Privacy policy

Who this is for

This privacy policy describes how this Sodality instance handles personal information. Sodality (so-DAL-ih-tee) is a circles-first social site. The operator of this copy — the person who runs the server — is the controller for the data stored here.

If you use a different host’s copy of Sodality, that host’s policy applies instead.

What we collect

Account: email address, password hash (if you use a password), display name, @handle, bio, profile photo, birthday, and whether your profile is public or private. You can hide your display name so other people only see your @handle. People 17 and under also pick an alias — that is the name circles and other members see unless they hide the name. A parent still sees the legal name.

Place: ZIP or postal code, city, state/region, and country, if you type them in Settings. If you tap Find my location (or Local / Regional / Worldwide on the home or circles feed), we ask the browser for your coordinates once, estimate city, region, country, and ZIP via OpenStreetMap Nominatim, and save that place so we can match local and regional circles. For people 17 and under, the address shown on their public profile and in search is “Earth, Milkyway.” Their ZIP stays in Settings for local matching. Adults with a public profile can hide city (ZIP is hidden too) or hide city and state/region; country still shows, and INCOGNITO appears on the address line. The full place stays in Settings for matching. We do not track you in the background or share live location with other people.

Circles and posts: circles you create or join, posts, comments, reactions, photos you upload, events, files, and chat messages in circle chats and direct messages.

Friends and family: friend requests, parent/child links for people 17 and under, and reports you send about a person, post, or circle.

Technical: sign-in session, language choice, and basic server logs (time, path, errors) needed to keep the site running.

Why we use it

To create and run your account, keep you signed in, and show the right language.

To run circles, friends, chat, search, and local/regional discovery — including matching a ZIP you type or a place estimated from GPS when you ask for it.

To enforce age rules (13+ site-wide; extra limits some circles set; parent permission for 17 and under).

To handle reports and keep the instance safe.

If the owner turns on an AI provider (including a local model such as Ollama), prompts may be sent to that provider to power features the owner enabled, including optional funny translations of posts. API keys stay on the server. Do not paste secrets into posts or chat.

Who can see your information

You. The instance operator (and platform admins they appoint) can see account records needed to run and moderate the site.

People in a circle with you can see your profile in that circle, and what you post there.

If your profile is public, any signed-in person can open it. If it is private, only you, circle-mates, and friends can.

Hidden circles do not appear in search. Membership in a hidden circle is not listed on your public profile.

Direct messages require a shared circle or an accepted friendship.

We do not sell your information. We do not show third-party ads on this instance.

People 17 and under

You must be 13 or older. Ages 17 and under need a registered parent or guardian on this site. After the parent approves, they can see that child’s activity — posts, comments, memberships, and related records — so they can supervise use of the site.

A parent account must already exist and the parent must be 18 or older with a birthday saved. Adults start with kids controls off (“I don’t have kids”). Those tools turn on when someone 17 or under lists them as their parent. An adult with no children on this site can turn the tools off again.

How long we keep it

We keep account and content data while the account is open and this instance is running. If a platform admin disables an account, sign-in stops; records may remain for safety and appeals.

You can edit your profile, leave circles, and delete posts you still control. Ask the instance operator if you need an account removed from this server.

Storage

Text lives in the instance database. Photos and files live in the instance’s object storage. Mail for magic links goes through the mail server the operator configured (locally, that is often Mailpit).

This is a self-hosted app. Data stays on the machines the operator runs, unless they have pointed storage, mail, or AI at a third party.

Your choices

Update your name, bio, photo, visibility, birthday (with limits if you are under 18), and place in Settings.

Sign out to end the session cookie. Change language anytime. Read the Cookie policy for browser controls.

Report a person, post, or circle. Unfriend or leave a circle. Parents can review a linked child’s activity.

Changes

We will post changes on this page. Last updated August 25, 2026.