Privacy Policy
Effective 19 October 2026
FiveClose helps you stay close to the handful of people who matter most to you. You build a private circle of up to five people, log when you talk, message or meet, and we remind you before anyone drifts away. This policy explains what data FiveClose accesses, why, where it is kept, and how you can remove it.
The short version
- We read your contacts only so you can pick people for your circle. Your contact list stays in your browser and is never stored or uploaded by us.
- When you add someone with an email address, FiveClose sends them one invitation, after telling you first. Replies go to you. We never access your mailbox.
- Your circle is stored on your own device.
- We never sell your data, use it for advertising, or share it except as described below.
What we access and why
| Data | Why | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Your name and email address (from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook or email-link sign-in) | To sign you in, greet you, and show who an invitation is from. | Kept in your browser. Our server checks your sign-in (with Google or Microsoft, or by verifying the signed FiveClose session we issue) and does not store it. |
| Your contacts (read-only: names, email addresses, phone numbers, photos, birthdays, starred status) | To let you search and pick people for your circle, and to suggest likely close contacts (for example, people you starred). | Loaded into your browser's memory only, and discarded when you leave the page. Only the people you choose are saved, on your device. |
| Names and email addresses of people you invite, plus your first name and email | To send each person one invitation from FiveClose (invites@fiveclose.com), with replies going to your email address. | Sent through our server to Resend, our email delivery provider. We keep no copy beyond Resend's standard delivery logs. |
| Files you choose to import (for example a LinkedIn, Facebook, phone or Yahoo export, a PDF or a screenshot) | To find people and their contact details in the file so you can add them. | Standard exports (vCard, CSV, LinkedIn Connections, Facebook friends) are read on your device and never uploaded. Other files (PDFs, images, notes) are sent through our server to Anthropic's Claude AI for reading, then discarded; neither we nor our server keep them. |
| Subscription details if you buy FiveClose Plus (your email, plan, renewal date and Stripe customer ID) | To know you are a Plus member and let you manage or cancel your subscription. | Card and payment details are handled by Stripe and never reach us. We store your subscription status in Google Firestore (Singapore). |
| Your circle: the people you add, their relationship and importance, and the check-ins you log | To show your circle and calculate how close each relationship is. | Stored in your browser on your device (local storage). |
| For check-in reminders: your name and email, and for each person in your circle their name, email address, importance and the date of your latest logged check-in | So FiveClose can email you when you've gone quiet with someone, and then ask that person to check in on you. Reminders are on by default; turn them off on the Circle screen or with the link in any reminder email. | Stored by our server in Google Firestore (Singapore) and emailed through Resend. Phone numbers, notes and the type of each check-in are not uploaded. Deleted when you ask us to delete your data. People in your circle can stop these emails with one click. |
Google user data
FiveClose's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically:
- We use Google contacts data only to let you choose people for your circle. FiveClose does not request access to your Gmail.
- We do not transfer Google user data to others, except as needed to provide these features, to comply with law, or as part of a merger or acquisition with your notice.
- We do not use Google user data for advertising, and we do not sell it.
- No person reads your Google data, except with your explicit permission for a specific case, for security purposes, or to comply with law.
- Google user data is not used to develop, improve or train generalized AI or machine-learning models.
Service providers
- Google Firebase hosts the website and runs our small server (region: Singapore).
- Google and Microsoft provide sign-in and read-only contacts; Apple and Facebook provide sign-in (name and email only).
- Resend delivers invitation emails from invites@fiveclose.com, and sign-in and check-in reminder emails from hello@fiveclose.com.
- Stripe processes FiveClose Plus payments as an independent controller of your payment data; see stripe.com/privacy.
- Anthropic (Claude API) reads files you choose to import. Anthropic processes them to return the people found; under Anthropic's commercial terms, API inputs are not used to train its models.
People in your circle
When you add someone, FiveClose keeps their name and the contact details you choose, on your device. If they have an email address, they receive one invitation from you. We send them nothing else, and their details are never shared or used for marketing.
Your choices and deleting your data
- Remove a person: open them in your circle, tap Edit, then Remove from circle.
- Cancel Plus: open Plan in the app, then Manage or cancel subscription.
- Delete everything: tap Start over at the bottom of your circle. This erases your circle from your device.
- Revoke access: use Turn off contact access in the app, or remove FiveClose at myaccount.google.com/connections (Google), account.microsoft.com (Microsoft), Apple (Settings → your name → Sign in with Apple) or Facebook (Settings → Apps and websites). See Delete your data.
Retention
Contact lists and imported files are not retained. Subscription records are kept while you are a member and for up to 5 years after, as required for tax and accounting in Singapore. Your circle stays on your device until you delete it. Our server keeps standard technical logs (such as request times and error codes) for up to 30 days to keep the service secure and working.
Children
FiveClose is not intended for children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for significant changes, tell you in the app.
Contact
Questions or requests: tanjoey@gmail.com