1. Information We Collect
We collect information necessary to connect you with community members, verify identity authenticity, and maintain platform security.
A. Information You Provide Directly
- Profile Credentials: Name, username, date of birth / age, gender, relationship intent class, bio descriptors, languages, and profile photos.
- Private Identity Attributes (Physically Isolated PII): Your verified phone number, verified email address, and account credentials.
- Facial Verification Biometric Data (Selfie): When requesting a Verified Badge, you submit a live facial selfie. This selfie is used strictly to authenticate that your live face matches your primary profile photos.
- Communications & User Content: Chat messages, audio voice notes sent in chats or Buna tables, responses to daily Question Tags, and answers submitted in mini-games.
B. Information Collected Automatically
- Geolocation Data (Neighborhood-Level): With your permission, we collect device GPS coordinates. We never display your exact coordinates or precise real-time pin to other members. Geolocation is transformed into broad neighborhood zones (e.g., Bole, Kazanchis, Piassa) or regional diaspora distance bands.
- Device & Technical Telemetry: Device hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, IP addresses, app crashes, and security integrity tokens (Firebase App Check).
- Usage & Interaction Logs: Swipes, matches, table visits, blocks, reports submitted, intent changes, and game activity.
2. How We Use Information
We process your data strictly to deliver a secure, localized social experience:
- Matchmaking & Discovery: Computing mutual interest, intent compatibility, and presenting nearby profiles based on neighborhood proximity.
- Intent Quarantine & Photo Re-Reviews: Gating discovery matching based on declared intent classes (Romantic vs Platonic) and running facial detection and safety audits on profile photos when a user switches from Platonic to Romantic intent.
- Communal Gathering: Populating virtual Buna coffee tables within relevant geographical or cultural interest groups.
- Automated Safety Screening: Running automated in-memory inspection of opening direct messages to detect and block phone numbers, external URLs, off-platform social handles, and explicit keywords.
- Identity Verification: Authenticating that account holders are genuine individuals matching their profile photos.
- Judicial Enforcement & Platform Security: Investigating abuse reports, calculating strike ladder progressions, enforcing block cooldowns, and mitigating automated bot attacks.
- Subscription & Payment Processing: Managing freemium tier quotas (active chat slots, daily likes), consumable inventories (boosts, rewinds), and processing Ethiopian Birr (ETB) transactions via Chapa.
3. Data Architecture: Physical Segregation of Sensitive PII
To protect members against accidental data leaks and client reverse-engineering, Qallak enforces physical subcollection isolation:
- Public Profile Layer (
users/{uid}): Holds only public-facing presentation data (display name, public photos, bio text, badges, and broad neighborhood names). - Isolated Private Layer (
users/{uid}/private/data): Sensitive personal identifiers—including your phone number, verified email, KYC verification selfie URLs, and raw GPS coordinates—are stored in an isolated database subcollection inaccessible to other users. - Owner-Only Moderation Layer (
userModeration/{uid}): Disciplinary strike histories, active suspension timers, and moderation notes are strictly quarantined and inaccessible to regular profile queries.
5. Data Retention & Ban Evasion Prevention
We keep your personal information only as long as your account remains active.
Account Deletion: If you delete your account, your profile metadata, discovery cards, and matches are removed immediately. Backup logs, encrypted verification records, and chat logs are scrubbed from active production within 30 days, except where retention is legally required to resolve ongoing disputes or platform abuse.
Ban Evidence Retention (bannedIdentities): In cases where an account is terminated for Critical (S3) violations—such as child endangerment, sexual exploitation, credible violence threats, financial scams, or severe impersonation—we retain biometric selfie references, device hardware IDs, phone numbers, and display names in an isolated, locked bannedIdentities archive. This data is preserved indefinitely for the sole purpose of preventing banned bad actors from re-registering and evading enforcement.
6. Your Rights & Privacy Controls
You have full control over your personal information under data privacy laws and in-app tools:
- Granular Privacy Controls: Toggle your neighborhood or school/workplace visibility on or off at any time.
- Incognito Mode ("Like First"): Browse in complete privacy where your profile card is invisible in discovery except to people you explicitly like.
- Access and Export: Request a copy of the profile data and conversation metadata associated with your account.
- Blocking & Unmatching: Instantly sever connection with any member and hide all profile visibility.
- Delete: Delete your account at any time via Settings > Delete Account, which immediately scrubs your profile from public view.
For any privacy-related requests or questions, reach out to our team at support@qallak.com.