privacy policy

last updated: july 12, 2026

This policy explains what Aroha ("we", "us") collects, why, and the choices you have. It applies to the Aroha mobile app and arohadating.net.

1. what we collect

• Account — phone number and/or email address, used to sign you in (managed by our authentication provider, Clerk).
• Profile — the things you add: name, date of birth, photos, gender, orientation, bio, interests, lifestyle answers, and similar fields. Your profile is shown to other members as part of how a dating app works.
• Location — a coordinate captured when you set up your profile (and when you refresh it), used to show nearby people and plans. Date plans you post without picking a venue are published at a deliberately coarsened, city-level location — never your exact position.
• Messages & activity — chats, likes, passes, reports, blocks, and date plans, used to run those features.
• Verification selfie — if you verify your profile, your selfie is compared to your profile photo by an automated service (AWS Rekognition) and then deleted; only the pass/fail result and a timestamp are kept.
• Safety circle — if you add trusted contacts, we store the name and phone number you enter so we can text them your safety alerts. Adding someone's number is your responsibility; alerts include an opt-out.
• Purchases — subscription status comes from the app stores via RevenueCat. We never see or store your card details.
• Device & push — a push notification token (Firebase Cloud Messaging) so we can deliver notifications you've enabled.

2. what we don't do

• We don't sell your personal data.
• We don't show your exact location to anyone.
• We don't run ads or share your data with ad networks.
• Your safety contacts never see your matches or chats — they only receive the SMS alerts you configure.

3. service providers

We use a small set of processors to run Aroha, each receiving only what their job needs:

• Convex — application database & backend hosting.
• Clerk — sign-in and account security.
• Amazon Web Services (Rekognition) — one-time, automated selfie-to-photo comparison for verification.
• Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging, Google Play) — push notifications and billing.
• RevenueCat — subscription state management.
• Foursquare — venue search when you attach a place to a date plan.
• Tenor / Giphy — GIF search in chat.
• SMS delivery provider — sending safety-circle text messages to the numbers you add.

4. how long we keep things

Your data is kept while your account is active. Deleting your account (Settings → delete account) removes your profile, photos, chats and messages, date plans, likes, reports, blocks, filters, and account record from the live database. Residual copies in encrypted backups age out on the backup provider's schedule. Some records may be retained where the law requires it.

5. your choices & rights

• Edit or remove profile fields and photos anytime in the app.
• Turn pushes (new likes, new messages) and read receipts on or off in Settings.
• Remove safety contacts anytime; we send them one final text so they know alerts have stopped.
• Pause your account (hidden from discovery) or delete it entirely, in Settings.
• Depending on where you live (e.g. GDPR, CCPA), you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete your data, and to complain to a supervisory authority. Email us and we'll help: support@arohadating.net.

6. age

Aroha is for adults. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18; accounts found to belong to minors are deleted.

7. security

Data is encrypted in transit, access is limited, and payment details never touch our systems. No service can promise perfect security — if we learn of a breach affecting your data, we'll notify you as required by law.

8. changes

We'll post updates here and flag material changes in the app. The "last updated" date above always reflects the current version.

9. contact

Privacy questions or requests: support@arohadating.net