Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated: November 2026

This policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and your rights under UK GDPR.

Data controller

The data controller for Socion is Spencer Stern, trading as Stern Consulting, Unit 110172, PO Box 6945, London W1A 6US, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected]. Registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZC239854.

What we collect

When you create an account and use Socion, we collect:

Account data — your email address and how you sign in: with a one-time code sent to your email, or through Google or Discord (no password is stored). We use your email address to sign you in, to send service emails about your account, and, only if you opt in, to send Socion updates
Email preferences — whether you've agreed to Socion update emails or subscribed to Socionics Signal, when and where you told us (for example at sign-up, in Settings or on the feed), and, if you unsubscribe or an email bounces, a record that we must not email that address again
Profile data — your name, age, gender, location, bio, Socionics type, profile photo, and optional connection question, as you provide them
Usage data — the connections you make, messages you send, and feedback ratings you submit
Push notification tokens — if you enable push notifications, your device's push subscription endpoint is stored to deliver notifications
Analytics data — page views and navigation patterns via Umami, which is cookieless and does not track individuals across sites
Payment data — if you subscribe to Premium, your billing details (card number, billing address) are collected and stored by Stripe, our payment processor. We do not store your card details ourselves; we only receive a Stripe customer ID and subscription status.
AI assistant messages — if you use the Socionics AI assistant, the messages you send and your Socionics type are transmitted to Anthropic to generate responses. These are not stored by Socion beyond your conversation session.

How we use it

We use your data to run Socion and, where you've agreed, to keep you updated. Specifically:

To create and secure your account and sign you in
To display your profile to other users in the matching feed
To match you with profiles based on intertype relations
To deliver messages between connected users and in Rooms and Boards
To send push notifications about new connections and messages, if you turn them on
To send service emails about your account — for example Premium and billing emails, or referral rewards added to your account
To send a single reminder if you start signing up but don't finish your profile (it has an unsubscribe link)
To send occasional Socion updates by email, only if you've opted in (see Marketing emails below)
To send Socionics Signal, Spencer's newsletter, only if you subscribe to it
To process Premium payments through Stripe
To answer your questions in the Socionics AI assistant and the typing chat, through Anthropic
To keep the community safe: moderating reports, enforcing our terms, and preventing abuse
To understand how the app is used, through cookieless Umami analytics, so we can improve it
To aggregate anonymised feedback data for research into Socionics intertype relations

We do not sell your data. We do not use your data for advertising.

Marketing emails

What we send. Occasional Socion updates — news about new features and the community, a few times a year at most. These are sent through MailerLite.

Legal basis. Your consent. We only send them if you've said yes: by ticking the box when you create your profile, by choosing "Yes, send me updates" when we ask in the app, or by turning on "Socion updates by email" in Settings. The box is never ticked for you, and saying no doesn't affect your account.

Socionics Signal. Separately, you can subscribe to Socionics Signal, Spencer's email newsletter from socionicsinsight.com (new articles, Socion news and Socionics theory), from the feed. It goes to your account email address and is sent through MailerLite. It is a separate choice from Socion updates: saying yes to one doesn't sign you up to the other. Unsubscribe with the link at the bottom of any Signal email, or turn off "Socionics Signal" in Settings (Profile → Notifications), which stops Signal only. Because both are sent from the same MailerLite account, unsubscribing there stops both Signal and Socion updates.

How to unsubscribe. Use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of these emails, or turn off "Socion updates by email" in Settings (Profile → Notifications). Either takes effect straight away and you can change your mind at any time.

Service emails continue. While you have an account, we'll still send emails you need about it — for example billing, Premium or security emails. These aren't marketing and aren't affected by your marketing choice.

What we keep. We keep a record of each consent choice (what you chose, when, and the wording you saw) so we can show what you agreed to. If you unsubscribe, or an email to you bounces, we keep your email address on a do-not-email list so you aren't emailed again, including after you delete your account.

Who can see your data

Your profile (name, age, location, bio, type, photo, and connection question if set) is visible to other signed-in users of Socion. Your email address is never displayed to other users.

Direct messages are visible to both participants in a conversation. Messages posted in group Rooms are visible to all members of that Room. As the platform operator, Spencer Stern has administrative access to message content for moderation purposes.

Third-party services

Socion uses the following third-party services, each of which has its own privacy policy:

Supabase — database, authentication, and file storage (EU West, Ireland)
Netlify — hosting and deployment
Resend — service emails and reminders (account and payment emails, sent from mail.socion.app)
Google — optional sign-in via Google Identity Services
Discord — optional sign-in via Discord OAuth. We also post operational notifications to Socion's Discord server, such as a new sign-up with a partially masked email address
MailerLite — occasional Socion updates (news.socion.app sending domain) and the Socionics Signal newsletter, each sent only if you opt in
Umami — cookieless, privacy-first analytics
Stripe — payment processing for Premium subscriptions
Anthropic — AI responses for the Socionics AI assistant and the typing chat (messages you send are processed by Anthropic's API)

Data retention

Your data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, your profile, messages, matches, and push subscriptions are permanently deleted. Anonymised, aggregated research data may be retained. Consent records and the do-not-email list described under Marketing emails are kept after deletion, so we can show what was agreed and make sure we never email you again. If you delete your account, you are also removed from our email list in MailerLite. If you have unsubscribed from our emails, we keep your email address on a suppression list solely to make sure we never email you again; it isn't used for anything else.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. You can update your profile at any time via the Profile page. You can permanently delete your account and all associated data directly in the app via Profile → Details → Delete account. For any other data requests, contact [email protected].

Cookies

Socion does not use cookies for tracking or advertising. Supabase Auth uses a session token stored in your browser's local storage to keep you signed in.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of Socion after changes constitutes acceptance.

Contact

Questions about this policy: [email protected]