Privacy Policy – WorldlyChat

1. Who We Are

WorldlyChat is an independent, hobby-stage project. For the purposes of data protection law, WorldlyChat acts as the data controller of the personal data processed through the App.

Contact for privacy matters: support@worldlychat.com

2. What Data We Collect

Account & Profile Information

Full name, username, email address, password (encrypted), date of birth, gender, relationship status, native and spoken languages, country and city, bio, interests, profile photos, and matchmaking preferences.

Travel & Activity Data

Trips and journeys you log, posts, comments, and likes, friendship connections and requests.

Communications

Private messages you send to other users (text, photos, voice messages). Messages are stored encrypted at rest to allow for content moderation and safety review in case of abuse reports.

Safety & Moderation Data

Reports you submit about other users, and reports submitted about you (visible only to WorldlyChat for moderation).

Technical Data

We do not knowingly collect payment information, government ID numbers, or precise real-time GPS location.

3. Why We Process Your Data

We process your data to create and manage your account, enable matchmaking and chat features, verify age eligibility, prevent abuse, respond to support requests, and improve the App — on the legal bases of contract performance and legitimate interest under the GDPR.

4. Where Your Data Is Stored

Your data is stored using Supabase (database, authentication, backend) hosted in Frankfurt, Germany (EU), and Cloudinary (photo and video storage). Because our infrastructure is within the EU, no additional cross-border transfer safeguards are required for EU/EEA users.

5. How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we permanently delete your profile, photos, messages, posts, and associated records, except where legally required to retain certain information.

6. Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with other WorldlyChat users (as necessary for the App to function), our service providers (Supabase, Cloudinary), and legal authorities if required by law.

7. Your Rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or object to processing of your data, request data portability, withdraw consent, and lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Contact support@worldlychat.com to exercise these rights.

8. Account Deletion

You can permanently delete your account and all associated data at any time from the Settings section of the App. This action is irreversible.

9. Minimum Age

WorldlyChat is intended for users who are at least 16 years old. We do not knowingly collect data from individuals under this age.

10. Data Security

We use encrypted storage for passwords and private messages, and Row Level Security policies restricting data access to authorized users only. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through the App.

12. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at support@worldlychat.com