Kilbeans Privacy Policy

Last Updated: April 19, 2026

1. Introduction and Scope

At Kilbeans, we operate under a Privacy-by-Design philosophy. We believe that your digital interactions should be as private as your physical ones. This Privacy Policy describes how Kilbeans (collectively, "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares your information when you use our mobile applications, websites, and other online services (the "Services").

By using Kilbeans, you are joining a global community built on the foundations of digital sovereignty. This policy applies to all users worldwide. When you use our Services, even if you are just browsing, you agree to the collection and use of your information as outlined in this policy.

                Our Core Promise: We do not sell your personal data. We prioritize data minimization and transparency in how your information is handled across our ecosystem.
            

2. Information You Provide to Us

We require certain information to deliver our Services. For example, you must have an account to upload Reels, participate in chronological feeds, or join Sectors. When you choose to share the information below, we collect and use it to operate, personalize, and secure our Services.

2.1 Account and Profile Information

To create an account, you must provide us with registration data, including your email address, a unique username, and a password. You may also choose to enhance your profile by providing a display name, a biography (bio), and a profile picture. On Kilbeans, your display name, handle, and profile information are always public.

2.2 Content, Reels, and Public Activity

Example: When you post a video Reel or comment on a Sector post.

Kilbeans is a platform for expression. We collect the content you create and the information associated with it, including:

Public Content: This includes your posts, "Reels" (video files), and the text of your comments. When you upload media, we collect and store the file along with metadata, such as the timestamp and any location data you choose to attach.
Interactions: We collect data on how you engage with the community, such as your likes, bookmarks, and replies to other users’ content.
Sectors: If you create or join a Sector, we collect information about your membership and the content you share within that specific community environment.

2.3 Direct Messages and Routing Metadata

When you communicate with others via Direct Messages, we collect the content of the message and any media you attach to facilitate the exchange. We also collect routing metadata (such as who you messaged and when) to ensure the reliable delivery of your communications.

2.4 Support and Correspondence

If you contact us directly for support or feedback, we collect your email address, device type, and the specific contents of your inquiry to resolve the issue.

3. Information We Collect Automatically

When you use Kilbeans, we automatically collect certain information from your device and your interactions with our Services. This data is essential for maintaining the security of our platform and delivering a high-performance experience.

3.1 Device and Connection Information

We collect information about the hardware and software you use to access Kilbeans. This includes:

Device Attributes: Hardware model, operating system version, and system language.
Identifiers: Unique device identifiers (such as IDFV for iOS or Android ID), which allow us to recognize your device for security and account recovery.
Network Data: Your mobile carrier and connection type.

3.2 Security Logs and IP Addresses

We collect your IP address and detailed access timestamps. We do not use this data to build a commercial profile of your physical movements. Instead, we use it for security monitoring, unauthorized access detection, and service optimization (routing traffic to the nearest server for lower latency).

3.3 The Honeypot Security Logic

Example: Preventing a single bot from creating 1,000 fake accounts.

To protect the community from automated attacks, spam, and botnets, Kilbeans utilizes a proprietary "Honeypot" security mechanism. This includes the use of hidden interaction elements within the application interface designed to be detected by automated software. We collect and analyze technical fingerprints, including IP addresses and Device IDs, when these elements are accessed to distinguish between genuine human users and malicious automated scripts.

If our system detects a Honeypot trigger—such as multiple rapid account creation attempts or suspicious engagement spikes from a single device—we may temporarily or permanently restrict access from that device to preserve the integrity of our chronological feeds.

3.4 Cookies and Local Storage

Because Kilbeans is built with a local-first architecture, we store your posts, settings, and message headers in a secure SQLite database on your device. On our website, we use standard cookies to maintain your session and remember your preferences.

3.5 Information from Third Parties

We may receive aggregated, non-identifiable data from analytics providers (like Apple or Google) regarding how users discover Kilbeans in app stores. This helps us measure our reach without identifying individual users.

3.6 Crash Reports and Performance Telemetry

Example: Fixing a bug that causes the app to close when opening a large PDF.

To ensure Kilbeans remains fast and reliable, we collect technical telemetry when the application encounters an error or crashes. This information includes stack traces, the specific function being executed at the time of the error, and device state information (such as available memory or CPU load). We use this data exclusively to identify, diagnose, and resolve technical issues, helping us optimize the application’s performance across various hardware configurations.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to operate, maintain, and improve our Services. Specifically, your data is used for:

4.1 Service Delivery and Maintenance

Account Management: To identify you on the platform and manage your profile settings.
Content Delivery: To host and display your posts, Reels, and comments in chronological order to your followers and the wider community.
Communication: To facilitate Direct Messages and send you service-related notifications.

4.2 Safety, Security, and Integrity

Example: Blocking a malicious actor attempting to spam a Sector.

Protecting our users is a top priority. We use your data (including IP addresses and device fingerprints) to:

Enforce our community guidelines and Terms of Service.
Detect and prevent fraud, spam, and bot activity via our Honeypot security logic.
Respond to valid legal requests or prevent immediate physical harm.

4.3 Analytics and Service Improvement

We use aggregated and de-identified data to understand how users interact with Kilbeans. This includes analyzing the performance of features like Reels to guide our technical roadmap and fixing bugs identified through crash reports.

5. Data Sharing & Third-Party Processors

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. To provide a high-performance, real-time social experience, we partner with industry-leading service providers. These partners are contractually restricted from using your data for any purpose other than providing the specific services outlined below.

5.1 Google Firebase (Authentication & Core Systems)

We use Google Firebase to power our identity management and real-time data synchronization.

Data Shared: When you register, we share your email address and password hashes. For your profile and activity, we store your unique User ID (UID), display name, handle, and the text content of your posts, comments, and Sector records.
Purpose: Firebase enables secure account access and ensures that your chronological feed remains updated in real-time across all your devices.

5.2 Cloudinary (Media Storage & Delivery)

Cloudinary provides the infrastructure for processing and serving high-bandwidth media.

Data Shared: When you upload a video "Reel" or an image post, the raw media file is transmitted to Cloudinary. We also share technical metadata about the file, such as its dimensions, format, and size.
Purpose: This allows us to store your media securely and deliver optimized versions of your videos (Reels) to other users based on their specific device type and network speed.

5.3 Infrastructure Hosting

Our proprietary Node.js backend and Redis caching layers are hosted on secure cloud infrastructure provided by DigitalOcean. These providers host the physical servers that run Kilbeans code but do not have access to the underlying content of your communications or media.

5.4 Legal Requests and Law Enforcement

Example: Responding to a valid court order or preventing immediate harm.

We may disclose your information to law enforcement, government agencies, or authorized third parties if we determine that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to:

Comply with a valid legal process (such as a subpoena, court order, or search warrant).
Protect the safety of any person, protect the security or integrity of our platform, or prevent fraud.
Address immediate emergency situations involving the risk of serious physical injury or death.

Our policy is to notify users about requests for their data unless we are prohibited from doing so by law or court order.

6. Your Rights & Data Control

Regardless of your location, Kilbeans provides the following controls:

6.1 Access & Export

You can request a copy of the data we hold about you. Please contact our privacy officer at the address provided in Chapter 11 to initiate this process.

6.2 Correction

You can update your profile information, such as your display name and bio, at any time directly within the application settings.

6.3 Objection

You can object to our processing of your data for specific purposes, such as diagnostics or service improvement analytics.

6.4 Account Deletion & The 30-Day Purge Protocol

In compliance with platform requirements and our commitment to digital sovereignty, we provide a transparent process for deleting your account and all associated data (including profile information, Posts, and Reels).

Initiating Deletion:

In-App: Navigate to Settings > Account > Delete Account.
Web-Based: Visit kilbeans.com/delete-account to submit a deletion request via our secure verification portal.

Technical Purge Process:

To ensure data integrity and prevent unauthorized deletions, Kilbeans utilizes a multi-stage terminal removal protocol:

Stage 1: Immediate Deactivation: Upon successful email verification, your account is immediately deactivated. Your profile and content are removed from public search and chronological feeds across the platform.
Stage 2: Pending Grace Period (30 Days): Your information is moved to a "Scheduled for Deletion" state. This data is no longer accessible via our standard APIs. During this 30-day window, you can reverse the process by logging back into the app with your mnemonic phrase.
Stage 3: Terminal Purge: After 30 days, our automated systems execute an irreversible purge. Identifiable data is terminally deleted from our production databases (Firebase/Redis) and file storage (Cloudinary). Once this stage is complete, the data cannot be recovered even by our support team.

7. Device Permissions

To provide its core social and community features, Kilbeans requires access to certain functions of your mobile device. We adhere to a "just-in-time" permission model, meaning we only ask for access at the moment a specific feature requires it. You can manage or revoke these permissions at any time through your device's operating system settings.

7.1 Camera and Microphone (The Reels Experience)

Example: Recording a 15-second video update for your followers.

The Reels feature is designed for high-performance, real-time creative expression. To enable this:

Camera Permission: Allows you to capture video directly within the app for Reels and take photos for your profile or posts. Without this, you will not be able to record new visual content.
Microphone Permission: Used exclusively when recording Reels or video posts to capture high-fidelity audio that synchronizes with your video. Kilbeans does not monitor your microphone in the background.

7.2 Photo Library and Files

To allow you to share content you have already created, we request access to your Photo Library and device Files. This is used when you choose to upload an existing video as a Reel, attach a PDF document to a Sector post, or update your profile avatar from your gallery.

7.3 Notifications

We use notifications to maintain the real-time integrity of the platform. This includes alerting you to new messages, mentions in Sectors, and critical security alerts triggered by our Honeypot system or Priority Mode updates. These are essential for the "Digital Sovereignty" experience, ensuring you are always aware of interactions with your data.

8. Children's Privacy

Kilbeans is a platform designed for a general audience. Our Services are not directed to children, and you may not use our Services if you are under the age of 13. We prioritize the protection of young users and adhere strictly to global safety standards.

8.1 Protection of Minors

We do not knowingly collect, maintain, or use personal information from children under 13 years of age. If you are under 13, you are prohibited from registering for an account or transmitting any personal data, including text posts, media, or Reels, through our platform.

8.2 Discovery and Terminal Removal

If Kilbeans becomes aware that a user under the age of 13 has bypassed our age-gating mechanisms to create an account, we will take immediate action to deactivate the account. Following verification, we will execute a terminal purge of all associated data, including profile information, uploaded media, and interaction history, from our production databases.

8.3 Parental Notifications

Parents or legal guardians who believe their child has provided personal information to Kilbeans without their consent should contact our legal team at legal@kilbeans.com. Upon receiving a valid request, we will prioritize the identification and deletion of the minor's data to ensure compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and similar regulations worldwide.

9. International Data Transfers

Kilbeans operates globally. This means your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries other than the one in which you reside, including the United States, where our primary servers and service providers are located.

9.1 Global Infrastructure

To provide a consistent and low-latency social experience, we utilize a distributed cloud infrastructure. Your data may be processed in any country where Kilbeans or its third-party processors (such as Google Firebase, Cloudinary, or DigitalOcean) maintain facilities. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from the laws of your jurisdiction.

9.2 Safeguards and Standard Contractual Clauses

When we transfer personal data originating from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland to countries that do not have an "adequacy decision" from the European Commission, we utilize robust legal mechanisms to ensure your data remains protected.

Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): We rely on the Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission (and the equivalent UK International Data Transfer Addendum) to provide a legal framework for these transfers. These clauses establish strict contractual obligations for our service providers to protect your personal data to a standard equivalent to the protections offered within your home jurisdiction.

9.3 Data Subject Consent

By using Kilbeans and providing your information, you consent to the transfer, storage, and processing of your information in the United States and other countries as described in this policy.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our technology, legal obligations, or service improvements. When we make updates, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document.

10.1 Notification Procedures

Example: Introducing new features or updating data retention rules.

If we make material changes to the way we process your personal data, we will provide you with advance notice through prominent communication channels, which may include:

In-App Alerts: Notifications displayed within the Kilbeans mobile application.
Direct Email: Messages sent to the email address registered to your account.
Service Announcements: Public notices posted on kilbeans.com.

10.2 Consent and Choice

Your continued use of the Kilbeans Services after the effective date of a revised Privacy Policy constitutes your acknowledgment and acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not agree with the changes, you have the right to terminate your account and discontinue use of the Services at any time, as described in Chapter 6.

11. Contact Us

Kilbeans is committed to resolving any complaints about our collection or use of your personal data. If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights as described in Chapter 6, please use the following channels:

11.1 General Support

For account-related issues or general inquiries regarding the Services:

Email: support@kilbeans.com

11.2 Privacy and Data Protection Office

For formal Data Subject Requests (access, export, deletion) or legal inquiries:

Email: legal@kilbeans.com

Mailing Address: [Insert Kilbeans Legal Address, Nairobi, Kenya]