Welcome to Dragon Con Social ("we", "us", or "our"), operated by Volatile Apps. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and safeguard it, and your choices regarding your data when using the Dragon Con Social mobile application and related services.

1. Age Requirement & Target Audience

Dragon Con Social is designed exclusively for convention attendees aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If we learn that a user is under 18, we will promptly deactivate the account and delete associated data.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly and information generated during your use of the app:

• Account & Profile Information: When you register, we collect your email address, chosen badge/display name, pronouns, bio, cosplay interests, and optional fandom preferences.
• Badge Verification Data: If you choose to apply for badge verification, you submit a photo of your physical Dragon Con badge with personal identifiers obscured. Badge submissions are reviewed solely for attendee authenticity.
• Photos & User Content: Profile photos, cosplay lineup schedules (Thursday through Monday), public photo gallery uploads, bulletin board posts, comments, and side quests you create.
• Ribbon Inventory & Wishlists: Information about convention ribbons you currently have for exchange and ribbons you are seeking.
• Communications: Direct and group messages sent through our in-app chat (powered securely via Stream Chat).
• Device & Diagnostics: Push notification tokens (Firebase Cloud Messaging) to alert you to direct messages and side quest updates, and anonymized crash diagnostics (Firebase Crashlytics) to fix technical bugs.

3. Location Data (Con Radar & Host Hotel Proximity)

• We access device location solely when you use the "Con Radar" or host hotel check-in features to identify which Dragon Con host hotel (e.g., Hyatt Regency, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, Courtland Grand) you are currently visiting.
• No Background Tracking: We do NOT track, record, or poll your geographic location in the background when the application is closed.
• No Sale of Location Data: Your coordinates are never sold, rented, or shared with third-party advertisers or brokers.
• Ghost Mode: You can enable "Ghost Mode" in the app header at any time with a single tap to hide your active presence from public radar views.

4. User-Generated Content & Community Safety

Dragon Con Social provides a safe, welcoming, and harassment-free community for cosplayers, badge ribbon traders, and convention fans.

• In-App Reporting: Users can flag any objectionable post, comment, message, or user profile directly using the report sheet.
• Immediate User Blocking: Users can block abusive members at any time. Blocking immediately hides messages, posts, and side quest invitations from that individual.
• Content Moderation: We employ automated content screening and prompt administrative review to enforce our zero-tolerance policy against hate speech, harassment, sexually explicit material, and non-consensual photography.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use your information exclusively to provide and enhance convention social features:

• Authenticate your account securely and maintain your session across app restarts.
• Display your cosplay lineup and ribbon exchange lists to fellow fans.
• Facilitate real-time attendee chat and meetup group coordination.
• Diagnose app crashes, fix bugs, and ensure server infrastructure reliability.

6. Data Sharing & Third-Party Service Providers

We do not sell, rent, or monetize your personal data. We share information only with trusted cloud infrastructure providers strictly necessary to operate the application:

• Google Firebase: Secure authentication, Cloud Firestore database storage, Cloud Storage for photos, and Firebase Cloud Messaging for notifications.
• Stream.io: Real-time messaging infrastructure and tokenized chat communications.

7. Data Retention & Account Deletion

You retain full ownership and control over your personal data. You may delete your account and all associated records at any time:

• In-App: Navigate to Profile → Settings → Delete Account.
• Online Deletion Portal: If you no longer have the app installed, you can submit an instant deletion request at our dedicated portal: dcon-social.web.app/index.html.

Upon account deletion, your profile, authentication records, photos, cosplay lineups, and messages are permanently scheduled for deletion and purged in accordance with our automated purge policies.

8. Security

We implement industry-standard administrative, physical, and technical safeguards (including HTTPS TLS encryption in transit and AES-256 encryption at rest) to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact our privacy team:

Volatile Apps - Dragon Con Social Team
Email: privacy@volatileapps.com
Website: https://dcon-social.web.app