Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information Sober AF Dating ("Sober AF", "we", "us") collects when you use our mobile app and related services (the "Service"), how we use and share it, and the choices you have. It should be read together with our Terms of Service.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Account details — phone number, email address, or your Google / Apple sign-in identifier; your chosen role (member or supporter).
• Profile information — name, date of birth, gender, who you are interested in, photos, bio, prompts and answers, interests, sobriety-related details you choose to share, and dating preferences such as age range and distance.
• Content — messages, voice notes, photos, GIFs, reels, stories, reactions and endorsements you send or post.
• Verification data — when you complete age or identity verification, our partner Yoti processes a selfie and/or identity document and returns the result (for example, "over 18") to us.
• Payments & donations — subscription status and purchase receipts from Apple or Google, and donation records from Stripe. We do not receive or store your full card number.
• Reports & support — reports you make about other members, blocks, and anything you send when you contact us.

Information collected automatically

• Location — with your permission, your device's location while you use the app, to show you nearby members and distances. You can turn this off in your device settings, but Discover may not work properly without it.
• Usage information — how you use the Service: swipes, likes, matches, profile views, features used and screens visited.
• Device information — device model, operating system, app version, language, IP address, and push-notification tokens.
• Diagnostics — crash reports and error logs, which help us fix bugs.

Permissions we may request

Camera and microphone (photos, reels, voice notes and verification), photo library (uploading images and videos), location (Discover), and notifications (matches and messages). Each is optional and can be changed in your device settings.

2. Sensitive information

Because Sober AF is a dating community for people living alcohol- and substance-free, simply having an account with us may reveal information about your health, namely your sobriety or recovery. Who you are interested in may also reveal your sexual orientation. Under UK data protection law this is "special category" data, and we treat it with extra care.

Our legal basis for processing special category data is your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a) UK GDPR), which we ask for when you sign up. You can withdraw that consent at any time by deleting your account from Settings. You can edit or remove optional details, such as your sobriety journey, from your profile whenever you like. We never use this information for advertising and never sell it.

Biometric data used during Yoti verification is processed by Yoti for verification only; we do not keep facial templates.

3. How we use your information

• To create and manage your account and provide the Service, including Discover, matching, chat, reels, stories, Double Date and endorsements.
• To recommend profiles and show distance based on your preferences and location.
• To keep the community safe: verify age, detect fake accounts, spam and fraud, review reports, and enforce our Terms.
• To process subscriptions and donations.
• To send you notifications about matches, messages and account activity.
• To understand how the Service is used and to fix, improve and develop it.
• To communicate with you, including responding to support requests.
• To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

4. Legal bases (EEA, UK and similar regions)

• Contract — to provide the Service you signed up for.
• Consent — for location and push notifications, and explicit consent for special category data such as your sobriety and sexual orientation (Article 9(2)(a) UK GDPR). You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests — to keep members safe, prevent fraud and improve the Service.
• Legal obligation — where the law requires us to process or keep information.

5. What other members see

Your profile — photos, first name, age, bio, prompts, interests, reels, stories and approved endorsements — is visible to other members. Other members see your approximate distance, not your exact location. Messages are visible to the people in that chat; in a Double Date room, all four participants see the messages posted there. Supporter profiles are not shown in dating Discover.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising. We share it only with:

• Service providers who process it on our behalf: Google Firebase / Google Cloud (hosting, database, storage, authentication, push notifications, analytics and crash reporting), Yoti (age verification), Stripe (donations), Apple and Google (sign-in and in-app purchases), and GIPHY (GIF search — your search terms are sent to GIPHY).
• Other members, as described above.
• Legal and safety — law enforcement or authorities when required by law, or when we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect someone's safety, investigate fraud, or enforce our Terms.
• Business transfers — if we are involved in a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, your information may transfer as part of that transaction, subject to this Policy.

7. Retention & deletion

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. You can delete your account from Settings → Delete account in the app. When you do, we delete your profile, photos, videos, reels, stories, matches, likes and associated data from our systems. Some information is kept for longer, as follows:

• messages you have already sent may remain visible to the recipients;
• residual copies in backups are overwritten within 30 days;
• records of bans and safety reports are kept for 2 years after an account is closed, to stop banned members rejoining and to protect other members;
• records of transactions and donations are kept for 6 years, to meet UK tax and accounting law;
• if an account has not been used for 2 years, we will contact you and then close it and delete its data.

If you cannot access the app, email support@soberafdating.com from the address linked to your account to request deletion.

8. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards, including encryption in transit, access controls, and end-to-end encryption for supported chats. No system is 100% secure, so please use a strong password, keep your device secure, and tell us immediately if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

9. Your rights & choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you and receive a copy;
• correct inaccurate information (most of it you can edit directly in the app);
• delete your information;
• object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent;
• data portability; and
• complain to us, and to the Information Commissioner's Office (see Complaints).

California residents have the right to know, delete and correct personal information and to not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We do not sell or "share" personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA.

To exercise any right, email support@soberafdating.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding, and we will respond within one month. You can also control notifications, location and camera access in your device settings at any time.

10. International transfers

Our service providers store and process data in the United States and other countries. Where we transfer personal information out of the UK, we rely on UK adequacy regulations (including the UK-US Data Bridge, where the recipient is certified to it), or on the ICO's International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses. Where we transfer information out of the EEA or Switzerland, we rely on the Standard Contractual Clauses.

11. Children

The Service is strictly for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that a minor has created an account, we delete it. If you believe a minor is using the Service, please report it in the app or email us. See our Child Safety Standards.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes we will notify you in the app or by email before they take effect. The "Last updated" date above shows when it was last revised.

13. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please complain to us first by emailing support@soberafdating.com with "Data protection complaint" in the subject line. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it, and tell you the outcome without undue delay.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

14. Contact us

For privacy questions or requests, email support@soberafdating.com, or write to us at SOBER AF DATING LTD, 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ.