Privacy Policy

Last updated August 2, 2026

Tender Machine is where you train your taste, a little every day. This explains what we collect, why, and the control you have over it.

Tender Machine (“we,” “us”) is operated by Kora Labs Group LLC, a company formed in the State of Delaware, United States. This policy covers our website and apps (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to it.

Information we collect

Information you give us

Account: your email address and a password (a one-time emailed code confirms your email at sign-up and resets a forgotten password), plus any display name or avatar you add.
Content you create: the photos you capture and your written posts, plus the saves and discussion on them. You choose, per post, whether it stays a private draft or is shared to that day’s crowd - always under a handle you choose, never your real name.
About you: when you join we ask five questions before your account is made - the city and country you live in, the city and country you grew up in, your date of birth, your self-identifying gender, and your field of work (you can name several). We ask so we can see who Tender Machine is reaching and build for the people actually here, rather than for a guess. Until your account exists the answers are held only on your device, and an under-13 date of birth means no answers are kept and no account is created. The place, gender and field questions all accept “Prefer not to say” as an answer; the date of birth is required (see Children below). These answers are never shown on your posts and never shown to other users. You can change them in Settings at any time, and deleting your account deletes them with it.

Information we collect automatically

Usage - the private log: we keep a detailed private log of how you use Tender Machine - which posts appear on your screen and for how long, what you open, save, organize, edit or delete, your drafts and their history, and how you move through the Series. When you delete a post, draft or comment it disappears from the app immediately and permanently for everyone - and a private copy remains in this log. The log exists to keep your own record honest and to improve Tender Machine. It is never shown to other users, never sold, never shared with anyone, and all of it is erased when you delete your account.
Device & technical: basic data such as browser or app type, and a secure session cookie to keep you signed in.

How we use your information

To run the Service - sign-in, saving your work, the feed, your profile.
To send essential messages (your email-confirmation and password-reset codes, account and security notices).
To send news and updates by email - only if you chose “Allow email communication” when creating your account. You can stop these anytime by emailing support@tender-machine.com.
To understand and improve how Tender Machine works, and keep the crowd safe.
To understand who Tender Machine reaches, using the answers above in aggregate - counts and proportions across everyone, not profiles of individuals. We do not use them to target you, to decide what you are shown, or to price anything differently.
To meet legal obligations and enforce our Terms.

How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:

Service providers who run the Service for us - hosting and database, file storage, authentication, email delivery, and (when we add paid plans) payment processing. They may use it only to provide their service to us.
Other users - but only the content you choose to make public (your shared posts, comments, public profile).
Legal & safety - when required by law, or to protect rights, safety, and the integrity of the Service.
Business transfers - if the Service is part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with notice to you.

Your choices and rights

Access & deletion: edit your profile and content in the app, and delete your account from within the app at any time - which removes your account and associated personal data, subject to limited legal retention.
Depending on where you live (e.g. the EEA/UK under GDPR, or California under the CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights to access, correct, export, delete, or restrict use of your data, and to object. We honor these where we reasonably can, regardless of location.
To make a request, email support@tender-machine.com.

Data retention

We keep your information while your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, then delete or anonymize it within a reasonable period - except where we must keep it for legal, security, or fraud-prevention reasons.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security.

International transfers

We operate from the United States and use providers that may process data in other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for those transfers.

Children

The Service isn’t directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

Changes

We may update this policy. We’ll change the “last updated” date above and, for material changes, give clearer notice.

Contact

Questions or requests: support@tender-machine.com, or see our contact page.