Privacy Policy

1.Information we collect

1.1 Information you provide when you create an account

• Account identifier: email address or phone number (used to sign in and to send you a one-time verification code)
• Password: only if password-based sign-in is enabled (stored hashed)
• Display name
• Date of birth: used to calculate your age and enforce our 18+ age gate. Fixed after sign-up
• Gender
• Sexual preference
• Location: captured via your device or self-declared
• Height
• Profile photo(s): at least one is required
• About and hobbies: optional free-text and selections shown on your profile

1.2 Content you create

• Messages you send to matched members (stored encrypted)
• Waves you send and matches you form
• Reports and support requests you submit

1.3 Identity-verification information (optional)

If you choose the optional Verification flow, you submit identity material to our identity-verification provider or internal review team. This is sensitive personal information and is handled under strict controls.

1.4 Location information

• Approximate (city-level) location is shown publicly to plot your avatar on the map and to power distance filters
• Precise coordinates (if you grant device-location permission) are used only on our servers to compute distance and are never returned to any other member or shown on any public surface
• You can decline location permission; the map and distance filter degrade gracefully and you may self-declare a city-level location

1.5 Information collected automatically

• Device and technical data: device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, mobile network information, and push-notification tokens (APNs/FCM)
• Usage and diagnostic data: features used, screens viewed, crash logs, and performance data

1.6 Purchase information

In-app purchases (the $2 Word Top-up and $5 Premium subscription) are processed by Apple and Google through their in-app billing systems. We receive transaction confirmations and receipts but do not receive or store your full payment-card details.

2.How we use your information

We use personal information to:

• Create and secure your account, and verify your identifier via one-time passcodes (OTP) sent by email or SMS
• Operate core features — map and search discovery, the wave/match mechanic, and messaging
• Calculate distance between members (using precise location server-side only)
• Meter your messaging word balance and process purchases and subscriptions
• Operate the optional identity-verification flow and display a verified badge on approval
• Keep the community safe (block, report, moderation, age-gating, fraud and abuse prevention)
• Send you service notifications (waves, matches, messages, verification outcomes, billing)
• Provide support and respond to your requests
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Use

3.Sensitive personal information

Some data we process is sensitive personal information, namely:

• Your sexual preference / orientation
• Your precise location (used server-side only)
• Your identity-verification material
• The content of your messages

We process this data to provide the features you request. Where the law requires it, we rely on your consent (and, for EEA/UK users, your explicit consent for special-category data under the GDPR), which you give by providing the information and using the relevant feature. You may withdraw consent by editing your profile, contacting us, or deleting your account (some features will then stop working). Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended), you may have the right to limit the use of certain sensitive personal information.

4.SMS and one-time passcodes (Twilio)

We send one-time verification codes and account-security/recovery codes by SMS to members who register or sign in with a phone number. These messages are delivered through our messaging provider, Twilio.

Message type

Transactional messages tied to your account security — not marketing

Consent

By entering your phone number and requesting a code, you consent to receive these SMS messages at that number

Frequency

Depends on your sign-in and verification activity

Rates

Message and data rates may apply

Opt-out / help

Reply STOP to stop, or HELP for help. Opting out of security SMS may prevent phone-based verification and recovery; you can use email-based codes instead

5.How we share information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share it only as follows:

Service providers (processors) acting on our instructions

Twilio (SMS/OTP), our cloud hosting and storage provider, our mapping/geolocation provider (e.g., Google Maps or Mapbox), our identity-verification provider, analytics providers, and Apple/Google for in-app billing.

Other members

Your public profile (display name, photo, approximate/city-level location, height, about, hobbies, gender, and verified badge if applicable) is visible to other members through discovery. Your precise location, date of birth, email, phone number, and message content are not made public.

Legal and safety

Where required by law, or to investigate abuse, protect members, or enforce our Terms.

Business transfers

In a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to this Policy.

6.Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes above, or as required by law. When you delete your account, we remove your personal data within 30 days, subject to limited exceptions (billing/tax records, fraud-and-safety records, audit logs retained for at least 12 months, and legal holds). Identity-verification material is deleted after its defined retention window.

7.International data transfers

We are based in the United States, and your information is processed and stored on servers in the United States and other regions used by our providers. If you access the App from outside the United States — including from the EEA, the UK, or an African country — you understand that your information is transferred to the United States. Where we transfer personal data of individuals in the EEA/UK, we use appropriate safeguards such as the Standard Contractual Clauses.

8.Security

We use technical and organizational measures designed to protect your data, and we maintain a written information security program consistent with applicable law (including Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00). Measures include:

• Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and encryption at rest
• KMS-managed encryption for sensitive personal information (sexual preference, precise location, message content, verification material)
• Passwords, where used, hashed with bcrypt or an equivalent modern algorithm — never stored in plaintext
• Authenticated API access with no public endpoints exposing member data
• An immutable audit log of security-sensitive and admin actions

No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. We will notify affected individuals and regulators of a data breach where required by applicable law.

9.Your privacy rights

We honor valid requests within the timeframes required by law (generally within 30–45 days). To exercise any right, contact privacy@sopdating.com or use the in-app deletion tools. We may need to verify your identity first, and you may use an authorized agent where the law allows.

9.1 All users

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, and you may withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

9.2 United States — California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents may request to know, access, correct, and delete personal information, may opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (we do not sell or share as defined by law), and may limit the use of sensitive personal information. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights. Residents of certain other US states (e.g., Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and others as laws take effect) may have similar rights; contact us to exercise them.

9.3 EEA / UK (GDPR)

You have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection, the right to withdraw consent, and the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Our legal bases include consent, performance of a contract, legitimate interests, and legal obligations.

9.4 Other jurisdictions

If you are located in a country with its own data-protection law (for example, Nigeria's Data Protection Act), you may have additional rights under that law; contact us and we will handle your request in accordance with applicable law.

10.Children

SOP Dating is for adults 18 years of age or older. We enforce an age gate at sign-up and do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. Consistent with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If we learn that an under-18 person has registered, we will delete the account and associated data.

11.Third-party services and links

The App relies on and may link to third-party services (mapping, messaging, verification, billing, analytics). Their handling of your data is governed by their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

12.Changes to this policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified in the App and reflected in the "Last updated" date. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.