Privacy Policy | Idealmate

Effective date: 09/15/2026

This policy explains what personal information [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] ("Idealmate", "we", "us") collects when you use idealmates.com, why, who can see it, and the choices you have. Dating involves personal information, so we have tried to keep this plain and specific.

1. Who is responsible

[COMPANY LEGAL NAME], [POSTAL ADDRESS], is responsible for your personal information. Contact us about privacy at [PRIVACY EMAIL].

[IF YOU SERVE THE EU/UK: name your EU and/or UK representative here.]

2. What we collect

Information you give us

Account details: email address, password (stored only in scrambled, hashed form), date of birth, and optionally your first and last name and phone number. Other members never see these.
Profile: your display name, gender, who you want to meet, what you are looking for, city, the profile details you choose to fill in, your written answers and your photos.
Optional sensitive details: some profile questions, such as religion, may reveal sensitive information. They are always optional, and you choose who can see each one (members, matches only, or only you). Who you want to meet may reveal your sexual orientation.
Messages you send to your matches.
Match preferences such as age range, distance and deal-breakers.
Reports you make about other members, and anything you send to support.

Information collected as you use Idealmate

Activity: likes, passes, matches, favourites, blocks, searches and saved searches, and when you were last active.
Device and session information: your browser type, the time you sign in, and a scrambled (hashed) form of your IP address, used to keep your account secure, show you where you are signed in, and prevent abuse.
Photos: location data (GPS) embedded in photo files is removed automatically when you upload.

Information from payment providers

When you buy a membership, your card or PayPal details go directly to Stripe or PayPal. We never see or store your full card number. We receive the card brand, last four digits and expiry date so you can recognise the card, plus the status of your payments.

3. How we use it

We use your information to:

run your account and show your profile to other members according to your settings;
suggest matches and explain why they were suggested;
deliver messages between matches;
process payments and manage your membership;
keep members safe: review photos, investigate reports, and detect scams, fake accounts and abuse;
send you service emails, such as verification codes, password resets and receipts;
comply with the law and respond to lawful requests;
understand and improve how Idealmate works, using the minimum information needed.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or use it for cross-site advertising.

4. Our legal reasons (for members in the EU, UK and similar regions)

Contract: to provide the service you signed up for.
Consent: for optional sensitive profile details, and anything else where we ask. You can withdraw consent at any time by removing the information.
Legitimate interests: keeping the service safe, preventing fraud, and improving it, balanced against your rights.
Legal obligation: keeping tax and payment records, and responding to lawful requests.

Because a dating service can reveal information about your sex life or sexual orientation, we process that information only with your explicit consent, given when you create your profile, and only to provide the service.

5. Who can see your information

Other members see your profile, photos (once approved) and the details you have made visible to them. Your email, phone number, full name and exact date of birth are never shown; members see your age. Your visibility setting (Visible, Hidden, Paused or Incognito) controls whether you appear to others.
Your matches see the messages you send them, and details you have marked "matches only".
Our team can access information when needed to run the service, review photos, handle reports and help you with support.
Service providers who work for us under contract and only on our instructions: hosting [HOSTING PROVIDER], email delivery [EMAIL PROVIDER], and payment processing (Stripe, PayPal).
Authorities when the law requires it, or when we believe in good faith it is needed to protect someone from serious harm, for example in cases involving threats, exploitation or minors.
A buyer if Idealmate is sold or merged, in which case this policy continues to protect your information.

When you block someone, they can no longer see your profile or contact you, and they are not told. When you report someone, they are not told who reported them.

6. How long we keep it

While your account is open, we keep your information so the service works.
When you delete your account, your profile disappears immediately. After [30] days we erase your personal information: your email, name, phone number, password, photos, profile details, answers, preferences, saved searches and sessions.
What we keep after that: a minimal record that the account existed, safety reports and case records (so that someone removed for harming others cannot simply return, and so we can respond to legal requests), and payment and tax records for as long as the law requires, typically [7] years.
Messages you sent remain visible in your former matches' conversation history as "Deleted member" [CONFIRM THIS MATCHES HOW YOUR CHAT HANDLES DELETED ACCOUNTS].

7. Your rights

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

access the personal information we hold about you and receive a copy;
correct it;
delete it (you can delete your account yourself under My Account → Delete account);
restrict or object to certain uses;
withdraw consent for optional information by removing it from your profile;
port your information to another service;
not be discriminated against for using these rights.

Most of your information can be viewed and changed directly in your profile, Settings and My Account. For anything else, email [PRIVACY EMAIL]. We will verify your identity before acting and respond within the time the law requires. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act, and we use sensitive personal information only to provide the service, so the right to limit its use applies automatically.

8. Security

We protect your information with measures including encrypted connections, hashed passwords and IP addresses, restricted staff access, and review of suspicious activity. You can see and sign out of your signed-in devices under My Account → Security. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.

9. Cookies and similar technology

We use a small number of cookies and browser storage that are needed for the service to work: a session cookie that keeps you signed in, a security token that protects your forms, and a setting that remembers your chosen colours. [IF YOU ADD ANALYTICS OR ANY THIRD-PARTY SCRIPTS, LIST THEM HERE AND ADD A CONSENT BANNER WHERE REQUIRED.] We do not use advertising cookies.

10. International transfers

Idealmate is operated from the United States. If you use it from elsewhere, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States. Where the law requires, we use safeguards such as standard contractual clauses for these transfers.

11. Children

Idealmate is only for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If we learn that a member is under 18, we close the account. If you believe a minor is using Idealmate, report the profile or email [SUPPORT EMAIL].

12. Changes to this policy

If we make significant changes, we will tell you in advance by email or in the service. Each version is dated, and earlier versions remain available.

13. Contact

IdealMates