Chunky Guys

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 05/12/2025

Owned and operated by Chunky Technology Limited (UK)

Your privacy matters. Chunky Guys is built to be a safe, respectful space for bears, cubs, chubbier guys, and their admirers; and that includes treating your personal data with care. This Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it, and how you stay in control.

Our hosting and core infrastructure runs on French-owned providers within the EU, giving your data strong protections under UK/EU privacy law.

If we make meaningful changes, we’ll let you know.

1. What This Policy Covers

This policy applies to:

  • The Chunky Guys mobile app, and
  • The backend API and services that support it.

Authentication is handled entirely through your ATProto/Bluesky PDS. We never receive or store your Bluesky password.

“Personal data” means any information that identifies you directly or indirectly – such as your handle, date of birth, photos, or private media.

2. What We Collect

  • 2.1 Account & Identity
    • Bluesky handle
    • Public DID
    • Date of birth (to confirm you are 18+)
  • 2.2 Profile Content
    • Profile photos
    • Bio or information you choose to publish
  • 2.3 Private Media
    • Images and videos you send to other users through our private media feature
      (Note: private messages themselves are currently handled by Bluesky, not us)
  • 2.4 Session Information
    • Session tokens used to keep you logged in
    • No cookies, no advertising trackers
  • 2.5 Operational Logs
    Used only for reliability and security:
    • Error/request logs → kept 90 days
    • Security logs → kept 1 year
  • 2.6 Sources of Data
    We collect data from:
    • You directly
    • Your ATProto/Bluesky provider (for authentication)
    • Automatic app interactions (session info, technical logs)
    We never buy data or use data brokers.

3. Why We Use Your Data

  • 3.1 To Run the Service
    • Logging you in
    • Displaying your profile
    • Sending and receiving private media
    • Maintaining your session
  • 3.2 To Keep the Platform Safe
    • Detecting suspicious or abusive activity
    • Preventing misuse
    • Debugging and improving stability
  • 3.3 To Communicate Important Information
    • Account or service-related notifications
  • 3.4 To Meet Legal Requirements
    • Complying with valid legal processes or requests
    We do not use your data for ads, behavioural profiling, or marketing.

4. Legal Bases (UK/EU GDPR)

We process your data under:

  • Contractual necessity: To provide the features and services you request.
  • Legitimate interests: Security, abuse prevention, platform reliability, debugging.
  • Consent: For any future optional features that require it.

You may withdraw consent at any time.

5. Data Retention

Data Type     Retention Period
Profile data (photos, bio, date of birth)     Until you request deletion
Private media you send     Until you request deletion
Bluesky handle & DID     Until you request deletion
Error/request log     90 days
Security logs     1 year

You can request deletion at any time, we will complete it within 24 hours.

6. How We Protect Your Data

We use strong technical and organisational safeguards:

  • Data stored on EU servers
  • Encryption at rest (media encryption coming soon)
  • HTTPS/TLS for all communication
  • Strict, logged internal access controls
  • Regular security reviews and updates

As with any digital service, no system is absolutely foolproof, but we work hard to protect your information at every stage.

7. International Transfers Through Social Interactions

Chunky Guys is a social network, and you control who you connect with.

When you choose to send private media or interact with another user:

  • Your content is delivered directly to that user, wherever they are in the world.
  • This may involve a transfer outside the UK/EU.
  • Such transfers are considered user-directed under GDPR, meaning you choose the recipient.
  • We do not forward, sell, or transmit your private media to any other destination.

All media remains stored on EU servers unless you choose to delete it or request deletion.

8. Other International Transfers

Most processing happens in the UK and EU.

Some limited technical data (never private media or profile photos) may be sent to Bitdrift (US) for performance monitoring. When this occurs, we use:

  • Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
  • Supplementary safeguards
  • Minimal, non-sensitive data sharing

All other processors (Brevo, Scaleway services, Sentry EU) operate within the UK/EU.

9. Third-Party Processors

We work with trusted providers who meet GDPR standards. Each processes only what we instruct, and only for essential functionality.

  • Brevo (EU): Email delivery for account communications.
  • Scaleway (EU): Compute, Database, Object Storage.
  • Sentry (EU Region): Error reporting and crash diagnostics. Does not process private media.
  • Bitdrift (US): Performance monitoring and debugging. Receives only minimal technical data.

We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or marketing networks.

10. Aggregated & Anonymised Data

We may use anonymised information (e.g., performance statistics) to improve our service.
This data cannot identify you.

11. Business Transfers

If Chunky Guys is ever involved in a merger, acquisition, or restructuring:

  • Your data will remain protected under this policy or an equivalent one.
  • We will notify you before any changes take effect.

12. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR and EU GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access your data
  • Correct inaccurate information
  • Delete your data (completed within 24 hours)
  • Object to certain processing
  • Restrict certain processing
  • Port your data to another service
  • Withdraw consent
  • Complain to a data protection authority

EU supervisory authorities:
https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members

13. Adults Only

Chunky Guys is strictly for users aged 18 and over.
If we discover data from anyone under 18, we delete it immediately.

14. Cookies & Tracking

  • We do not use cookies in the app.
  • We do not use advertising trackers.
  • We use only essential session tokens.

If that ever changes, we will ask for your consent first.

15. Changes to This Policy

If we update this policy, we will notify you through the app or email before changes take effect.

16. Contact Us

For any privacy questions or requests: sayhello@chunkyguys.com

We aim to respond quickly, and deletion requests are completed within 24 hours.