Privacy Policy
Friends Ahoy LLC · friendsahoy.com
Last Updated: May 21, 2026- We collect your name, email, and Connection Profile answers to help you find your people.
- We never sell your personal information. Not to anyone, not for any price.
- We may use aggregated, anonymized community statistics (for example, "X% of respondents are in the Rebuilding tide") to support research, articles, or grant applications. We never share your individual answers or identity for these purposes.
- Your open-text vulnerability responses are never shared publicly or used for marketing.
- Your quiz scoring happens in your browser; your responses are saved to our database when you finish so we can build the community.
- You can request access to, correction of, or full deletion of your data at any time.
- Colorado residents have specific additional rights listed in Section 9.
- Questions? Email connect@friendsahoy.com. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.
Who We Are & Scope
Friends Ahoy LLC is a platonic friendship and community platform. We operate the website friendsahoy.com and related services (collectively, the "Services"). This Policy applies to all personal information we collect through our website, the Connection Profile quiz, email signup forms, and event registrations.
Data Controller: Friends Ahoy LLC
Contact: connect@friendsahoy.com
Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
Email Signup ("Join the Crew"): First name, email address, and signup source.
Connection Profile Quiz:
- Name, email, location (city/state, not precise GPS), age range
- Quiz answers across six friendship dimensions
- Friendship values, dealbreakers, Island preferences
- Open-text responses: dream friend activities, personal notes, three describing words
- What brought you to Friends Ahoy
Event Registrations: Name, email, event selection, RSVP status, and any optional information you provide.
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit our site, we and our analytics provider (Google Analytics via MonsterInsights) may automatically collect:
- IP address (anonymized where possible)
- Browser type, operating system, device type
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- Referring URL and general geographic location (city/country level)
2.3 What We Do NOT Collect
- Social Security numbers or government ID
- Financial account or credit card numbers
- Precise GPS or real-time location data
- Biometric or health data
- Data from anyone under 18 years of age
How We Use Your Information
| Purpose | Data Used | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Provide Connection Profile results & matching | Quiz responses, name, email, location | Consent |
| Send newsletters and event updates | Name, email | Consent (opt-in) |
| Operate and improve the website | Analytics, server logs | Legitimate interest |
| Respond to inquiries | Name, email, message content | Contractual necessity |
| Ensure security and prevent fraud | IP address, server security logs | Legitimate interest |
| Comply with legal obligations | Data required by law | Legal obligation |
| Facilitate event registrations | Name, email, RSVP info | Consent |
| Aggregated community insights for research, articles, and grant applications | De-identified statistics only (never individual data or identifying information) | Legitimate interest |
Sharing & Disclosure
4.1 We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information
Friends Ahoy LLC does not sell, rent, trade, or lease your personal information to any third party. That includes data brokers, advertisers, and marketing firms. This is an unconditional commitment.
What this commitment covers and what it doesn't: "Personal information" means data that identifies you, including your name, email address, individual Connection Profile answers, IP address, and similar identifying data. We may use aggregated, de-identified statistics about our community (for example, "X% of respondents in the Rebuilding tide reported feeling isolated") to support research, write articles, or apply for grants. Aggregated statistics of this kind are not personal information because they cannot be linked back to you. We will never share, sell, or disclose your individual answers or identity for any of these purposes.
4.2 Service Providers
We share data only with providers necessary to operate our Services. All providers are contractually bound to use your data solely to perform services for us.
| Provider | Purpose | Data Shared |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | Web hosting | Server logs, uploaded files |
| Google Analytics | Website analytics | Anonymized usage data |
| Google Forms/Sheets | Profile response storage | Submitted quiz responses only |
| WPForms | Email signup processing | Name, email |
| FluentSMTP | Email delivery | Name, email |
| Wordfence | Security & firewall | IP addresses (security only) |
| UpdraftPlus | Automated backups | Encrypted site data |
4.3 Legal Disclosures
We may disclose your information if required to comply with applicable law, enforce our Terms of Service, protect the safety of our users or the public, or detect and prevent fraud. We will notify you of any such disclosure to the extent permitted by law.
4.4 Business Transfers
If Friends Ahoy LLC is acquired or transfers its assets, your data may be transferred. We will notify you at least 30 days before any such transfer and give you the right to request deletion of your data beforehand.
Data Retention
| Data Type | Retention Period | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Email subscribers | Until unsubscribe or deletion request | Consent-based |
| Connection Profile responses | 3 years from submission, or until deletion request | Service provision |
| Event registrations | 2 years from event date | Legitimate interest |
| Website analytics | 26 months (Google Analytics default) | Legitimate interest |
| Server logs | 90 days | Security / legal compliance |
| Support emails | 3 years from resolution | Legal compliance |
You may request deletion of your data at any time regardless of this schedule by emailing connect@friendsahoy.com.
Cookies & Tracking
| Category | Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | WordPress / Hostinger | Security tokens, form submission, spam prevention. Cannot be disabled without breaking the site. |
| Analytics | Google Analytics | Tracks pages visited, time on site, referral sources. |
| Security | Wordfence | Bot detection, brute-force protection. |
| Preferences | WordPress | Remembers cookie consent and user settings. |
How to Control Cookies
- Cookie banner: Accept or decline non-essential cookies on first visit.
- Browser settings: Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies.
- Google Analytics opt-out: You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking through your browser settings or by using a third-party browser extension of your choice.
- Do Not Track: We honor browser DNT signals by disabling non-essential analytics.
Security
- SSL/TLS encryption (HTTPS) for all data in transit
- Wordfence firewall, malware scanning, and brute-force protection
- Administrative access restricted to authorized personnel only
- Strong passwords and two-factor authentication on site administrator logins (Friends Ahoy LLC staff only)
- Automated daily backups with encrypted remote storage via UpdraftPlus
- Regular updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes
- Connection Profile data in Google Sheets with role-based restricted access
Sensitive Information
We understand that information about social anxiety, loneliness, lost friend groups, and personal vulnerabilities is deeply personal. Friends Ahoy is built on trust, and we treat this category with heightened care.
Your open-text vulnerability responses are:
- Never displayed publicly without your explicit written consent
- Never shared with other users or potential matches without your consent
- Never used for advertising, marketing, or promotional purposes
- Never sold to or shared with any third party
- Stored with restricted access: accessible only to authorized Friends Ahoy LLC administrators
When we facilitate connections between community members, we share only the information you have explicitly indicated you are comfortable sharing.
Colorado Privacy Act (CPA)
CO ResidentsFriends Ahoy LLC is based in Colorado and fully complies with the Colorado Privacy Act (C.R.S. § 6-1-1301 et seq.), effective July 1, 2023. If you are a Colorado resident, you have the following rights:
Confirm whether we process your data and receive a copy of it within 45 days of a verified request.
Correct inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
Request deletion of your personal data. We'll comply within 45 days except where legally required to retain data.
Receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format to transfer to another service.
The Connection Profile quiz involves profiling. You can opt out at any time by emailing us with subject "Opt Out of Profiling."
If we decline your request, you may appeal. If your appeal is denied, you can contact the Colorado Attorney General's office.
Other Legal Notes
CAN-SPAM Act
All marketing emails comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. Every email includes a clear unsubscribe link, our contact information, and honest subject lines. We honor unsubscribe requests as required by law.
COPPA — Children's Privacy
Friends Ahoy is exclusively for adults 18+. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If we discover we have collected data from a minor, we will delete it immediately. Contact us at connect@friendsahoy.com if you believe a minor has submitted data.
International Users & GDPR
Friends Ahoy LLC is a U.S.-based service. If you access our Services from the EU, EEA, or UK, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. Our legal bases under GDPR are consent (email subscriptions, Connection Profile, analytics cookies), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, service improvement), and legal obligation. EU/EEA/UK residents may lodge a complaint with their local supervisory authority or email connect@friendsahoy.com to exercise GDPR rights.
Your Rights & Do Not Sell
Regardless of where you live, you have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information; withdraw consent or unsubscribe at any time; object to direct marketing; and request your data in a portable format. To exercise any right, email connect@friendsahoy.com. We will respond within 45 days and will never retaliate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
Friends Ahoy LLC does not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA), or similar state laws. To make a formal Do Not Sell or Do Not Share request, email us with the subject line "Do Not Sell My Data."
Policy Changes & Contact
When we make material changes to this Policy, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and notify active subscribers by email. Continued use of our Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Privacy Questions or Requests?
We're real people and we actually respond. Email us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
connect@friendsahoy.com