Paddles Up — Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 28, 2026

Paddles Up is a free mobile app for pickleball players — find courts, see what's happening, connect with friends, and share the game. This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, how we store and protect it, and the choices you have.

Information we collect

Depending on how you use the app, we may collect the following:

Account & authentication — When you sign up or log in, we collect your email address and password (your password is handled by our authentication provider and is not stored in plain text by Paddles Up). We also collect your full name at sign-up and a unique username (required for new accounts). Your account is tied to a user ID used across the app.
Profile information — When you create or edit your profile, we may store your display name, username, optional contact information (email or phone, if you choose to provide it), optional profile photo, skill rating, pickup skill level, win/loss statistics derived from match records, and other profile fields you enter.
Public username & player search — Your username may be shown to other players (for example as @username on your profile) and can be searched by other signed-in users so they can find you, add you as a friend, or send a challenge invite. Usernames are stored in lowercase for uniqueness and are case-insensitive for lookup.
Location while the app is open — With your permission, we access your device's location only while you are actively using Paddles Up (foreground location). We do not collect continuous background location or build a historical GPS trail. Location is used to show courts near you, sort and filter court lists by distance, center the map, verify that you are near a court before check-in or availability reporting, and support automatic check-in when you arrive at a court.
Location-related data we store — When you submit a court availability report, we store the approximate latitude and longitude reported at that moment along with the court and availability details. These reports are short-lived (they expire after about 30 minutes). Court check-ins store which court you checked into, your display name at check-in time, and timing information — not a ongoing location history. We do not sell or share your raw device location with advertisers.
Court check-ins & streaks — When you check in at a court, we record the check-in, court, timing, and an expiry time (check-ins roll off after a few hours). Repeated check-ins may update a daily streak counter associated with your account.
Court & zone availability — Community availability reports (courts open/busy/full), zone-level status reports where supported, and related metadata you submit are stored so other players can see current conditions. Availability reports expire automatically; zone reports also expire after a limited time.
Match records — When you log match results (wins, losses, scores, notes, opponent names), we store those records as part of your play history. Match records linked to completed challenges may also be created when both players confirm scores.
Challenges — When you send or receive a match challenge, we store challenge details such as participants, proposed time, optional court, status, scores submitted, and winner information.
Friend connections — If you add friends or accept friend requests, we store those relationships. You can also block other players; blocked relationships are stored so those users are hidden from your experience.
Player search — When you search for other players by username or display name (for example on the Friends tab or when sending a challenge), your search queries are processed against our player directory to return matching profiles. We do not use this for advertising.
In-app messages — Messages you send and receive, conversation membership, read/unread status, and related metadata are stored so messaging works reliably.
Game posts & scheduled sessions — When you post games, accept posts, or schedule sessions, we store the details you provide (court, time, skill level, notes, session reminders, and similar fields) so others can discover and join.
Court photos — If you take or upload photos of a court, we store those images in our cloud storage and link them to the court and your account. Other users may view photos you contribute on court pages.
Profile photos — If you choose a profile picture from your photo library, we store a reference to that image (URL) in your profile so it can be shown to you and, where applicable, to other players.
Court ratings & written reviews — Star ratings, written reviews, and related metadata you submit for courts are stored and may be shown to other users.
Court suggestions — If you suggest a new court, we store the information you submit (name, address, city, surface, fees, hours, notes, and similar fields) along with your account for review.
Reports & moderation — If you report content or a profile (for example posts, reviews, messages, or profiles), we store the report type, content identifier, reason you select, and your account as the reporter so we can review and address abuse.
Favorites & preferences — We save courts you favorite and similar in-app preferences on our servers. Some lightweight preferences (for example whether you completed onboarding or an in-app tour) may be stored locally on your device.
Push notification tokens — If you opt in to notifications, we store a device push token so we can deliver alerts you've asked for (for example new messages, challenge updates, game activity, or court availability at courts you subscribe to). You can turn notifications off in your device settings.
Local reminders — If you schedule a session, the app may schedule a reminder notification on your device (for example 10 minutes before the session). That reminder is handled by your phone's notification system.
On-device cache — To improve performance offline or on slow connections, the app may temporarily cache court lists or game posts on your device. This cache stays on your phone and is not used for advertising.
Technical & operational data — Like most apps, we process basic technical information needed to run the service (for example authentication sessions, app errors, security signals, and identifiers tied to your account). Our backend provider may also log standard request metadata needed to operate the service securely.
Analytics — We use a product analytics tool (PostHog) to understand how the app is used — for example which screens and features are opened, general session activity, and app errors. These events are linked to your account so we can see usage trends across the app. We do not use this for advertising, and we do not use session recordings today; if that changes, we'll update this policy.

What we don't do with your data

Some things are simple, so we'll say them plainly:

We do not sell your personal information.
We do not use your data to run third-party advertising or to build an advertising profile about you.
We do not track your location when the app isn't open — location access is foreground-only, as described above.
We do not record or store continuous GPS history — location is used for in-the-moment features such as nearby courts and check-in verification.

How we use your information

We use what we collect to provide and improve Paddles Up — for example to:

Create and secure your account and keep you signed in
Show courts, maps, weather at outdoor venues, and activity near you
Power check-ins, availability reports, streaks, and community-sourced court information
Display your profile, username, stats, and optional public profile link to other players when you use social features
Let you search for players, add friends, block users, message, post games, schedule sessions, and send or receive challenges
Show ratings, reviews, and photos that you and others contribute
Send push notifications and local reminders you've opted into
Review reported content and keep the app safe
Keep the app secure, fix bugs, and understand aggregate usage so we can make the product better

How we share information

We don't sell your data. We share information only in these kinds of situations:

Service providers — We use trusted vendors to host data, authenticate users, store photos, send notifications, and operate the app. They process information on our behalf under agreements that protect your privacy.
Other users — Content you choose to make social is visible as designed (for example your display name, username, profile photo, game posts, messages to people you write to, reviews, check-in presence at a court while active, challenge activity, and photos you attach to courts).
Legal & safety — We may disclose information if we believe in good faith it's required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users, Paddles Up, or the public.

Location data

Paddles Up requests location permission so the app can show nearby courts and support check-in and availability features while you are using it. We use when-in-use (foreground) location only — not background tracking.

Your precise coordinates are used on your device for features like distance sorting and verifying proximity to a court. In some cases, approximate coordinates are stored briefly with availability reports you submit (these expire automatically). Court check-ins record which venue you checked into and when, not a continuous location log.

You can deny or later revoke location permission in your device settings; some features (nearby courts, check-in, and proximity-based reporting) will not work without it.

Photos & camera

Paddles Up may request access to your photo library and camera so you can:

Choose an optional profile picture from your library
Take or upload court photos to share with the community

We only access photos you explicitly choose to upload or capture through the app's photo flows. Court photos are stored in our cloud storage. Profile photos are stored as part of your profile record. You can manage photo and camera permissions in your device settings.

Data storage & protection

Your information is stored securely with our cloud providers (primarily Supabase) using industry-standard access controls, encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), and row-level security policies that limit access to your data. Authentication credentials are managed by our auth provider; we do not store your password in plain text.

Photos you upload are stored in secure cloud storage buckets associated with your account. Push tokens and profile data are stored in our database and linked to your user ID.

Data retention

We keep information only as long as needed for the features described in this policy:

Short-lived activity — Availability reports, zone reports, and active court check-ins expire automatically (typically within minutes to a few hours).
Account & profile data — Your profile, username, friends, messages, match history, challenges, favorites, reviews, photos, and similar data are kept while your account is active.
Local device data — On-device caches and preference flags may persist until you clear app data or uninstall the app.
Backups & logs — Our service providers may retain backups or operational logs for a limited period for security, disaster recovery, and legal compliance.

When you delete your account, we delete the app data associated with your account as described below, subject to limited retention required by law or legitimate security needs.

Deleting your account & data

You can delete your account from the app: open the Profile tab, scroll down, and tap Delete Account. You will be asked to confirm because this action is permanent.

When you delete your account, we remove your app data from our systems, including (where applicable) your profile, username, messages, friendships, blocks, match and challenge history, reviews, court photos you uploaded, scheduled sessions, game posts, favorites, check-ins, streaks, notification tokens, court subscriptions, reports you filed, and court suggestions tied to your account. We then delete your authentication account.

Some information may remain briefly in encrypted backups or service-provider logs before those systems rotate. Content you shared with other users (for example messages already delivered) may remain visible to those users until their copies are removed as part of the deletion process. If you have trouble deleting your account, email us at the address below.

Third party services

Paddles Up relies on services that have their own privacy policies. These providers receive only the data needed to perform their function:

Supabase — Authentication, database, file storage, edge functions, and realtime updates for app data. Privacy Policy
PostHog — Product analytics, hosted on PostHog's U.S. infrastructure, to help us understand feature usage and improve the app. Privacy Policy
Expo — App framework, build services, and push notification delivery infrastructure. Privacy Policy
Apple Maps — Map display and directions links on Apple devices. Apple receives map-related requests according to its policies. Privacy Policy
Google Maps — Map display on Android devices. Google receives map-related requests according to its policies. Privacy Policy
Open-Meteo — Weather forecasts for outdoor courts. We send approximate court coordinates (latitude/longitude of the venue, not your personal device location) to retrieve forecast data. Terms
Push notification platforms — Apple Push Notification service (APNs) and Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) deliver notifications using device tokens according to their own policies.

Our team may also use geocoding tools (such as OpenStreetMap Nominatim) when reviewing court submissions to place suggested venues on the map. That processing uses the address information submitted in a court suggestion, not your live device location.

Supabase data tables (summary)

For transparency, user-linked data in our backend may include records in tables such as: players (profile), friendships, blocked_users, messages and conversations, matches, challenges, game_posts and accepts, scheduled_sessions, favorites, court_checkins, streaks, availability_reports, zone_reports, court_reviews, court_photos, court_submissions, content_reports, notification_tokens, and notification_subscriptions, plus authentication records managed by Supabase Auth.

Children's privacy

Paddles Up is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information, please contact us at paddlesupapp@gmail.com so we can take appropriate steps to delete it.

Your choices & rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete certain personal information, or to object to or restrict some processing. You can:

Update much of your profile directly in the app
Control location, photo, and notification permissions in your device settings
Block other players or report content you believe violates our community standards
Delete your account from the Profile tab as described above

For other requests, email us — we'll work with you in line with applicable law.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the date at the top of this page. If the changes are important, we may also notify you through the app or other reasonable means. Continued use of Paddles Up after updates means you accept the revised policy.

Questions about this privacy policy? Contact us at paddlesupapp@gmail.com