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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7 April 2026

1. Who we are

Clean Connections is a dating platform for people in recovery and sober living, operated from the United Kingdom. For data protection queries, contact us at privacy@cleanconnections.co.uk.

2. What data we collect

  • Account information: email address, name, date of birth, gender
  • Profile data: photos, bio, location, interests
  • Sobriety data: sober-since date, recovery path, partner sobriety preferences, sobriety statement
  • Usage data: messages, matches, likes, reports
  • Technical data: IP address, device type, session cookies, crash reports (iOS app)
  • Sign-in data: if you use Google Sign-In or Sign in with Apple, we receive your name and email address from that provider. We do not receive your Apple ID password or Google password.
  • Payment data: if you subscribe to Premium via the iOS app, payments are processed by Apple and governed by Apple's privacy policy. We receive confirmation of your subscription status but not your payment card details. Web subscriptions are processed by Stripe.

3. Legal basis for processing

  • Consent (GDPR Article 6(1)(a)): for profile data, sobriety data, and photo processing
  • Legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f)): for security, fraud prevention, and platform safety
  • Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): for record-keeping as required by law

4. Special category data

Your sobriety and recovery information constitutes health-related data, which is “special category” personal data under GDPR Article 9. We process this data only with your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)). You can withdraw consent and remove this data at any time from your profile settings. This data is only shared with other users as part of your visible profile.

5. Who we share data with

We do not sell your data. We share data only with:

  • Other users: your public profile information (name, age, photos, bio, sobriety info)
  • Infrastructure providers: our hosting provider for server operation
  • Email service (SendGrid): for transactional notifications such as matches and messages
  • Apple: if you use Sign in with Apple or purchase a Premium subscription via the iOS App Store. Apple's privacy policy applies to data they collect.
  • Google: if you use Google Sign-In. Google's privacy policy applies to data they collect.
  • Stripe: for web subscription payment processing. Stripe's privacy policy applies to payment data they collect.
  • Sentry: anonymised crash reports and error logs from the iOS app and website, used to identify and fix bugs. No personal profile data or message content is included.
  • Yoti Ltd: for age verification. When you complete age verification, a selfie image is transmitted directly to Yoti for facial age estimation. Yoti processes the image solely to estimate age and deletes it immediately after. We receive only a pass/fail result and the timestamp — we do not receive or store your facial image. Yoti's privacy policy governs how they handle this data: yoti.com/legal/privacy.

5a. Age verification and biometric data

Age verification uses Yoti's facial age estimation service. The selfie you submit during verification constitutes biometric data, which is special category personal data under GDPR Article 9.

  • Legal basis: explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)) — you must actively agree before the camera is opened
  • Your facial image is sent directly to Yoti and is never stored by Clean Connections
  • Yoti deletes the image immediately after processing; we store only the boolean result (verified: yes/no) and the verification timestamp
  • You may contact privacy@cleanconnections.co.uk to request deletion of your age verification record

6. Data retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, all personal data is permanently erased within 30 days, including messages, matches, photos, and sobriety data. We may retain anonymised data for aggregate statistics.

7. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access your personal data (use “Download my data” in Settings)
  • Rectify inaccurate data (edit your profile)
  • Erase your data (delete your account in Settings)
  • Data portability (export your data in JSON format)
  • Object to processing based on legitimate interest
  • Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk

8. Cookies

We use essential cookies only to maintain your login session (JSESSIONID and remember-me cookies). We do not use analytics cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party tracking. These essential cookies are exempt from consent requirements under UK PECR regulations.

9. Data location

Your data is stored on servers located in the United Kingdom. Data does not leave the UK.

10. Changes to this policy

We will notify you of significant changes to this policy via email or an in-app notice. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance.