Random is a social app for real conversations with people around you. We designed it to show as little about you as possible: you appear as an avatar (an “orb”), never a photo, and only your approximate area is ever shared. This policy explains what we collect, why, and what you control.
1. Who we are
Random is operated by GEORGE FARCAS DESIGN S.R.L., a company incorporated in Romania, registered with the Trade Register under no. J12/4885/2021, tax identification number (CUI) 42245316, with its registered office at Str. Rodnei nr. 2, ap. 6, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, 400393, Romania (the “Company”, “we”). Random is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. Contact: hello@random-app.com.
2. What we collect
- Account data — phone number or email address (used to sign in and to recover the account), username, chosen avatar, gender, date of birth (used only to confirm you are 18 or older).
- Approximate location — when you allow it, your position rounded to about one kilometre. This is what other users see (“Nearby”, “Far”) and what places check-ins are matched against. Exact coordinates are never shown to other users and are not stored on your public profile.
- Content you create — thoughts, polls, comments, chat messages, voice messages, photos and videos you send, place check-ins and ratings, the interests you choose.
- Trust score — ratings other people give you after a conversation, aggregated into a score visible on your profile.
- Device and usage data — a push-notification token, the app language, anonymous analytics events (which screens are used) and crash reports. We do not use advertising identifiers and we do not track you across other apps or websites.
- On random-app.com — we count visits in aggregate (pages opened, buttons pressed, time on the page, country, type of device, the site you came from). We use no cookies and no advertising tools, and we do not store your IP address or anything that identifies you; your browser only keeps a small “has visited before” flag. If you write to us through the contact form, we keep your name, email address and message so we can answer you.
3. Why we use it
- To run the service: show people near you, deliver messages and notifications, keep your account secure.
- To keep the community safe: moderation of reports, blocking, temporary suspensions.
- To improve the app: aggregated statistics and crash diagnostics.
Legal bases under the GDPR: performance of our contract with you (the service), our legitimate interest in safety and improvement, and your consent for optional permissions (location, notifications, camera, microphone). You can withdraw consent at any time in iOS Settings.
4. What other users can see
- Your username, avatar, gender, trust score, current thought or poll, the place you are checked in at, your crown count and whether you have interests in common with them.
- Your approximate distance and a floating position on the map that is deliberately offset by 1–3 km from your real location.
- Never: your phone number, email, date of birth, exact location, who you have blocked or muted.
Ghost Mode hides you from the people feed and checks you out of any place. Polls: the author of a poll can see who answered it.
5. Moderation and retention of deleted content
To handle reports of abuse, messages, photos and voice notes that are deleted or that expire are kept in a restricted moderation area for up to 24 hours after deletion, then removed. Reports and moderation decisions are kept for as long as needed to keep the community safe. Thoughts expire at the time you choose (1, 4 or 7 days) and are deleted together with their votes and comments. Our moderation team can see your account details — including your phone number, email address and date of birth — in an internal dashboard that only named, verified staff accounts can open. We use this to investigate reports, confirm that an account belongs to an adult, and act on abuse. We never sell it and never share it for advertising.
6. Who we share data with
- Google Firebase (authentication, database, storage, push notifications, analytics, crash reporting) — servers in the European Union.
- Mapbox — map tiles for the map you see; Mapbox receives standard map requests, not your profile.
- Giphy — GIF search inside chat, only when you use it.
- Authorities, when the law requires it.
We do not sell personal data and we do not share it for advertising.
7. Your rights
Under the GDPR, you have the right to:
- Erase your data. Delete your account from Settings → Delete My Account: your profile, thoughts, messages and check-ins are removed.
- Access, rectify or port your data — ask for a copy of what we hold, or a correction, in a portable format.
- Object to processing based on our legitimate interest, or restrict it while an objection is being reviewed.
- Withdraw consent for anything you opted into (location, notifications, camera, microphone) at any time in iOS Settings, with no effect on past processing.
To exercise any of these, write to hello@random-app.com; we answer within 30 days. We keep account data for as long as your account is active, and content you delete for the period in section 5. You can also complain to the Romanian data protection authority (ANSPDCP) or the authority in your own EU country.
8. Age
Random is for people aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect data from minors; accounts that turn out to belong to minors are deleted.
9. Security
Data is transmitted over encrypted connections and stored on Firebase with access rules that limit every account to its own private data. Private account details (contact data, notification token, block lists) are kept in a document only you and our servers can read.
10. Changes
We will post any changes here and, for important ones, notify you in the app.