FocusFellows is operated by Nikhil Pawar (“we”, “us”). We are responsible for the personal information described here. You can reach us through the contact page.

Account details. Your email address and display name. If you use a password, it is stored only as a secure hash by our authentication provider — we never see it. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email from them.

Profile. Anything you add: photo, bio, country, timezone, subjects, interests, daily and weekly goals, and your privacy and notification settings.

Study activity. Each completed focus block (date, time, minutes, room and subject), your tasks, the goals you declare when joining a room and whether you completed them. Streaks, statistics and achievements are calculated from this.

Social activity. Who you follow, posts, comments and reactions, direct messages, in-room chat messages and reactions, accountability partnerships and scheduled study sessions.

Live video and audio. Your camera (and microphone, if you unmute) is streamed in real time to people in the same room. We do not record or store room video or audio.

Safety records. Reports you file (including the name and room identity of the person reported) and removals or blocks applied by room hosts and moderators.

Visit statistics. Google Analytics records which pages you view, your device and browser type, and your approximate location (from your IP address), using cookies. We see these only as totals and trends.

Technical data. A log of key events (such as sign-ins, joining or leaving a room, and errors) linked to your account and room, used for support and debugging. Your IP address is used briefly to rate-limit abuse (for example, chat spam from guests) and is not kept in our database.

Messages to us. What you send through the contact form, including your name and email.

• To run the service: sign you in, connect you to rooms, sync the shared timer, and save your progress.
• To show your streaks, statistics, achievements and goals.
• To power social features you choose to use — feed, messages, friends, study-buddy matching and notifications.
• To keep rooms safe: review reports, apply removals, and prevent spam and abuse.
• To answer your support requests and fix problems.

You control most of this in Settings → Privacy:

• Profile visibility (public, friends only, or private) controls who can view your profile, stats and achievements. Your name and photo still appear next to posts and comments you publish.
• In a room, others see your video, display name, current goal, streak and hours badge, and any chat messages you send.
• The global leaderboard only includes you if you opt in.
• Direct messages and follows respect your “who can message / follow me” settings.

We share data only with providers that help us run FocusFellows, under contracts that limit their use of it:

• Supabase — database, authentication and file storage (profile photos).
• LiveKit — real-time video and audio delivery.
• Google / Apple — only if you choose to sign in with them.
• Google Analytics — visit statistics: pages viewed, device and browser type, and approximate location.
• Our web hosting provider, which serves the site.

We do not sell your personal information or share it for advertising.

We use essential cookies to keep you signed in, and Google Analytics cookies to count visits and see which pages people use, so we can improve FocusFellows. We don't use advertising cookies.

Your browser's local storage holds a few preferences on your device only: a guest ID (so a room host's block applies to your browser), your room layout and camera settings, and whether you've turned off celebration popups. Clearing your site data removes them.

We keep your information while your account is active. When you delete your account, your profile, photo, study history, tasks, goals, posts, comments, reactions, direct messages, follows and partnerships are deleted.

A few records are unlinked from your account rather than deleted: messages you posted in room chats (which keep the display name shown at the time), our technical event log, and reports you filed. Reports about harmful behaviour may be kept for safety reasons.

• Access and export: download your data from Settings → Data.
• Correct: edit your profile at any time.
• Delete: delete your data or your whole account from Settings → Data.
• Control notifications in Settings → Notifications.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights — such as objecting to or restricting processing, or complaining to your data protection authority. Contact us through the contact form and we'll respond within 30 days.

You must be at least 13 years old (or older, if your country requires it) to create an account. If you're under 18, please use FocusFellows with a parent or guardian's permission. If we learn that we hold data from someone under 13, we will delete it.

Data is encrypted in transit, access is restricted by database security rules so people can only read what they're allowed to, and payment details never touch our servers. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us right away if you suspect a problem.

Our providers may process data in countries other than yours. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

If we make material changes, we'll update the date above and let you know in the app before they take effect.

Questions or requests about your privacy: use the contact form and choose “Privacy request”.