Gather ("we", "our", or "us") is a social scheduling app that helps friends coordinate time together. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights.
Information We Collect
Depending on how you use Gather, we may collect:
Phone number — used as your primary account identifier, verified by SMS
Name and city — provided by you during onboarding or profile setup
Email address — optional; used for account recovery, password reset, and notifications.
Password — if you use email/password sign-in, your password is stored as a secure hash. We never store it in plain text.
Context for AI suggestions — an optional free-text field where you can describe your schedule or preferences. This is sent to our AI provider to improve gathering suggestions.
Google Calendar availability — if you connect Google Calendar, we fetch and store your free/busy blocks only. We never read event titles, descriptions, attendees, or any other event details.
Contacts — if you grant permission, we access your device contacts to suggest friends who are already on Gather. Contact data is not stored on our servers.
Push notification token — stored to deliver in-app notifications about gathering invites and updates.
How We Use Your Information
To create and identify your account
To connect you with friends on Gather
To suggest gathering times based on mutual availability
To send SMS verification codes and, where applicable, email notifications
To send push notifications about gathering invites and updates
To send SMS notifications about gathering invites, RSVPs, changes, cancellations, group chat activity, and reminders — including, when initiated by a Gather user, a one-time verification text to a phone number from their device contacts that is not yet on Gather (see "SMS Messaging" below). No further SMS is sent to that contact unless they reply YES to opt in.
To generate AI-powered gathering suggestions using your availability and preferences
SMS Messaging
Gather sends SMS messages in two contexts:
Account verification — when you sign up or sign in with a phone number, we send a one-time SMS verification code to that number.
Gathering communication — when a Gather user invites a phone contact who is not on Gather, the contact first receives a one-time verification text identifying the sender and asking them to reply YES to receive details or STOP to decline. We do not send the invitation, RSVP link, reminders, edits, cancellations, or group-chat notifications unless and until the contact replies YES. After a YES reply, that contact may receive: the invitation details and RSVP link, edit and cancellation notices, a day-of reminder, and group-chat activity notifications (throttled to at most one SMS every two hours per gathering). The contact can reply STOP at any time to be removed from all further messages. The Gather user who added the contact is also responsible for ensuring they have permission to contact that person.
Message frequency: Message frequency varies and depends on activity on gatherings you are involved with. Recipients who have not replied YES to the initial verification text receive only that single verification message and nothing further. Recipients who have opted in typically receive a handful of messages per gathering.
Carrier charges: Message and data rates may apply. Gather does not charge for SMS, but your carrier may.
Opt out: Reply STOP to any Gather SMS to opt out of all non-verification SMS from Gather. Reply HELP for help, or contact us at support@gather-any.day. Opting out does not affect SMS verification codes you request when signing in, which are necessary to authenticate your account.
Carrier disclaimer: Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
No sharing of mobile information for marketing: We do not sell, rent, or share phone numbers, mobile opt-in data, or other mobile-originated information with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. The third parties listed under "Data Sharing" below receive phone-number data only as needed to deliver the Gather service to you (for example, Twilio sends our SMS messages on our behalf).
Google Calendar Access
Calendar sync is optional. If you connect Google Calendar, we request read-only access to free/busy information only. We store only the times you are busy — never event titles, descriptions, locations, attendees, or any other details. You can disconnect your calendar at any time from the Account screen.
Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with the following third-party services, each necessary to operate the app:
Twilio — to deliver SMS (verification codes and gathering-related notifications described in "SMS Messaging" above). Phone numbers we send messages to are transmitted to Twilio for delivery. Twilio acts as our messaging carrier; it does not use the data to contact recipients for its own purposes.
Resend — to send transactional emails (invites, password reset). Your email address is transmitted to Resend when an email is sent to you.
Anthropic — to generate AI gathering suggestions. We send your availability data, city, and any context you've provided. We do not send your name, phone number, or email to Anthropic.
Expo — to deliver push notifications to your device.
Google — for optional calendar access only. We request read-only free/busy data if you connect Google Calendar.
OpenWeatherMap, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek — to provide local event and weather suggestions. We send only your city name to these services; no personally identifiable information is shared.
Within the app, your free/busy availability (not event details) is visible to friends you are connected with on Gather.
Data Retention and Deletion
We retain your data for as long as your account is active. You can permanently delete your account and all associated data directly within the app from the Account screen. Deletion is immediate and removes your profile, gatherings, connections, calendar data, and all other personal information. If you have an active Gather+ subscription, deleting your account does not automatically cancel it — you must cancel separately through your Apple ID subscription settings.
All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing. Authentication tokens are stored securely on your device. We do not store your Google password or full calendar contents.
Children's Privacy
Gather is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via the app or email.