Bolas Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 1, 2026
Effective date: October 1, 2026
Bolas is a networking app for people who want to start things. This policy covers the Bolas app and our website, bolasnetworking.com, including its waitlist. It explains what information Bolas collects, why, who can see it, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. We've tried to write it in plain language. If anything is unclear, email us at admin@bolasnetworking.com.
The short version
- We collect what the app needs to work: your account, your profile, your connections, your messages, and, only in specific situations, your location.
- We don't sell your information, we don't show ads, and we don't track you across other apps or websites.
- Location is off by default. When you turn on "Show me on the map," people you've met in person see which city you're in, never your exact spot.
- You can delete your account at any time in Settings → Delete account, and it really deletes.
- Bolas is for adults 18 and older.
- If you join the waitlist on our website, we keep only your email address, and use it to tell you when Bolas launches.
1. Who we are
Bolas is operated by Bolas Networking LLC ("Bolas," "we," "us"), 7785 Riverfront Dr, Marsing, ID 83639. Bolas is offered in the United States.
2. What we collect and why
Information you give us
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Email address and password | To create your account and let you log in, and to send account emails such as confirming your email or resetting your password. We store your password only as a secure hash, never in readable form. |
| Your confirmation that you're 18 or older, and your agreement to our Terms | To make sure Bolas is only used by adults, and to keep a record of when you agreed and to which version. We record that you confirmed you're 18+, not your birth date. |
| Profile: username (required), and optionally your name, profile photo, bio, interests, business stage, city, and "Looking for" tags | To show other people who you are and what you're building. |
| Connections and connection requests | To build your network (your "Web"). |
| Messages you send to your connections, including profiles you share in a chat and your reactions to messages | To deliver them. |
| Chat settings: which chats you mute or archive | To leave muted chats out of your unread count and notifications, and to tidy your inbox. Only you can see them. |
| Notification settings: whether message notifications are on, and whether they show message previews (off by default) | To send you notifications the way you chose. |
| Events you create (title, description, time, the place you pick, and an optional attendee limit), events you mark as Going, and waitlists you join for full events | To show events on the map, let attendees find them, and move people off a waitlist when a spot opens. |
| Premium, if you get it: which plan (Yearly, Monthly, or Lifetime) and whether it's active, in a free trial, cancelled, or refunded | To give you Premium features and badges, and to remove them if a purchase is refunded. Purchases are handled by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play): we get confirmation of what you bought, never your card or payment details. |
| Reports you file, and blocks you make | To keep people safe. See section 5. |
| Support requests you email us | To help you. |
Information collected when you use certain features
| What | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Approximate location for the Web Map | Only if you turn on Show me on the map (it's off by default), each time you open the Map. | So people you've met in person can see which city you're in. Your phone looks up your city's name and center, and only those are sent: the map shows you at the city's center, never where you are in it. Our server also snaps whatever it receives to a grid about 2 km across before storing it, so your exact position is never stored for the map. |
| Precise location while connecting in person | Only on the Connect screen: when you tap phones, show your QR code, or scan someone's. | To check you're really with the person you're connecting with. Tapping: your coordinates are erased as soon as the match is decided, and the record is deleted within about 10 minutes. Your QR code: it carries your location rounded to about 100 m, erased the moment someone uses the code (unused codes are deleted within an hour). Scanning: your location is compared with the code's and not stored. |
| Precise location when checking in to an event | Only when you scan the host's check-in code at an event. | To check you're really at the event. Your location is compared with the event's spot once and not stored. We keep only that you checked in, and when. |
| The city you met someone in | When you connect in person (tap or QR code). | To show "Met in Boise." We keep only the city name, never coordinates. |
| Camera | Only when you scan a QR code. | Scanning happens on your phone. No images are sent to us. |
| Motion sensor | Only on the Tap screen. | To detect the tap. Motion data stays on your phone. |
| Photo library | Only when you choose a profile photo. | We receive only the one photo you pick. |
The app asks your phone's permission before using location, camera, motion, or photos, and you can say no. Bolas still works without them, but the features above won't.
If you join the waitlist on our website
You can join the waitlist at bolasnetworking.com to hear when Bolas launches. You don't need a Bolas account to join.
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your email address, and when you joined | To send you a welcome email right away, and to email you when Bolas launches. We also send our founders a note with your email address when you join, so we know who's interested. We don't use it for anything else. |
Information collected automatically
- Login and security data: your account's sign-in times, the IP address and device type (user agent) of your current login session, and, if you turn on two-step verification, the secret your authenticator app uses to make codes. We use these to keep you logged in and to protect accounts.
- Push notification token: if you allow notifications, your phone gives us a token (and we note whether it's an iPhone or Android phone) so we can send message notifications to it.
- Typing and "Seen": while you're in a chat, the app tells the other person when you're typing and when you've seen their messages. These signals are passed along live and not stored.
- Badges and stats: we count your in-person connections, the events you check in to, and the events you host, and award badges for milestones and for being an early member. Early members get a member number (for example, Founder #12).
- Server logs: our hosting provider records technical logs of requests (such as IP address, time, and which part of the service was used). These are kept for about a day.
- Website visits: when you visit bolasnetworking.com, Cloudflare, which hosts our website, receives your IP address and basic technical information (such as your browser type) to deliver the site and protect it from bots and abuse. The website has no sign-in and no analytics or advertising cookies. See our Cookie Policy.
We do not use analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting tools, and we don't collect your contacts, browsing history, or advertising identifier. (Our map provider, Mapbox, collects some usage and location data about its own maps; see section 4.)
3. Who can see your information
| Information | Who can see it |
|---|---|
| Your profile (username, name, photo, bio, interests, stage, city) | Other signed-in Bolas users, except people you've blocked or who blocked you. Your profile photo is stored at a web address that anyone who has the link can open. |
| That you're connected with someone | The two of you. Others may see it indirectly: your number of connections, "mutual connections" you share with them, attendance at events, on the Web Map, lines between two people they've both met in person, and, for 14 days, a "connected with" update in the Home feed of people connected to both of you (see "Your recent activity" below). |
| Where and when you met someone | Only the two of you. |
| Your approximate map location | Only people you've met in person (tap or QR), and only while "Show me on the map" is on. |
| Your badges (including any member or Supporter number) and your counts of in-person connections, events attended, and events hosted | Anyone who can see your profile. Your number of acquaintances is shown only to you. |
| Whether you have Premium | Anyone who can see your profile. While you have Premium (on any plan), a Bolas Premium badge shows on your profile and in your connections' activity, unless you turn it off in Edit profile. Premium features reveal it too: Premium members appear in Spotlight in Discover, rank higher in "Suggested for you" and in an event's "Who's going" list, and their events rank higher on Home. The numbered Supporter badge shows that you bought lifetime Premium. |
| Your recent activity: when you connect with someone, update what you're looking for, earn a badge, or say you're going to an upcoming event | Your connections, in the "From your web" section of their Home screen, for 14 days. A new connection is only shown to people who are connected to both of you. An event is only shown to people who can already see that event. People you've blocked, or who blocked you, never see it. This is on by default; turn it off in Settings → Show my activity to connections. |
| Your messages, shared profiles, and reactions | You and the person you're messaging. Messages are encrypted in transit but not end-to-end encrypted, so our team can access them if needed, for example to investigate a report. The other person sees when you're typing, and "Seen" once you've opened their messages. |
| That you muted or archived a chat | Only you. The other person isn't told. |
| Events you host | Public events: any signed-in user. Connections-only events: you and your connections. Everyone sees an approximate area until they tap Going. The exact place is shown only to you, people going, and our moderators. |
| Events you're going to | The host, and your own connections. Everyone sees only the total count. |
| Your place on an event's waitlist | Only you. The host sees how many people are waiting, not who. |
| Your Invest posts | Other signed-in users while the post is open (not closed or expired), except people you've blocked or who blocked you. With each post they see your name, photo, role, city, when you joined, your number of in-person connections, and how many connections you share. |
| That you tapped "I'm interested" on an Invest post | Only that post's author (and our team). |
| Your email, consent record, blocks, and reports | Only you (and our team). The people you block or report are never told. |
| Your waitlist email | Only our team. |
4. Who we share information with
We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for advertising. We share it only:
- With service providers who run Bolas for us:
- Supabase, our database, login, and file storage provider. It stores almost everything described above, including the waitlist.
- Cloudflare hosts our website (see "Website visits" in section 2).
- n8n, the automation tool that sends our waitlist emails, which runs on a server we rent from Hostinger. When you join the waitlist, it receives your email address so it can email you and our founders. It also keeps a list of the addresses it has already welcomed, so no one gets the same welcome email twice.
- Google Workspace, our email provider. It sends the waitlist emails from admin@bolasnetworking.com and holds the email we send and receive.
- Apple and Google, through your phone's built-in services. When you're on the Tap or Scan screen, your phone sends your coordinates to Apple (iPhone) or Google (Android) to look up the city name.
- Mapbox, our map service provider, draws the maps in Bolas on iPhone and Android. To show the map, your phone downloads map data from Mapbox, so Mapbox receives your IP address and basic technical information about the app and device. Mapbox's map software also sends Mapbox location and usage data to improve its maps ("Mapbox Telemetry"). If you've allowed Bolas to use your location, this can include your phone's location (latitude and longitude, altitude and accuracy) while a map is open, along with randomly generated session and billing IDs. Mapbox says it de-identifies this data, rotates the session ID every 24 hours, deletes IP addresses after 30 days, never collects advertising identifiers, and doesn't sell personal data. We don't give Mapbox your name, email, profile, or Bolas account. You can turn off Mapbox Telemetry at any time with the ⓘ button in the corner of the map on the Map tab. You can also stop Mapbox from getting your location by turning off location access for Bolas in your phone's settings. See Mapbox's Privacy Policy and Mapbox Telemetry.
- Expo (the tools we use to build the app) runs the push service that delivers message notifications. For each notification it receives your phone's push token, the sender's name, and either "Sent you a message" or, if you turned on message previews, the start of the message. Expo passes it to Apple (iPhone) or Google (Android), which deliver it to your phone. If notifications are off, nothing is sent.
- With other users, as described in section 3.
- For safety and the law: if we believe in good faith that it's needed to follow the law or a valid legal request, to protect someone from harm, or to enforce our Terms. This includes reporting child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), as U.S. law requires.
- If Bolas changes hands: if we're involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred, and this policy (or one at least as protective) will still apply to it.
5. Safety, reports, and moderation
- Reports. When you report someone, we save the report along with a copy of their profile (and the reported message, if any) as it was at that moment, so we can review it even if they change or delete it. We review reports within 24 hours.
- Blocks. When you block someone, you disappear from each other's view everywhere in Bolas. They aren't notified.
- Content filter. We automatically reject usernames, names, bios, and event text that contain words or phrases on our blocked list.
- Suspensions. If an account breaks our rules, we may suspend it (it becomes invisible and can't post) or delete it.
6. How long we keep information
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Account, profile, connections, consent records, blocks | Until you delete your account |
| Messages and reactions | Until you or the other person deletes their account, which deletes the whole conversation for both of you. You can unsend your own message within 10 minutes of sending it: it disappears for both of you, but our team keeps the original for 30 days (longer while a report about it is open) so unsending can't hide abuse. |
| Mute and archive settings | Until you change them, or the conversation is deleted |
| Push notification tokens | Until you log out on that phone, it's replaced by one of your 10 most recently used phones, or you delete your account |
| Web Map location | Until you turn off "Show me on the map" (deleted right away), or 7 days after your last Map visit |
| Precise tap location | Coordinates erased as soon as the match is decided (within about a minute at most); the record is deleted within about 10 minutes |
| QR codes | About 1 hour |
| Events | Until 30 days after the event ends (longer only while a report about it is under review), or until the host deletes it |
| Event waitlist spots and check-ins | Until the event is deleted (30 days after it ends). Your counts of events attended and hosted stay on your profile. |
| Invest posts, and who's interested in them | Until you delete the post or your account. Closed and expired posts stay in My posts (visible only to you) so you can reopen them. |
| Badges and member numbers | Until you delete your account. Badges aren't taken away once earned, except Premium badges: the Bolas Premium badge shows only while you have Premium, and if a Lifetime purchase is refunded (at any time), the Founding Supporter badge is removed, its spot goes back into the pool for a future buyer, and every Supporter numbered above it moves down one (see our Terms). |
| Premium | While your Premium lasts. Subscriptions last until they end or are refunded. Lifetime Premium lasts as long as your account exists and Bolas offers Premium, unless it's refunded (see our Terms). |
| Login session data (IP, device type) | While you're logged in |
| Server logs | About 1 day |
| Waitlist email | Until you ask to leave the waitlist, or until you delete a Bolas account that uses the same email address. Our email tool's list of addresses it has already welcomed (see section 4) is kept separately, so it never welcomes you twice. |
| Reports and moderation records | Kept, because they're needed to keep the community safe. If you delete your account, reports stay but are no longer linked to your account. A report can still include the copy of the profile or message that was reported. |
Our hosting provider may keep backups for a limited time. Data in backups is deleted when the backups expire.
7. Your choices and rights
You can, at any time:
- See and edit your profile, in Profile → Edit.
- Turn off location on the map, in Settings → Show me on the map. Your saved location is deleted immediately.
- Stop sharing your activity with your connections, in Settings → Show my activity to connections. You stop appearing in their Home feed right away, including in updates about other people you connect with.
- Hide your Bolas Premium badge, in Edit profile → Show Bolas Premium badge. It comes off your profile and out of your connections' activity right away. Your Premium features stay on.
- Turn off message notifications or message previews, in Settings → Notifications, or mute a single chat.
- Unsend a message within 10 minutes of sending it.
- Say no to phone permissions, or turn them off later in your phone's settings.
- Leave the waitlist by replying to any waitlist email, or by emailing admin@bolasnetworking.com.
- Block people, and unblock them in Settings → Blocked users.
- Delete your account, in Settings → Delete account. This permanently deletes your account, profile, photos, connections, conversations (for both people), events, badges, Premium, location, and any waitlist entry with the same email address, and unlinks your reports from you. It can't be undone. If you no longer have the app, see https://bolasnetworking.com/delete-account.
- Ask for a copy of your information, or ask us to correct or delete it, by emailing admin@bolasnetworking.com from the email address on your account. We'll respond within 30 days. We may need to confirm it's really you first.
We won't treat you differently for using these rights.
Do Not Track: we don't track you across other sites or apps, so there's nothing for a "Do Not Track" signal to turn off.
8. Bolas is for adults
Bolas is only for people 18 and older. Everyone must confirm they're 18 or older to sign up. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that a user is under 18, we'll delete their account. If you believe someone under 18 is using Bolas, report their profile in the app or email admin@bolasnetworking.com.
9. Security
We protect your information with reasonable safeguards. Connections to Bolas are encrypted (HTTPS), passwords are stored only as secure hashes, and our database limits what each account can read and change. No system is perfectly secure, though, so we can't guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a breach affecting your information, we'll notify you as the law requires.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the effective date above. If the changes are significant, we'll tell you in the app, and ask you to agree again when needed, before they apply to you.
11. Contact us
Questions or requests: admin@bolasnetworking.com Bolas Networking LLC, 7785 Riverfront Dr, Marsing, ID 83639