Deeply ("Deeply," "we," "us," or "our") is operated by Skootlink (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2026/386113/07), a company registered in South Africa. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through the Deeply app and website, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have.
By creating an account or otherwise using Deeply, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, please don't use Deeply.
Deeply is intended for people 18 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 — see Children's Privacy below.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information you give us directly
- Account information: email address and password (or authentication credentials if you sign in another way), and your phone number if you verify it or use certain features.
- Profile information: name, date of birth, gender, the gender(s) you're interested in, bio, photos, and optional audio prompts.
- Dating preferences: relationship type, dating intentions, personality tags, dealbreakers, and the partner preferences you set (e.g. preferred age range, distance).
- Lifestyle information: information you choose to share such as smoking, drinking, vaping, tattoos, pets, activity level, nightlife habits, and height.
- Verification information: if you choose to verify your identity or photos, we collect a government-issued ID image and/or a live selfie for comparison. This is processed to confirm you match your profile photos and are old enough to use Deeply, and is handled with additional safeguards described in Section 6.
- Contacts (if you use contact blocking): if you choose to block people you know from seeing your profile, we ask you to provide your phone number and grant access to your device's contact list. We use this to identify which of your contacts are also on Deeply so we can hide your profile from them, and to hide their profile from you. We do not use your contacts for any other purpose, and you can revoke this permission through your device settings at any time.
- Communications: messages you send to other users, and any correspondence you have with our support team.
- Payment information: when you purchase Sparks or other paid features, payment is processed by our payment providers (Google Play Billing and/or PayFast). Deeply does not directly receive or store your full card number.
1.2 Information we collect automatically
- Location: with your permission, we collect your device's precise location to show you people nearby, calculate distance, and support location-based safety features. You can control this through your device settings; some features won't work properly without it.
- Usage information: how you interact with Deeply — pages viewed, features used, swipes, matches, time spent in the app.
- Device and network information: device type, operating system, app version, device identifiers, and your IP address. We use this to operate the app and push notifications, and to detect and prevent fraud and abuse — for example, identifying when the same device or network is being used to create multiple accounts.
- Log and diagnostic information: crash reports, error logs, and similar technical data that help us keep Deeply working.
1.3 Information from others
- If someone reports you, blocks you, or messages you, we receive the content of that interaction.
- We may receive information from our service providers (for example, confirmation of a completed payment from Google Play or PayFast, without receiving your full payment card details).
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information above to:
- Create and maintain your account, and show your profile to other users consistent with your settings.
- Operate Deeply's core matching features — Discover, Search, Invites, and Matches — including computing compatibility and distance.
- Process payments and manage your Sparks balance.
- Verify your identity or photos, and detect fake, underage, or duplicate accounts.
- Send you notifications about matches, messages, and account activity (you can adjust most of these in Settings).
- Investigate and act on reports of abuse, harassment, or violations of our Terms of Service.
- Maintain the security and integrity of Deeply, including detecting fraud and preventing abuse.
- Comply with legal obligations, and respond to lawful requests from courts, regulators, and law enforcement.
- Improve Deeply — understanding usage patterns, fixing bugs, and developing new features.
We do not use your dating preferences, verification documents, or precise location for advertising targeting, and we do not sell your personal information to third parties.
3. How We Share Your Information
3.1 With other users
Your profile — name, age, photos, bio, and the profile details you've chosen to include — is visible to other Deeply users consistent with your discovery and privacy settings. Your exact location is never shared; only an approximate distance (e.g. "5 km away") is shown.
3.2 With service providers
We share information with companies that help us operate Deeply, under contractual obligations to protect it and use it only for the purposes we specify:
- Supabase — our database, authentication, and file storage provider.
- Google Play Billing / PayFast — payment processing for Sparks purchases.
- Brevo — transactional email delivery (e.g. verification codes, password resets).
- Google Cloud Vision (or equivalent) — automated content moderation of uploaded photos, and to confirm a photo contains a human face before it can be set as your main profile photo.
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers necessary to run the app and website.
3.3 For legal and safety reasons
We may disclose information if we believe in good faith it's necessary to: comply with a legal obligation or valid legal process; protect the safety of any person; investigate fraud or security issues; or enforce our Terms of Service.
3.4 Business transfers
If Skootlink (Pty) Ltd is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We'll notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
3.5 What we don't do
We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your verification documents, precise location, or private messages with other users or advertisers.
4. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate information (or update it yourself in your profile settings).
- Deletion — ask us to delete your account and associated personal information, subject to limited legal retention requirements (see Section 5).
- Objection / restriction — object to certain processing, or ask us to restrict it, in some circumstances.
- Portability — request your information in a portable format, where applicable.
- Withdraw consent — where we rely on your consent (e.g. location or contacts access), withdraw it at any time through your device or app settings.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@deeplydating.co.za. We'll respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. You can delete your account directly from Settings at any time; most associated data is deleted immediately, with limited exceptions described below.
Region-specific rights are detailed further in Section 12.
5. Data Retention
We keep personal information for as long as your account is active, and for a limited period afterward where we have a legitimate reason to — for example:
- Records needed to investigate a report of abuse, or to enforce a ban, are retained even after account deletion, so a banned user can't simply create a new account to evade enforcement.
- Transaction records are retained as required by tax and accounting law.
- Backups may retain deleted data for a limited period before being purged in the normal course of our backup cycle.
Outside of these limited cases, when you delete your account, we delete your profile, photos, messages, and other personal information within a reasonable period.
6. Verification Information
If you choose to verify your identity or photos, we collect a copy of a government-issued ID and/or a live selfie. This is used solely to confirm your photos match you and that you meet our minimum age requirement. We do not use verification images for any other purpose, and we retain them only as long as necessary to complete verification and resolve any related disputes, after which they are deleted.
7. Data Security
We use technical and organizational measures — including encryption in transit, access controls, and secure infrastructure — to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security incident affecting your personal information, we'll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.
8. Children's Privacy
Deeply is not intended for anyone under 18. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we've collected information from someone under 18, we'll delete it and terminate the associated account. If you believe a minor is using Deeply, please contact us at privacy@deeplydating.co.za.
9. International Data Transfers
Deeply is operated from South Africa, and your information may be processed on servers located in South Africa or other countries where our service providers operate. Where we transfer personal information across borders, we take steps to ensure it remains protected consistent with this Privacy Policy and applicable law, including POPIA's cross-border transfer requirements and, where relevant, GDPR's transfer mechanisms (such as standard contractual clauses).
10. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies (such as local storage) to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and understand how our website is used. Our mobile app uses local device storage for the same purposes rather than browser cookies. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling them may affect some website functionality.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll notify you — through the app, by email, or by posting a notice — before the changes take effect. Your continued use of Deeply after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.
12. Additional Disclosures by Region
12.1 South Africa (POPIA)
Skootlink (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2026/386113/07) is the "responsible party" for your personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Our Information Officer is:
Kanelo George Thelejane Skootlink (Pty) Ltd 24 Strauss Street, Wilgeheuvel, Roodepoort, 1724, South Africa privacy@deeplydating.co.za
You have the right to lodge a complaint with South Africa's Information Regulator if you believe we've processed your personal information unlawfully:
Information Regulator (South Africa) JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 enquiries@inforegulator.org.za | www.inforegulator.org.za
12.2 European Economic Area and United Kingdom (GDPR)
If you're located in the EEA or UK, our legal bases for processing your personal information are: performance of our contract with you (providing the Deeply service), your consent (e.g. location access, marketing communications), our legitimate interests (e.g. safety, fraud prevention, improving Deeply), and compliance with legal obligations. In addition to the rights listed in Section 4, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
12.3 California (CCPA/CPRA)
If you're a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we've collected about you, request its deletion, correct inaccurate information, and opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (Deeply does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA/CPRA) and non-discrimination for exercising these rights. To exercise these rights, contact privacy@deeplydating.co.za.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information:
Email: privacy@deeplydating.co.za Post: Skootlink (Pty) Ltd, 24 Strauss Street, Wilgeheuvel, Roodepoort, 1724, South Africa