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At Melo, your privacy is our priority. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our dating platform.
1. Information We Collect
Information You Provide
When you create a Melo account, we collect:
- Profile Information: Name, birthdate, gender, sexual orientation, photos, bio, and interests
- School Information: University name, graduation year, major, and activities
- Personality Test Results: Responses to our personality assessment questions
- Get-to-Know Questions: Your answers to profile questions
- Communication Data: Messages you send through our platform
- Date Information: Date ideas you send and receive, date plans, and location sharing for dates
Information We Collect Automatically
- Location Data: Your approximate location to show you nearby matches (required for core functionality)
- Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type, and mobile network information
- Usage Data: How you interact with our app, including features used, time spent, and preferences
- Log Data: IP address, access times, and app performance data
- Advertising Data: Information about ads you view or click on, and your interactions with advertised content
Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We and our advertising partners use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about your usage patterns and deliver personalized advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Provide Matching Services: Connect you with compatible matches based on personality, interests, location, and preferences
- Suggest Date Ideas: Recommend personalized date activities and locations
- Facilitate Communication: Enable messaging between matches
- Safety & Security: Verify student status, prevent fraud, and ensure user safety
- Improve Our Service: Analyze usage patterns to enhance features and user experience
- Send Notifications: Alert you about matches, messages, and date reminders
- Customer Support: Respond to your questions and resolve issues
- Advertising: Display relevant advertisements and measure ad performance
- Personalization: Customize your experience based on your preferences and behavior
3. How We Share Your Information
With Other Users
Your profile information, photos, bio, interests, and personality-based compatibility information are visible to other Melo users as part of the matching experience. Your exact location is never shared—only approximate distance.
With Your Friends (Optional)
If you choose to share date details with friends, we'll share your location and date information only with the contacts you select.
With Service Providers
We work with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate Melo, including:
- Cloud hosting and data storage providers
- Analytics and performance monitoring services
- Payment processors (for premium subscriptions)
- Email and notification services
- Customer support and communication platforms
- Marketing and advertising partners
These third-party vendors may have access to your personal information only to perform services on our behalf and are obligated to protect your information.
With Advertising Partners
We display advertisements on Melo and work with third-party advertising partners to serve relevant ads. These partners may collect and use information about your activity on Melo and other websites/apps to provide targeted advertising. We may share:
- General demographic information (age range, gender, school type)
- Interests and preferences (in aggregate or anonymized form)
- Device identifiers and advertising IDs
- Usage patterns and ad interaction data
We do not share your messages, specific match information, or other sensitive personal data with advertisers. You can opt out of personalized advertising through your device settings or by contacting us.
With Our Parent Company
We may share your information with our parent company and affiliated entities for business operations, analytics, and service improvement purposes. All entities are bound by the same privacy protections outlined in this policy.
For Legal Reasons
We may disclose your information if required by law, to protect our rights, or to protect the safety of our users.
We Don't Sell Your Sensitive Data
While we display advertisements on our platform and may share certain information with advertising partners as described above, we do not sell your messages, match history, date plans, or other sensitive personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
4. Your Privacy Rights
You have the right to:
- Access Your Data: Request a copy of the personal information we have about you
- Update Your Profile: Edit your profile information at any time in the app
- Delete Your Account: Permanently delete your account and associated data
- Control Visibility: Adjust who can see your profile and what information is shared
- Opt-Out of Communications: Manage notification preferences in your settings
- Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
- Opt-Out of Personalized Ads: Disable personalized advertising through your device settings (iOS: Limit Ad Tracking, Android: Opt out of Ads Personalization) or contact us directly
5. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:
- End-to-end encryption for messages
- Secure data storage with encryption at rest
- Regular security audits and testing
- Verification of .edu email addresses for student authentication
- Password protection for shared date details with friends
6. Student Privacy (FERPA Compliance)
Melo is committed to protecting student privacy. We only verify your university affiliation through your .edu email address. We do not access, collect, or share your educational records.
7. Data Retention
We retain your information as long as your account is active. When you delete your account:
- Your profile and photos are immediately removed from view
- Personal data is deleted within 30 days
- Some data may be retained for legal compliance or security purposes
- Messages sent to other users will be deleted from your account but may remain visible to recipients
8. Children's Privacy
Melo is only available to users 18 years and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we discover that we have collected information from someone under 18, we will delete it immediately.
9. International Users
Melo is currently available only to students at U.S. universities. Your data is stored on servers located in the United States and is subject to U.S. privacy laws.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll notify you of significant changes via email or in-app notification. Your continued use of Melo after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:
- Email: privacy@melo.dating
- Contact Form: melo.dating/contact