Privacy Policy

Defne Studio Ltd ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and protect your personal data when you use our website and mobile applications (the "Service"). Defne Studio Ltd is the data controller for your personal data.

If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Registration Data: When you create an account we collect your username, email address, password, date of birth and gender.
• Profile Information: Information you choose to share, such as photos, a bio, physical attributes, nationality, languages spoken, relationship preferences, the city and country you live in, and your travel plans.
• Identity Verification: If you choose to verify your profile, we collect copies of your government-issued ID and a selfie. ID document images (front and back) are permanently deleted from our servers after approval. Only your selfie is kept, as the verified photo visible to premium members. If your verification is rejected, all photos including the ID are deleted immediately.
• Phone Verification: If you choose to verify your phone, your phone number is passed to our SMS verification provider in order to send you the code.
• Communications: Messages you send through the Service, meeting and travel requests, gift messages, reviews and other communications.
• Payment Information: Payments are processed by Apple App Store, Google Play or, on the website, our card payment provider Stripe or our cryptocurrency payment provider NOWPayments, depending on where and how you pay. We never see or store your card number, and with a cryptocurrency payment we receive no card or bank details at all; we are only told the outcome of the transaction, the amount and the product purchased.
• Support Requests: Information you share when you contact our support team.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages viewed, features used, search and filter choices, likes, profiles viewed and time spent on the Service.
• Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type, app version and the device notification identifier used to send you notifications.
• IP Address and Approximate Location: Your IP address, the approximate location derived from it (country, city) and whether a VPN is in use are recorded for security, fraud prevention and to detect suspicious sign-ins.
• Device Location: Collected only if you have granted location permission on your device. See Section 2.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: As described in our Cookie Policy.

1.3 Information We Receive From Other Sources

• Sign in with Google or Apple: If you sign in this way, the provider sends us your name, email address and account identifier. If you choose to hide your email with Apple, we only receive the relay address Apple provides.

2. Location Data and Radar

We process your location in two separate ways:

• The city and country on your profile: The city and country you enter on your profile (or that are filled in with your approval) are shown on your profile and used in member searches.
• Your device location: Read only if you have granted the app location permission on your device, and only while the app is open. We do not collect your location while the app is closed or in the background.

How Radar Works

• What is sent: If you have granted location permission and your "Show me on Radar" setting is on, your location is sent to our server roughly every 20 minutes while the app is open.
• Your exact location is not stored: Before it is saved, your position is blurred by shifting it 50–150 metres. Your exact point is not kept anywhere.
• It is held temporarily: The blurred position is held in temporary memory only, is not written to our permanent database, and is removed automatically no later than one hour after the last update. We keep no location history.
• What other members see: Members who can use Radar see you only as an approximate distance band (for example "within 500 m", "within 5 km") and a direction. Your exact location, address or exact distance is never shown to any member.
• Radar alerts: If you wish, you can be notified when a member comes near you. You choose the alert distance and who you want alerts for in Settings.
• You are in control: You can turn off "Show me on Radar" at any time under Settings → Radar; once it is off your location is not sent. The location of members who hide their profile is never recorded. You can also withdraw location permission entirely in your device settings.
• Sharing: We do not use your Radar location for advertising, sell it, or share it with third parties.

Safe Meeting and Safe Trip

If you turn on these optional safety features, your location is processed solely to make them work. They do not use your location unless you turn them on.

3. How We Use Your Information and Our Legal Bases

• To provide the Service (performance of a contract): Creating and securing your account, showing your profile to other members according to your privacy settings, suggesting members based on your preferences and location, enabling messaging and meeting and travel requests, and processing your purchases.
• Your explicit consent: Your device location, notifications, optional identity and phone verification, and sensitive information you choose to share on your profile such as relationship preferences. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
• Our legitimate interests: Detecting and preventing fraud, spam, fake accounts and harassment; keeping the Service safe; and improving the Service using usage statistics.
• Legal obligation: Keeping tax and accounting records and responding to lawful requests from competent authorities.

4. Automated Review and Artificial Intelligence

• Message safety: To protect our members from scams, messages sent on the Service may be reviewed automatically for signs of fraud and abuse. An artificial intelligence service provider is used for this review. As a result, a safety notice may be shown to the recipient of a message, and the account may be reviewed by our moderation team. The same provider may also translate a message into the recipient’s language, so that members who speak different languages can understand each other.
• Photo and profile checks: Uploaded photos and profile content may be reviewed for compliance with our rules by automated tools and by our moderation team.
• AI-assisted sample profiles: Some profiles on the Service are AI-assisted sample profiles. Messages you send to these profiles are processed by our artificial intelligence service provider so that a reply can be generated. These profiles are not real people and say so honestly when asked.
• What the provider receives: Only the text to be reviewed is sent to the artificial intelligence service provider. Your username, email address, member number, photos and IP address are not sent; the provider does not know whose text it is.

5. Sharing of Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share your data only in the following cases:

• Other Members: Your public profile information is visible to other members according to your privacy settings.
• Payment Providers: Apple, Google, Stripe and, for cryptocurrency payments, NOWPayments, solely so that your purchase can be completed.
• Service Providers: Providers that help us operate the Service on our behalf: server hosting, email delivery, notification delivery (Apple and Google), SMS verification, usage statistics (Google Analytics), artificial intelligence services, approximate location lookup from IP address, and map / place search. These providers process your data only on our instructions.
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, a court order or a lawful request from a competent authority.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets.

6. Data Retention

We keep your personal data for as long as your account is open. When you delete your account, your profile, photos, messages and the other personal data linked to your account are deleted immediately.

The only exception is purchase records. If you have made a purchase, we are legally required to keep the payment and tax records for that transaction: for 6 years under United Kingdom law, and for 10 years for sales to consumers in the EU. These records are kept solely to meet our legal obligation, are not used for any other purpose, and are deleted when the period ends.

Radar location is removed within one hour at most, as described in Section 2.

7. Data Security

• Your data is encrypted in transit using TLS/SSL.
• Passwords are stored using one-way hashing (bcrypt); we cannot see your password either.
• Payments are handled by PCI DSS compliant providers.
• Access to personal data is limited to authorised persons.

8. Your Rights

• Access and Portability: You can download a copy of your data under Settings → Data Export.
• Rectification: You can update your profile information at any time.
• Erasure: You can delete your account from your settings. See the Account & Data Deletion page for details.
• Objection and Restriction: You can object to processing based on our legitimate interests and ask us to restrict the processing of your data.
• Withdrawing Consent: You can turn off location, notifications and similar permissions in settings at any time.
• Email Preferences: You can turn off notification emails one by one in Settings.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is strictly for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18; if we become aware of such an account we close it and delete the data.

10. International Data Transfers

We are a company established in the United Kingdom and some of our service providers are located in other countries. Your data may therefore be processed in countries outside your country of residence. For these transfers we apply the safeguards required by applicable data protection law.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will announce significant changes by posting a notice on the Service.

12. Privacy Contact and Your Right to Complain

For any privacy question or request, you can reach us through our Contact page or at support@defnestudio.com. We respond to requests within 30 days at the latest.

Defne Studio Ltd is registered as a data controller with the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). ICO registration reference: ZC234927

If you are unhappy with how your data is handled, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the United Kingdom's data protection authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO, ico.org.uk), or with the data protection authority of the country where you live.

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Operating Company

This service is operated by Defne Studio Ltd, a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 17176367.

Registered Address:
Suite 10772, 5 Brayford Square
London, United Kingdom, E1 0SG