you heard about Bamgbopa. Sign-in codes we email you expire after 10 minutes. |
| Your profile | Your name, the country you live in, your town or city if you add it, the one line on what you can help with, its category, where you work, whether you take paid work, and an optional short bio. A profile photo if you add one. Whether you joined during the pilot (a founding member). |
| Your circle | Your friendships and friend requests, the invite codes you create, and the people you've blocked. Invites to your circle sent from the app after an introduction, and what happened to them. |
| Vouches | Vouches you write and vouches about you: the words, who wrote them and about whom, that the writer ticked to confirm it was their own experience, whether the person chose to show it on their profile, and when. |
| Introductions | Requests you send, receive or are asked to pass on: the reason given, whether it's paid work, any question the friend in the middle asked and the answer, any short note the friend in the middle added when passing it on, and who decided what, and when. |
| Asks | Asks you post: your words, the category, who you chose to share it with, when it ends, and how it ended. Replies and offers you make on other members' asks (an offer from a friend of a friend is also an introduction request, above). The asks you pass to a friend, who you thanked, and whether you want the 6pm round-up of new asks. |
| Messages | Your conversations, and when you last read each one. |
| “Did this help?” | Your private answers, and whether you chose to thank the friend who connected you. |
| Reports | Reports you make about other members, with the reason and any detail you add. If you report someone from a chat and choose to include your conversation, a copy of your last 10 messages with them. If you report an ask or a vouch, a copy of it. What we tell you happened (still being looked at, action taken, or no rule broken), never the details. |
| Messages to us | What you send from Contact us in the app (or “Send feedback” in older versions), with what it's about, the app version and your phone's make and model. If you share your introduction story, your words and whether you allowed us to use them publicly (with your first name, or without your name). Our replies to you, and when you read them. |
| Introductions a friend suggests | When a member suggests that two of their friends meet: who suggested it, the two people, why, each person's answer (yes or no) and when, and what happened. |
| Friendship notes | Whether you want a friendship note sent to you (off, once a day or once a week), which notes we've sent you, and which ones you've marked as read. |
| Notifications | Your phone's notification token, whether it's Android or iPhone, your time zone, your quiet hours, which kinds of notification you want (introductions, messages, asks, your circle, news), and a record of the notifications we've sent you (kept for 90 days). Whether each one reached your phone, as reported by our notification service, so we can stop sending to a phone that no longer has the app (kept for two days). Which reminders we've sent you: an invite you made that hasn't been used yet, or saying hello after an introduction. |
| Your phones | For each phone you use Bamgbopa on: a random number the app creates on that phone (not your phone's own serial number or advertising ID), its make and model, whether it's Android or iPhone, and when it was first and last used. We use it to tell you when your account is used on a new phone, and so you can sign out of your other phones (in your profile, under Your phones). |
| App errors | If something breaks in the app: the error, which screen it was on, the app version, whether it's Android or iPhone, and the phone's make and model. It's sent without your account, your name or anything you wrote, so we can't tell whose phone it came from. Kept for 90 days. |
| Activity log | Key moments, such as joining, a friendship being confirmed, or a request being sent, and when you last opened the app. We use these to run the pilot and keep it safe. |
| This website | If you register your interest: your first name, email, the country you live in, and what you'd mostly use Bamgbopa for. If you join the iPhone waiting list, from our home page or an invite page: your first name and email, and the invite code you were sent if you came from an invite, so we can tell you when Bamgbopa is on iPhone. Our web host keeps standard server logs, such as IP addresses, for security. |
Some settings stay on your phone and never reach us: light or dark, less movement, and app lock. An invite code you're opening is also kept on your phone until you've decided what to do with it. App lock uses your phone's own screen lock: your phone checks your PIN, pattern, fingerprint or face, and Bamgbopa never sees or stores them.
The app only sees a photo you choose yourself, through your phone's own photo picker. Before it is uploaded, the app re-saves it as a small square picture, which removes the hidden details cameras add, such as where and when it was taken. The app doesn't access your contacts or your location, and we never ask for payment details.
How we use it, and why we're allowed to
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Running Bamgbopa for you: your account, your circle, your tree, introductions, asks and messages. | Contract: it's the service you signed up for. |
| Keeping members safe: reports, blocks, warnings when money is mentioned, limits on requests and asks, pausing an ask that has been reported, telling you when your account is used on a new phone, spotting accounts whose names copy another member's, refusing a short list of slurs and abusive phrases (what you wrote isn't sent, you're asked to rephrase, and nothing about it is recorded), and preventing misuse. | Legitimate interests: protecting members and the network. |
| Finding and fixing problems in the app, from the app errors described above. | Legitimate interests: keeping the app working. |
| Sending notifications to your phone, including occasional announcements about the service (at most one a day) and, unless you switch it off (in your profile, under Notifications), a 6pm round-up of new asks from your circle (at most one a day, names only), and, only if you choose them, friendship notes (at most one a day, at 9am your time). When a new version of the app is out, we may remind you to update it (at most once for each version, and never in your quiet hours). A few days after you make an invite that hasn't been used, or are introduced to someone you haven't messaged yet, we may remind you (never in your quiet hours). You choose which kinds of notification you get, in your profile under Notifications. An alert that your account was used on a new phone always comes, even in quiet hours, because it's about your account's safety. | Your consent, given through your phone's notification permission. You can withdraw it at any time. |
| Reading and answering messages you send us. | Legitimate interests: helping you, fixing problems and improving Bamgbopa. |
| Using your introduction story on our website and social media, only if you said we may, and only in the way you chose (with your first name, or without your name). | Your consent. You can withdraw it at any time in the app (Share your introduction story, then Stop sharing it). If it was posted, we take it down within seven days. |
| Understanding how the pilot is going, using counts and trends from the activity log. | Legitimate interests: improving Bamgbopa. |
| Knowing which version of the app each member uses, so an old version is only switched off once people have updated, and so we can remind members on an older version to update. | Legitimate interests: keeping the app working and safe. |
| Learning how people hear about Bamgbopa and why people leave, from the optional answers you choose to give. | Legitimate interests: improving Bamgbopa. You never have to answer. |
| Emailing you about Bamgbopa's launch, if you registered your interest. | Your consent. Unsubscribe at any time. |
| Meeting legal obligations. | Legal obligation. |
Who can see what
- Your friends see your profile, including your photo.
- Their friends see your name, photo, where you live, what you can help with, and which friend connects you, once their own tree has opened.
- Your photo is stored privately. It is only ever shown to people who can already see your profile, and never after either of you blocks the other.
- When you ask for an introduction, your reason is seen by the friend in the middle and, if they pass it on, by the person you asked. Any question the friend asks you, and your answer, stay between the two of you.
- When a friend suggests you meet someone, you see who suggested it and why, and the other person's name, what they can help with, where they work and where they live (even if your tree hasn't opened yet), and they see the same about you. Neither of you sees the other's answer while you decide. If you both say yes, you're introduced. If either says no, the other person and the friend who suggested it see only that it didn't go ahead, never a reason.
- A note from the friend in the middle, if they add one when passing a request on, is seen only by the person asked and the friend who wrote it. It can't contain phone numbers, emails or links.
- If your request is declined, the friend in the middle isn't told. If it isn't passed on, the person you asked never knows it existed.
- When you post an ask, it is seen, with your name, only by the people you choose: your friends, or your friends and their friends (only those whose own tree has opened). It disappears from their lists when it ends.
- A reply to your ask from a friend comes straight to you. An offer from a friend of a friend goes first to the friend you share, and reaches you only if they choose to pass it on (unlike an introduction, it never passes on by itself). If it isn't passed on, you never know it existed. Nobody else sees who replied or what they said.
- If a friend passes your ask on to one of their friends, that person is told who thought of them and whose ask it is (unless they had already answered it, or someone else passed it to them first).
- A vouch a friend writes about you is seen first only by you. If you choose to show it, it's seen, with your friend's name, by people who can see your profile: your friends, their friends (once their own tree has opened), people introduced to you, and anyone you've sent a friend request to. The friend who wrote it can see whether it's showing, but is never told who reported it. You can take it off your profile, or delete it, at any time.
- When you invite someone you were introduced to into your circle, they see who you are and who introduced you. If they decline, you don't get a notification.
- Messages can only be read in the app by the two people in the conversation.
- “Did this help?” answers are never shown to anyone else. Only a thank-you you choose to send reaches the friend in the middle.
What the Bamgbopa team can see
We run Bamgbopa from a private admin page that needs both an email code and an authenticator app to open. It shows numbers and trends, app errors (which carry no name or account), each member's profile and account details (such as their email address, when they joined or last used the app, which version of the app they last used, and how they heard about Bamgbopa if they answered), how many friends, introductions and messages they have, reports, the messages members send to the team and our replies, pairs of members with almost the same name, and vouches (the words, who wrote them about whom, and whether they show).
It does not show your messages, the reasons you give for introductions or the notes friends add to them, which friendship notes you read, or your asks and the replies to them; for asks it shows numbers only. The exceptions: if you report someone from a chat and tick “Include our last 10 messages”, the team can read those messages, and only as part of that report; and if someone reports an ask or a vouch, the team can read it, and pause, restore or remove it. Every action taken on the admin page, including opening those messages, is recorded and can't be changed.
Otherwise we only look at individual accounts when we need to: to review a report, to keep someone safe, or because the law requires it.
Who we share it with
We use a small number of trusted providers to run Bamgbopa. They process information only on our instructions:
| Provider | What they do |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Our database, sign-in system, and private storage for profile photos. |
| Resend | Sends the sign-in codes you receive by email. |
| Expo | Our push notification service. |
| Google Firebase Cloud Messaging | Delivers notifications to Android phones. |
| Netlify | Hosts this website and receives the interest form. |
We never sell your information or share it for advertising. We would only share it with others if the law required us to, or to protect someone from serious harm. That includes reporting child sexual abuse and exploitation to the National Crime Agency, as the Online Safety Act 2023 requires. Read our child safety standards.
Transfers outside the UK
Some of our providers process information outside the UK, including in the United States. When they do, we rely on the protections UK law requires, such as adequacy regulations or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum.
How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Your account, profile, circle and settings | Until you delete your account. |
| Your photo | Until you remove or replace it, or delete your account (unless the law requires us to keep it: see the last row). |
| Introductions you sent or received | Until you delete your account. If you were the friend in the middle, the introduction stays for the two people involved, without your name. |
| Asks, with the replies, offers and passes on them | Deleted 90 days after the ask ends. If you delete your account, your asks and what you said on other people's asks are deleted straight away. An offer from a friend of a friend is also an introduction request, so its words are kept like any introduction (until one of the two people deletes their account). |
| Suggestions that two friends meet | Deleted 90 days after they end, if they didn't lead to an introduction (so a "no" protects both people for those 90 days). If both said yes, it became an introduction, kept like any other. If the friend who suggested it deletes their account, their words go; one still waiting ends. |
| Vouches | Until the writer takes it back, the person it's about deletes it, they stop being friends, or either deletes their account. After one is deleted or taken back, a record that stops the same person writing another straight away is kept for 90 days (a week if the writer took back one that was showing or waiting), and is never shown to anyone. |
| Invites to your circle after an introduction | Until either of you deletes your account, if it was confirmed. Otherwise deleted 90 days after it ended. After a decline, a record that stops the same person asking again is kept for 90 days, and is never shown to anyone. |
| iPhone waiting list (website) | Until we tell you Bamgbopa is on iPhone, or you ask us to remove you, and no longer than 24 months. |
| Your friendship notes choice, and the notes sent to you or marked as read | Until you delete your account. |
| Messages | Until you delete your account. Messages you sent stay in the other person's conversation, shown as from a deleted member. |
| Reports | Kept so they can be reviewed, even after an account is deleted. Reports you made lose your name when you leave. |
| Messages attached to a report, and the copy of a reported ask or vouch | Two years after the report is closed. |
| Messages you send us, and your stories | Until you delete your account; after that, without your name. A story you allowed us to share stops being used as soon as you say so in the app, or when you delete your account. |
| Activity log | Kept for safety and statistics. When you delete your account, your identity is removed from it. |
| Why you left, if you tell us | When you delete your account, the app asks why. Answering is optional. Your answer, and any short note, are kept apart from your account and from the line that records the day you left, without your name. They are added to our totals only in groups of at least three, so no answer can be matched to one person, and deleted within two years. A note with a phone number, email, handle or link is not kept. |
| Notification record | 90 days. Whether a notification reached your phone: two days. |
| Your phones list | Until you sign out of a phone with This wasn't me, or delete your account. |
| App errors | 90 days. |
| Our replies to your messages | Until you delete your account. |
| Reminders to update the app we have sent you | Until you delete your account. |
| Interest form | Until Bamgbopa opens to you, or until you ask us to delete it, and no longer than 24 months. |
| When we report child sexual exploitation or abuse to the National Crime Agency | The law (the Online Safety Act 2023 and the regulations made under it) requires us to keep what was reported, and the account details and photo of the person reported, for one year after we report it, and the National Crime Agency's reference for five years. This applies even if that person deletes their account. While a report about a child's safety is being looked into, we keep the same things for up to 90 days, so nothing is lost before we decide. Only the Bamgbopa team can see them, and they are used for nothing else. |
Our database provider keeps routine backups for a limited time. Deleted information disappears from them as they are replaced. Read exactly what happens when you delete your account.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:
- Get a copy of your data. In the app, open your profile and choose Download your data, as a readable document or a machine-readable file.
- Correct it. Edit your profile at any time.
- Delete it. Delete your account from your profile.
- Object to, or restrict, how we use it, and withdraw consent, for example by switching off notifications.
- Move it. The machine-readable download is made for this.
For anything else, email support@bamgbopa.com. We'll reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Security
Information travels encrypted between the app and our servers. Our database is set up so each member can only reach what the app is designed to show them, and the app can only take specific, checked actions. We run security checks every time we change the database.
Age
Bamgbopa is for adults. You must be 18 or over to use it.
Cookies
This website doesn't use cookies, analytics or tracking of any kind. The app doesn't use advertising or third-party analytics.
Changes to this policy
If we make important changes, we'll tell you in the app and ask you to agree to them before they take effect, and update the date at the top of this page.
Contact
Email: support@bamgbopa.com
Post: Total Serenity Ltd (Bamgbopa), 4 Carlyon Mansions, Ealing Road, Wembley, HA0 1HL, United Kingdom.
Company number 12791843, registered in England and Wales. ICO registration number ZC283196.