Privacy Policy

1. About this policy

This Privacy Policy for Pasquale Somma (doing business as Blingl) (“we”, “us”, or “our”) explains how we collect, use, store, and share your personal information when you use our services (“Services”), including when you:

• Visit our website at www.blingl.com or any website of ours that links to this Privacy Policy.
• Download and use our mobile application Blingl.
• Create an account or use Blingl’s dating, profile, nearby, and chat features.
• Contact us, join our waitlist, or engage with us in other related ways.

Blingl is a dating app for gay men, available on iOS.

Reading this Privacy Policy will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Services. If you have questions, contact us at hello@blingl.com.

2. What information do we collect?

We collect personal information that you provide to us, information generated when you use the Services, and some information collected automatically from your device.

Information you provide to us. We may collect:

• Account information — email address, user ID, authentication details, and login/session information.
• Profile information — first name or display name, date of birth, age, profile photo, bio, interests, preferences, and other information you choose to add to your profile.
• Location information — if you give permission, so we can show nearby profiles and approximate distance.
• Messages and conversations — message content, sender and recipient information, timestamps, conversation status, and read/unread information.
• Support and report information — messages you send to us, user reports, block information, and information needed to investigate safety or support issues.
• Waitlist or marketing information — name, email address, city, and communication preferences if you sign up for early access or updates.

A note on location and distance. When Blingl shows you another user’s profile with a distance (for example, “1.2 miles away”), other users can, in principle, use that distance value — combined with their own location, or by moving around — to estimate your location more precisely than you might expect. This is a known risk on dating apps that show distance. We use techniques to limit this risk, such as rounding distances and never sharing your exact coordinates with other users, but no system is perfect. You can disable location sharing at any time in your iOS device settings, with the trade-off that location-based features like Nearby will stop working.

Sensitive information. Because Blingl is a dating app for gay men, some information you provide or generate through the Services may reveal sensitive information, such as your sexual orientation, dating preferences, profile content, messages, or location.

We process this information only where necessary to provide the Services, with your consent where required, to keep the app safe, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

We do not currently collect biometric data, government ID documents, religious beliefs, political opinions, race or ethnic origin information, or financial information unless you voluntarily include such information in your profile, messages, or communications with us.

Payment information. If Blingl offers paid features or subscriptions through the iOS app, payments are processed by Apple. We do not receive or store your full debit or credit card number. We may receive limited purchase or transaction information from Apple, such as the product purchased, subscription status, transaction identifiers, and purchase date, where needed to provide paid features and manage your account. Apple’s privacy information is available at apple.com/legal/privacy.

Sign-in information. If you sign in using Apple or Google, we may receive basic account information such as your name and email address, depending on your settings and the provider. We do not receive your Apple or Google password.

Application data and permissions. If you use our app, we may request access to:

• Location — to show nearby profiles, calculate approximate distance, and support safety and fraud-prevention features.
• Photos or camera/photo picker — if you choose to upload a profile photo.
• Push notifications — if enabled, to send account, chat, or app-related notifications. You can turn these off in your device settings.

You can change app permissions at any time in your device settings.

Information automatically collected. When you use our Services, we may automatically collect technical and usage information, including:

• IP address
• Device type, model, operating system, and app version
• Browser type and settings when using the website
• Crash logs, diagnostics, and performance data
• App activity needed to operate features
• Online status and last seen information
• Log and usage data, such as the time and date you access the Services and the features you use

This information helps us run the Services, keep them secure, fix bugs, prevent misuse, and improve the experience.

Advertising measurement information. If you give consent for marketing cookies on our website, we use the Meta Pixel and TikTok Pixel to measure which ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok bring people to Blingl. These pixels collect limited information from your browser, including pixel-specific identifiers in cookies, the page URL you visited, your IP address, browser type, and basic device information. They do not collect your name, email address, or other identifying information unless you choose to provide it (for example, by joining the waitlist) and we have separately enabled advanced matching, which we have not. No data is sent to Meta or TikTok if you reject marketing cookies.

Cookies and similar technologies. Our website may use cookies or similar technologies for basic functionality, analytics, security, performance, and (with your consent) advertising measurement. For more details, see our Cookie Policy.

Google API. If we use information received from Google APIs, our use of that information will comply with the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

3. How do we use your information?

We use your personal information to:

• Create and manage your account
• Let you log in and use the Services
• Build and display your dating profile
• Show nearby profiles and approximate distance
• Enable chats and user-to-user communication
• Upload and display profile photos
• Provide support and respond to your enquiries
• Manage reports, blocks, safety issues, and moderation
• Send important service messages, such as account, security, or policy updates
• Send marketing or launch updates where you have signed up or where permitted by law
• Process and manage paid features or subscriptions, if offered
• Prevent fraud, spam, abuse, and unauthorised use
• Debug, analyse, maintain, and improve the Services
• Measure the performance of our advertising on platforms such as Meta and TikTok, where you consent to marketing cookies
• Comply with legal obligations
• Protect the rights, safety, and security of users, us, or others

We do not use your dating profile information, messages, location, or other in-app activity for third-party targeted advertising. Our use of Meta and TikTok pixels on the website is limited to measuring which ads led people to Blingl and does not involve sharing in-app or profile information with these platforms.

4. What legal bases do we rely on?

If UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

Performance of a contract. We process information where necessary to provide the Services to you, such as creating your account, showing profiles, enabling chats, and managing app features.

Consent. We rely on your consent where required, including for location access, certain sensitive information, marketing communications, analytics cookies, advertising cookies and pixel-based measurement (Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel), and some device permissions. You can withdraw consent at any time, but some features may stop working if the information is needed to provide them.

Legitimate interests. We may process information for our legitimate interests, including to:

• Keep the Services safe and secure
• Prevent fraud, spam, abuse, and misuse
• Improve and troubleshoot the Services
• Respond to support requests
• Understand how users interact with the app
• Protect our legal rights

We only rely on legitimate interests where we believe our interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligations. We may process your information to comply with laws, regulations, legal requests, court orders, or law enforcement requests.

Vital interests. We may process information where necessary to protect someone’s life, safety, or vital interests.

5. When and with whom do we share your information?

We may share your information in the following situations.

Other users. Other users may see information you choose to include on your profile, such as your display name, age, photos, bio, interests, preferences, approximate distance, and other profile details.

If you chat with another user, that user can see the messages you send.

Users may also see certain app-related information, such as whether you are online or recently active, if those features are enabled.

Service providers (processors). We share information with trusted service providers who process it on our behalf to help us run the Services. We currently use:

• Supabase — database, authentication, and storage hosting. Data is stored in the European Union.
• PostHog — product analytics. Hosted in the European Union (Frankfurt) at eu.i.posthog.com. We only use PostHog with your consent (or in an anonymous, cookieless mode for aggregate metrics). See PostHog’s privacy policy.
• Resend — transactional and waitlist email delivery.
• Cloudflare R2 — image and media storage. Data is stored in Western Europe (WEUR).
• Vercel — website hosting.
• Apple — payments, in-app purchases, and Sign in with Apple, if you use those features.
• Google — Sign in with Google, if you use it.
• Meta Platforms Ireland Limited — advertising measurement via Meta Pixel on our website. Used to measure which Facebook and Instagram ads bring people to Blingl. Data is processed in the EU and the US under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses. Only loads if you accept marketing cookies. See Meta’s privacy policy.
• TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited — advertising measurement via TikTok Pixel on our website. Used to measure which TikTok ads bring people to Blingl. Data is processed in Ireland, the US, and Singapore under the UK International Data Transfer Addendum and Standard Contractual Clauses. Only loads if you accept marketing cookies. See TikTok’s privacy policy.

These providers are only allowed to process your information for the services they provide to us and must protect your information under appropriate contractual safeguards.

We will update this list as our service providers change.

Legal, safety, and enforcement reasons. We may share information where necessary to:

• Comply with applicable law
• Respond to lawful requests from authorities
• Investigate fraud, abuse, safety issues, or violations of our terms
• Protect the rights, safety, and security of users, us, or others
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

Business transfers. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, sale of assets, or similar transaction, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

6. Third-party websites and services

Our Services may link to third-party websites, services, or apps that we do not control.

We are not responsible for the privacy or security practices of third parties. You should review their privacy notices before providing them with your information.

7. Cookies and tracking technologies

We may use cookies and similar technologies on our website to:

• Keep the website working
• Remember your cookie preferences
• Understand how visitors use the website, where consent is given
• Measure the performance of our advertising on Meta and TikTok, where consent is given
• Protect the website from misuse

Analytics. For product analytics on our website we use PostHog, hosted in the European Union. Analytics cookies are only set if you accept analytics in our cookie banner. If you reject analytics, PostHog runs in an anonymous, cookieless mode that records aggregate visit information that cannot reasonably identify you.

Advertising measurement. For advertising measurement we use the Meta Pixel and the TikTok Pixel. These are only loaded if you accept marketing cookies in our cookie banner. If you reject marketing cookies, neither pixel loads, no advertising cookies are set, and no data is sent to Meta or TikTok. We use these pixels only to measure which of our paid ads bring people to Blingl, not to build profiles of you on those platforms.

You can usually control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Some features may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

You can change your cookie choices at any time by clicking “Cookie preferences” in the footer of our website. For more details, including the specific cookies we use, see our Cookie Policy.

8. How do we handle Apple and Google sign-in?

If you choose to register or log in using Apple or Google, we may receive basic account information such as your name and email address, depending on your settings.

We use this information to create and manage your Blingl account, authenticate you, and provide the Services.

We do not receive your Apple or Google password.

9. Is your information transferred internationally?

We try to keep your information in the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area wherever possible. Our main service providers — Supabase, PostHog, and Cloudflare R2 — store data in the European Union.

Some providers may process limited information outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, including in the United States and Singapore. This includes:

• Resend, Vercel, Apple, and Google — for transactional email delivery, hosting, payments, and sign-in.
• Meta — for advertising measurement on our website (only with your consent to marketing cookies). Meta processes data in the EU and the US.
• TikTok — for advertising measurement on our website (only with your consent to marketing cookies). TikTok processes data in Ireland, the US, and Singapore.

Where personal information is transferred outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we take steps designed to protect it in accordance with applicable data protection law, such as relying on adequacy decisions (including the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the UK extension to it), Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, or other appropriate safeguards.

10. How long do we keep your information?

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

In general:

• Account and profile information is kept while your account is active.
• Messages and conversations are kept while needed to provide the chat service and support safety, moderation, and legal needs.
• Location information is kept for as long as needed to provide nearby features, maintain safety, prevent misuse, and improve the Services.
• Support and report information may be kept for longer where needed to investigate safety issues, enforce our terms, prevent abuse, or protect legal rights.
• Transaction information may be kept where needed for subscription management, accounting, tax, legal, or fraud-prevention purposes.
• Technical logs and security data may be kept for a limited period to protect the Services, debug issues, and prevent misuse.
• Analytics information collected via PostHog is retained according to the settings in our PostHog account.
• Advertising measurement information collected via the Meta Pixel and TikTok Pixel is retained by Meta and TikTok according to their own retention policies, typically up to 13 months from your last interaction with our ads or website.

If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal information unless we need to keep limited information for legal, safety, fraud-prevention, dispute, accounting, or legitimate business reasons.

If deletion is not immediately possible, such as where information is stored in backups, we will securely store it and limit further processing until deletion is possible.

11. How do we keep your information safe?

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect your personal information.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee that unauthorised third parties will never be able to defeat our security measures.

You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for using the Services in a safe environment.

12. Do we collect information from minors?

Blingl is only for people aged 18 or over.

We do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to create an account or use the Services. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

If we become aware that someone under 18 has created an account or provided personal information, we will take reasonable steps to deactivate the account and delete the information.

If you believe someone under 18 is using Blingl, contact us at hello@blingl.com.

13. What are your privacy rights?

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under data protection law, including the right to:

• Request access to your personal information
• Request a copy of your personal information
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion of your information
• Restrict or object to certain processing
• Request data portability
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Complain to a data protection authority

You can make a request by contacting us at hello@blingl.com or by visiting blingl.com/support.

If you are in the United Kingdom, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk. If you are in the European Economic Area, you can complain to your local supervisory authority.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

Marketing communications. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us.

Even if you opt out of marketing, we may still send service-related messages, such as account, safety, security, or policy updates.

Analytics and cookies. You can change your cookie, analytics, and advertising measurement choices at any time by clicking “Cookie preferences” in the footer of our website. See our Cookie Policy for more details.

Account information. You may be able to review or update some account information directly in the app. You can also contact us to request access, correction, deletion, or account closure.

14. Do-not-track features

Some browsers and mobile systems include a “Do Not Track” setting.

Because there is no uniform standard for recognising and responding to Do Not Track signals, we do not currently respond to them.

If a standard is adopted that we must follow, we will update this Privacy Policy.

15. Updates to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

The updated version will be shown with a new “Last updated” date. If we make material changes, we may notify you by posting a notice, sending an email, or using another appropriate method.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy regularly.

16. How can you contact us?

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

Email: hello@blingl.com
Website: blingl.com/support

17. Reviewing, updating, or deleting your data

You may have the right to request access to the personal information we collect about you, ask for details about how we process it, correct inaccuracies, delete your information, or withdraw consent.

To make a request, contact us at hello@blingl.com or visit blingl.com/support.