Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 14, 2026

Buko ("we," "our," or "us") is a mobile application that helps parents find local services, connect with other parents, and get AI-powered parenting guidance. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

Signing in with Google or Apple

If you choose to sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, profile picture, and Google account ID from your Google Account. If you sign in with Apple, we receive your name and email address — or Apple's private relay address, if you choose to hide your email.

This information is used only to create and authenticate your Buko account. It is never sold, is not used for advertising, and is not shared with anyone other than Supabase, our authentication provider, which stores it on our behalf.

Buko requests only the minimum Google scopes needed to sign you in: your email address and basic profile. We do not request or access your Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Contacts, or any other Google service data.

Sign-in information is retained for as long as your account is active and is deleted within 30 days of an account deletion request, along with the rest of your account data (see Data Retention and Deletion). You can revoke Buko's access to your Google Account at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

Children's Information

To personalize service recommendations and connect you with relevant parents, we collect information about your children:

Journal, Mood Check-ins, and Journal Photos

Buko includes a private parenting journal and a daily mood check-in. What you write there is yours: journal entries, the moods you log, and the follow-up you choose are stored against your account and are never shown to other parents, never posted publicly, and never used for advertising.

If you have Buko Pro, you can attach photos to a journal entry. Those photos are stored in a private storage area that only your account can read; there is no public link to them, and other users cannot access them.

Photos are not sent to our AI unless you turn that on. The setting is called “Use my photos for insights” (Journal › privacy) and it is off by default. While it is off, your photos are only ever stored — never analyzed. If you turn it on, attached photos are sent to Anthropic along with your entries so your daily insight can take them into account. Buko is instructed never to describe your photos back to you. Turning the setting off stops this immediately; your photos remain stored either way.

Deleting a journal entry deletes its photos from storage. Deleting your account deletes all of them (see Data Retention and Deletion).

Usage Data

Location Data

We request your approximate location (city-level) to find nearby services. We do not track your precise GPS location continuously.

2. How We Use Your Information

PurposeData Used
Personalize AI parenting guidanceChildren's info, parenting style, chat history
Find nearby servicesLocation (city/ZIP), children's ages
Connect with other parentsLocation, children's ages, interests, lifestages
Business recommendations and reviewsName, review text, optional rating
Send messages to businesses on your behalfName, message content (your email/phone is never shared with the business)
Improve the appUsage data, feedback ratings

3. Third-Party Services

We share data with the following third-party services, only as necessary to provide app functionality:

ServicePurposeData Shared
SupabaseDatabase, authentication, file storageAll account and usage data (encrypted at rest and in transit)
Anthropic (Claude)AI-powered parenting guidance and journal insightsChat messages, children's context (anonymized), journal entries and mood check-ins, and — only if you enable “Use my photos for insights” — photos you attached to journal entries
Google Places APILocal business searchSearch queries, approximate location
ResendTransactional emails to businessesBusiness email, your name and message
Apple (MapKit)Map directionsBusiness coordinates

We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

4. Children's Privacy (COPPA)

Buko is designed for parents, not children. We do not knowingly collect information directly from children under 13. The children's information we collect is provided by parents and is used solely to personalize the parent's experience.

Sensitive information about children (special needs, allergies) is:

5. Data Security

We use industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

6. Data Retention and Deletion

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. You can request deletion of your account and all associated data by contacting us at privacy@hellobuko.com. Upon request, we will delete your data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

7. Your Rights

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

To exercise any of these rights, contact privacy@hellobuko.com.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes through the app or by email. Continued use of Buko after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at:

Buko
Email: privacy@hellobuko.com