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PhotoBomb Privacy Policy

Last Updated: April 18, 2026

PhotoBomb.com respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect and how it is used. PhotoBomb is intended for users aged 13 and older.

Information We Collect

PhotoBomb collects the following information:

  • Mobile phone number (for authentication and message delivery)
  • Display name, username (@handle), and avatar emoji (for your profile)
  • User-generated content (photos sent through the app)
  • Apple Push Notification service (APNs) device token, used to deliver notifications directly to your device
  • Basic usage data and device metadata necessary to operate the service
  • Lists of users you have blocked, and reports you have submitted about other users' content

We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. Mobile numbers and SMS consent are not shared or sold to third parties.

Biometric Authentication

If you enable Face ID or Touch ID for unlocking the app, biometric data is processed entirely by your device's operating system (iOS). PhotoBomb never sees, stores, or transmits your biometric data — we only receive a yes/no result from iOS indicating whether unlock succeeded.

Contacts

If you choose to grant contacts access, PhotoBomb requests only phone numbers and contact names from your device's address book. We use phone numbers solely to match existing PhotoBomb users and to allow you to send Drops to your contacts. We do not access, collect, store, or transmit emails, photos, physical addresses, birthdays, or any other contact information beyond phone numbers and names.

Contact data is processed locally on your device for display purposes. Only the phone numbers you explicitly select are sent to our server for recipient matching. Your full contact list is never uploaded or stored on our servers.

SMS Communications

By entering your mobile phone number, checking the consent checkbox, and tapping “Continue” in the PhotoBomb app, you explicitly agree to receive automated SMS messages from PhotoBomb related to:

  • One-time verification codes for account login or authentication
  • Notifications when another user sends you a photo
  • Secure links to view temporary photo content

All SMS messages are transactional and user-initiated. PhotoBomb does not send marketing or promotional text messages.

Message frequency varies based on user activity. Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier plan.

Users may reply STOP at any time to opt out of SMS messages. Users may reply HELP for assistance.

For a full description of the opt-in process, see our SMS Consent & Opt-In page.

For support, contact support@photobomb.com.

Screenshot Detection

When you view a Drop, PhotoBomb uses your device's screen-capture detection capability to determine whether you took a screenshot during playback. If a screenshot is detected, PhotoBomb sends a notification to the sender informing them that a screenshot was taken. The screenshot itself is never accessed or transmitted by PhotoBomb — only the fact that a capture event occurred.

Surprise Drops

Senders may choose to send a Drop as a Surprise (formerly Anonymous). While a Surprise Drop is active, the recipient cannot see the sender's identity. After the Drop self-destructs, the sender's identity is revealed to the recipient. Sender identity is always retained on our servers for safety, moderation, and abuse-reporting purposes.

How Your Media Is Stored and Deleted

Photos you send are stored encrypted-at-rest in our hosted media storage (Supabase Storage) only as long as needed for delivery:

  • After all recipients view a Drop: the media file is permanently deleted from storage immediately, and the database reference is nulled out.
  • Unviewed Drops: a daily automated job deletes any Drop older than 30 days that was never viewed, removing both the media file and the associated database records.
  • Web viewer links sent by SMS expire 2 hours after the Drop is created.

Third-Party Service Providers

PhotoBomb relies on the following processors to operate the service. These providers process data only as needed to perform their specific function and are bound by their own privacy policies:

  • Twilio — sends SMS verification codes and notification messages on our behalf.
  • Supabase — hosts encrypted media files (photos) until they are deleted per the schedule above.
  • Apple Push Notification service (APNs) — delivers push notifications to your iOS device.
  • Replit — hosts the PhotoBomb application servers and PostgreSQL database.

Moderation & Reports

Users may block other users or report content from inside the app. Reports include the reporting user, the reported user or content, and the reason. We retain reports to investigate abuse, enforce our Terms of Service, and remove objectionable content within 24 hours where appropriate. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate our Terms.

Data Use

We use collected information solely to:

  • Operate, secure, and improve the PhotoBomb service
  • Deliver authentication codes and notifications
  • Route Drops to the correct recipients
  • Investigate abuse and enforce our Terms

Data Retention

We retain data only as long as necessary to operate the service:

  • Profile data (phone, name, username, avatar) is retained for the life of your account.
  • Sent and received Drop records are retained for up to 30 days.
  • Media files are deleted as described in “How Your Media Is Stored and Deleted.”
  • Reports and moderation records may be retained longer for safety purposes.

Account Deletion

You may permanently delete your account at any time from inside the app: Profile → Account → Delete Account. Deletion removes your profile, sent and received Drops, contacts, circles, blocks, and reports. You may also email support@photobomb.com to request deletion.

Children's Privacy

PhotoBomb is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent changes. Continued use of PhotoBomb after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact:

support@photobomb.com

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