Privacy Policy

Effective date: 25 May 2026

1. Overview

SoSave ("we", "us", "our") operates a platform that digitizes community savings circles, Pardner, Susu, Tanda, Hui, Paluwagan, and Chit Fund traditions. This Privacy Policy describes what personal information we collect when you use our service, how we use it, and the choices you have.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

• Account details: name, email address, phone number, language preference.
• Identity verification: government-issued ID images, selfie, date of birth, address, and Social Security Number (US users) collected through our verification partner.
• Pool participation data: pool names, contribution amounts, member relationships you create.
• Communications you send us (e.g., support emails to hello@sosave.ai).

Information collected automatically

• Usage data: pages visited, actions taken in the app, device type, browser, IP address.
• Cookies and similar technologies for authentication, preferences, and analytics.

Information from third parties

• Bank account information from Plaid when you link an account (institution, account type, masked account number, transactions you authorize us to read).
• Identity verification results from Stripe Identity.
• Payment and transfer status from Stripe Treasury when contributions and payouts move.

3. How We Use Your Information

• Provide, maintain, and improve the service.
• Verify your identity and prevent fraud (KYC / AML obligations).
• Move money on your behalf: collect contributions, hold funds in custody, distribute payouts.
• Communicate with you: confirmations, reminders, account notifications, support responses.
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

4. SMS Communications and Mobile Numbers

When you provide a mobile phone number to SoSave, either at sign-up or when a pool operator invites you to join a savings pool, we may send you SMS, iMessage, and similar text messages related to the operation of the service.

Types of messages we send

• Pool invitations: a message from a pool operator inviting you to join their savings pool.
• Pool reminders: a 24-hour reminder before an unaccepted invitation expires.
• Pool activity notifications: cycle openings, contribution receipts, and payout confirmations (subject to your notification preferences).
• Account security notifications: verification codes and security alerts when applicable.
• SoSave Updates (marketing, separate opt-in): recurring marketing texts, launch updates and product news, for people who check the optional box at sosave.ai. Up to 4 msgs/month. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help. Consented separately from the service messages above; never required to create an account or use the service.

We send SMS only to people who have opted in or joined a pool that uses SMS notifications. We do not send SMS on behalf of third parties.

Frequency

SoSave Updates: Up to 4 msgs/month. For pool messaging, frequency varies: you may receive approximately 1 to 10 SMS messages per month per active pool, depending on your participation level and notification settings. Typical pool members receive 3 to 5 messages per month per pool.

How phone numbers and SMS data are used

• Phone numbers and SMS-related data (opt-in timestamp, message content, delivery status) are used solely to deliver the messages described above and for account security.
• Phone numbers and SMS data are shared only with our messaging delivery providers (Sent.dm and Twilio) under data processing agreements that restrict their use to delivering our messages.
• We do not sell phone numbers, and we do not share them with third parties for marketing purposes.
• Mobile opt-in data and SMS consent are not shared with any third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
• No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All categories of data sharing exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

Opt-out and help

• Reply STOP to any SoSave SMS to opt out of future SMS communications. You can also disable SMS notifications in your account preferences.
• Reply HELP to any SoSave SMS to receive contact information.
• Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier.
• SMS service is supported on all major US mobile carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and most regional carriers).

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We share information with the following providers strictly as necessary to deliver the service:

• Clerk: authentication and user accounts (privacy policy).
• Plaid: bank account linking and transaction data (privacy policy).
• Stripe: identity verification, payment processing, custodial accounts (privacy policy).
• Resend: transactional email delivery (privacy policy).
• Sent.dm: SMS, iMessage, and WhatsApp message dispatch (privacy policy).
• Twilio: SMS fallback delivery (privacy policy).
• Railway / AWS: server and database hosting.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share mobile phone numbers or SMS opt-in data with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active and as required to comply with legal, accounting, audit, and tax obligations. Financial transaction records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years per US federal record-keeping requirements. You may request deletion of non-required data by contacting us.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Request deletion of information not subject to legal retention requirements.
• Object to or restrict certain processing activities.
• Receive a portable copy of your data.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@sosave.ai.

8. Security

We use industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit (TLS), encryption of sensitive fields at rest, access controls, and routine security review. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

9. Children's Privacy

SoSave is intended for users aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly.

10. International Users

SoSave is operated from the United States. If you access the service from outside the US, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Effective date" above reflects the latest revision. Material changes will be communicated via email or in-app notice.

12. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or about how we handle your information: hello@sosave.ai.