Privacy Policy

1. Overview

PulseU ("the app," "we," "us") is a free iOS application that helps Rutgers–New Brunswick students discover campus events. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have. We have designed this app to collect as little personal data as possible.

2. Information We Collect

We do not require you to create an account. The app is fully usable without providing any personal information.

The only information stored on your device (not transmitted to us) includes:

• Interest categories you select during onboarding — stored locally on your device to personalize your feed. We never receive or store these on our servers.
• Events you save or bookmark — stored locally on your device only.
• Organizations or teams you follow — stored locally on your device only.
• Notification preferences — stored locally on your device only.

None of this on-device data is ever transmitted to us or to any third party.

3. Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect, store, or transmit:

• Your name, email address, NetID, or any identifying information
• Your location or GPS data
• Your Rutgers credentials or any authentication data
• Device identifiers, advertising IDs, or fingerprinting data
• Crash reports or analytics beyond what Expo/EAS provides by default (see Section 5)

4. Event Data We Display

The app aggregates publicly available event information from the following sources:

• Rutgers getINVOLVED — student organizations and campus events (rutgers.campuslabs.com/engage)
• ScarletKnights Athletics — varsity sports schedules via the Sidearm Sports public API (scarletknights.com)
• Rutgers Recreation — recreation and intramural schedules (recreation.rutgers.edu)
• Mason Gross School of the Arts — performing arts events via public iCal feed and Tessitura ticketing portal (masongross.rutgers.edu)
• Rutgers New Brunswick Events — university-wide events calendar (newbrunswick.rutgers.edu)
• IMLeagues — intramural sports schedules (imleagues.com). Note: this connector is present in our infrastructure but currently returns no data due to authentication requirements on the source. No data from IMLeagues is stored or displayed at this time.

We store normalized copies of publicly available event data (title, date, time, location, host, and source link) on our backend servers hosted on Render and Supabase. This data contains no personal information about any individual user. All original source links are preserved and displayed in the app so you can always verify event details directly. We only store the minimum fields necessary for discovery — we do not reproduce full event descriptions or any content beyond what is needed to surface the event to users.

5. Third-Party Services

The app is built with Expo and React Native. By using the app, you may interact with the following third-party infrastructure:

• Expo / EAS — handles the app build and delivery pipeline. Expo may collect anonymized diagnostic data. See expo.dev/privacy.
• Supabase — hosts our event database. Supabase processes data in accordance with its privacy policy at supabase.com/privacy. We do not store any personally identifiable information in Supabase.
• Render — hosts our backend scraping service. No personal data is processed on Render.

We do not use advertising networks, analytics SDKs, or any third-party tracking tools.

6. Push Notifications

The app may in the future offer optional push notifications for saved events and followed organizations. If and when this feature is enabled, you will be prompted to grant permission explicitly. You may revoke notification permissions at any time through your iPhone's Settings. No notification data is collected or shared with third parties.

7. Children's Privacy

This app is intended for college students aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from anyone under the age of 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at pulseu.app@gmail.com.

8. Data Security

Since we do not collect personal data, there is no personal data to secure on our end. All on-device preferences are stored using standard iOS secure storage mechanisms. Our backend stores only publicly available event metadata and does not hold any information that could identify a specific user.

9. External Links

Every event in PulseU includes a "View Original" button that opens the original source page in your device's default external browser (such as Safari or Chrome). Once you leave the app and visit an external site, you are subject to that site's own privacy policy and practices. We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or data handling of any third-party websites, including Rutgers getINVOLVED, Rutgers Recreation, ScarletKnights Athletics, or Mason Gross School of the Arts. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any external site you visit.

10. Data Retention

Our backend database stores normalized event metadata — including title, date, time, location, host organization, and source URL — solely for the purpose of powering the in-app discovery feed. We do not store any personal user data on our servers. Event records are retained for as long as they are relevant for discovery purposes. Historical event data (past events) may be retained in a normalized form to support features such as the History tab, but is never used for profiling, advertising, or any purpose beyond displaying past activity to the user locally. We periodically purge stale event data that is no longer needed.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by an updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, please contact us at: