Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and where this applies

theBlock is a neighborhood platform operated by Better Village Technologies, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company located in Atlanta, Georgia. In this Policy, “theBlock,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Better Village Technologies, LLC.

This Policy applies to theBlock mobile application, theblockcommunity.com, and related features, support, and communications. A feature may include an additional notice that supplements this Policy.

2. Information we collect

Information from others

We may receive information from payment processors, app stores, mapping providers, email and notification providers, business owners, event organizers, users who submit reports, and service providers that help us operate and protect the service.

Information collected automatically

When you use theBlock, our systems may record log and usage data such as pages or screens viewed, searches, service or restaurant listing interactions, event ticket link clicks, dates and times, referring pages, crash data, and actions taken in the service. Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for essential functions, preferences, security, and analytics.

3. How we use information

We use information to:

• create and manage accounts and authenticate users;
• show neighborhood feeds, groups, messages, local recommendations, restaurants, services, businesses, and events;
• personalize results based on market, neighborhood, interests, and activity;
• support RSVPs, ticket link interactions, business tools, subscriptions, and related records;
• send service, security, message, event, group, and other notifications based on your settings;
• provide customer support and respond to privacy requests;
• detect spam, fraud, harassment, hate speech, threats, misinformation, and other policy violations;
• review reports, enforce our Terms, handle appeals, and protect users and the public;
• measure feature performance, troubleshoot problems, understand usage, and improve the service;
• process subscriptions and maintain transaction and consent records;
• comply with law, resolve disputes, and establish or defend legal claims.

Where applicable law requires a legal basis, we rely on performance of our contract with you, our legitimate interests in operating and protecting the service, your consent, and compliance with legal obligations.

4. How we disclose information

We may disclose information in the following circumstances:

• Other users and the public. Information you choose to post or list may be visible to other users or the public, depending on the feature and settings.
• Service providers. We use vendors for hosting, storage, email, push notifications, maps, analytics, security, customer support, subscriptions, and payment processing. They may process information only to provide services to us or as otherwise permitted by law.
• Businesses, organizers, and external services. When you choose to interact with a business, restaurant, provider, event organizer, ticketing site, or external link, information you provide directly to that party is governed by its privacy practices.
• Legal and safety reasons. We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law, legal process, or government requests, or to protect rights, safety, property, users, or the public.
• Business transactions. Information may be transferred in connection with financing, a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or part of our business, subject to applicable law.
• With your direction. We may disclose information when you ask us to or give consent.

5. Public and social features

Your profile, display name, profile image, posts, comments, group activity, reviews, business listings, restaurant listings, service offerings, and event listings may be visible to other users. Some listings or shared links may also be publicly accessible.

Messages are intended for conversation participants. A participant may still copy, save, or share a message. We may access or preserve messages when reported, when needed for support or safety, or when required by law. Do not share information you do not want others to receive.

6. Location and address information

theBlock uses location to identify your market, show nearby community content, calculate distance, and help you discover businesses, restaurants, services, and events. Depending on the feature, you may provide an address manually or allow your device to share latitude and longitude.

Business owners may choose not to display a street address publicly. We may still retain the submitted address and coordinates to determine market coverage, support search and distance features, prevent misuse, and operate the listing.

You can change location permissions in your device settings. Some nearby features may be limited if location access is disabled, and a manual location option may be available.

7. Your choices and controls

• Profile and content. You can update certain account information and delete eligible content through available app controls.
• Location. You can control device location access through iOS settings.
• Notifications. You can adjust in-app notification preferences, email preferences, and device push notification settings.
• Cookies. You can use browser controls and any consent tool shown on our website to manage cookies.
• Data export. You may request a copy of eligible account information through available account tools or our Contact page.
• Account deletion. You may request deletion in the app or through our Contact page. Deleting the app from your device does not delete your account or cancel an external subscription.

8. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live and subject to legal exceptions, you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information; obtain a portable copy; limit or object to certain processing; withdraw consent; opt out of sale, sharing, or targeted advertising; and appeal a denied request. You will not be discriminated against for exercising a privacy right.

We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. An authorized agent may submit a request when permitted by law, but we may require proof of authority and identity verification. We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

California residents may have rights to know, access, correct, delete, opt out of sale or sharing, limit certain uses of sensitive personal information, and receive equal service. Because we do not currently sell personal information or knowingly share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, there is no sale or sharing to opt out of based on our current practices.

9. Data retention and deletion

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Retention depends on the type of information, account status, safety needs, contractual requirements, dispute resolution, and legal obligations.

When you delete your account, we delete or anonymize eligible account information within a reasonable period. We may retain limited information when necessary to prevent fraud or repeat abuse, enforce bans, complete transactions, maintain tax and accounting records, respond to legal claims, protect safety, comply with law, or preserve secure backups until they are overwritten through ordinary cycles. Aggregated or deidentified information may be retained where it cannot reasonably identify you.

10. Security and international processing

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including access controls, encrypted transmission where appropriate, monitoring, and account security measures. No online service can guarantee absolute security.

Information may be processed in the United States and other places where our service providers operate. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

11. Children’s privacy

theBlock is intended for people age 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that a child under 13 has provided personal information, we will take reasonable steps to delete it. A parent or guardian who believes a child has provided information may contact us.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy as our practices, services, or legal obligations change. We will post the revised version and update the date at the top. We will provide additional notice when required by law or when a change is material.

13. Contact us