Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Darling ("Darling", "we", "us") is a dating app for adults, available on Android and iOS, with this website at https://iamdarlingdates.jkbytes.org. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. We process personal data in line with the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019 and, where it applies, the EU/UK GDPR.

2. What we collect

Information you give us

• Account details: your email address and password (stored only as a secure hash), or the account identifier and email Google or Apple share with us when you choose "Continue with Google" or "Continue with Apple".
• Profile: display name, date of birth, gender, who you're interested in, photos, videos, bio, prompts, interests, lifestyle answers and what you're looking for.
• Content and messages: chat messages, likes and notes, comments, reactions, group posts, events you create, photos and videos you share, and live streams you host.
• Payments: when you upgrade, the M-Pesa phone number you pay with, the plan, amount and the M-Pesa receipt. We never see your M-Pesa PIN.
• Support and reports: anything you send us through this website or the app, including safety reports.

Information collected automatically

• Approximate location: if you allow it, your device location rounded to about 100 metres, used to show distance. Your exact location is never shown to anyone.
• Activity: who you like, pass on, match and chat with, and how you use features, so we can run the service and enforce plan limits.
• Device and technical data: push notification token, app version, device type, IP address and server logs.

We don't use advertising trackers and we don't sell your data.

3. How we use it, and why we're allowed to

Your profile includes details such as gender and who you're interested in, which may reveal information about your sex life or sexual orientation. You choose to share these to use a dating service, and we use them only to run Darling.

4. AI and automated checks

• Matchmaking: we turn the text of your profile (bio, prompts, interests, lifestyle answers) into a numerical "embedding" that captures personality and values, and compare it with other members'. Your name, age, gender and location are not part of that text; they are used only as filters. We use OpenAI's API to create embeddings and to write the short "why you two" explanations and icebreakers. We send OpenAI profile text only, never your photos, contact details or payment data. Under OpenAI's API terms, this data is not used to train their models.
• Face check: when you add a profile photo, our servers automatically check that it shows a real human face. This is detection only: we don't create facial recognition templates or identify who is in the photo.
• Contact guard: messages are automatically scanned for phone numbers, emails and social handles, which are blocked until you've chatted for 14 days. No person reads your messages for this.

None of these automated steps produce decisions with legal effects about you. If you think one got something wrong (for example a photo was rejected), contact us and a person will review it.

5. Who can see what

• Other members can see your public profile: display name, age, photos, videos, bio, prompts, interests and approximate distance. They never see your email, date of birth, exact location or payment details.
• Matches see the messages you send them. Group members see what you post in the group, your RSVPs and reactions.
• Lives and Explore videos are visible to members who can watch them.

6. Who we share data with

We share data only with service providers who help us run Darling, under contracts that require them to protect it:

We may also share data if the law requires it, to protect someone's safety (including reporting child sexual abuse material to the authorities), or as part of a merger or sale of Darling, in which case this policy continues to apply. Some providers process data outside Kenya; where they do, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

7. How long we keep it

• Your data is kept while your account is open.
• When you delete your account, your profile disappears from Darling immediately, your matches are closed and you can't be found. We keep the data for 90 days (so we can handle safety reports and fraud), then permanently erase it.
• Payment records are kept for as long as tax and accounting laws require (usually up to 7 years).
• If an account is banned for serious safety reasons, we may keep the minimum information needed to stop the person rejoining.

8. Your rights and choices

You have the right to access, correct, download, delete, or object to the processing of your personal data, and to withdraw consent at any time. You can:

• Edit your profile any time in the app, or pause it to hide from Discover.
• Turn off location or notifications in your phone's settings.
• Delete your account in the app (Profile → Delete account) or on our account deletion page.
• Ask for a copy of your data or anything else through our support page. We reply within 30 days.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner of Kenya (odpc.go.ke) or your local data protection authority.

9. Security

All traffic is encrypted with TLS. Passwords are hashed, access to production systems is restricted, and payment PINs never touch our systems. No system is perfectly secure, so if we learn of a breach that affects you we'll tell you and the regulator as the law requires.

10. Children

Darling is only for people aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone younger, and we remove accounts we believe belong to minors. See our child safety standards.

11. Changes to this policy

If we make important changes we'll tell you in the app before they take effect. The date at the top shows when this policy was last updated.

12. Contact us

For anything about privacy, use our support page.