This Privacy Policy applies to websites, apps, events and other services we operate under the Meco (Dating) brand. Whether you're searching for your soulmate, joining us at one of our events, or using any of our other awesome services, this Policy has got you covered. For simplicity, we just refer to all of these as our “service” in this Privacy Policy.
If for some reason, one of our services requires its own separate privacy policy, then that policy will be made available to you and that policy -- not this Privacy Policy -- will apply.
It goes without saying, we can’t help you develop meaningful connections without you providing some information about yourself, like basic profile details and the types of people you’d like to meet. Using our service also generates some information, such as when you logged in and how you used the service. We may also collect data from third parties, like when you access the service through an account you have on another platform (e.g., Facebook, Google or Apple) or when you upload information from your account on another platform to complete your profile. If you're interested in all the details, be sure to check out the table below.
| Data you give us | |
| Categories | Description |
| Account Data | When you create an account, you give us basic information for your account to be set up such as your phone number, email address, and date of birth. |
| Content | When you use our service, you may post photos, videos, audio, text and other types of content, such as your chats with other members. |
| Purchase Data | When you make a purchase, we keep the details of the transaction (e.g., what you purchased, the date of the transaction, and the price). The exact data depends on the payment method you choose. When you pay directly with us (rather than through a platform such as iOS or Android), you provide your debit or credit card number or other financial info. |
| Marketing, Survey and Research Data | We sometimes run (i) surveys, focus groups, or market studies for research purposes and (ii) promotions, events or contests for marketing purposes. When you choose to participate, you give us information to process your entry and participation, as well as your responses to our questions and your feedback. |
| Third-Party Data | When you choose to share with us information about other people (for example, if you use the contact details of someone you know for a given feature or if you submit a query or report involving a member), we process this data on your behalf to complete your request. |
| Customer Support Data |
When you contact us, you provide us with information that may be necessary to help address your inquiry. Other people may also submit queries or reports involving you. Finally, our moderation tools and teams can collect additional data as part of their investigations. Further, Match Group family of businesses considers the safety and security of members a top priority. If you were banned from another Match Group service, your data may be shared with us to allow us to take necessary actions, including closing your account or preventing you from creating an account on our service. Where legally allowed, we can also receive information about suspected or convicted bad actors from third parties as part of our efforts to ensure our members’ safety and security. |
| Social Media Data | You may decide to share data with us through your accounts on other platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Apple), for instance if you decide to create and log into your account via these platforms or if you decide to upload data such as photos or playlists onto our service from these platforms. |
| Data generated or automatically collected | |
| Categories | Description |
| Usage Data | Using the service generates data about your activity, including how you use it (e.g., when you logged in, features you’ve been using, actions taken, information shown to you, referring webpages, ads you interacted with) and how you interact with others (e.g., searching, matching, communicating). We may also receive data related to interactions you had with our ads on third party’s websites or apps. |
| Technical Data | Using the service involves the collection of data from and about the device(s) you use to access our service, including hardware and software information such as IP address, device ID and type, apps settings and characteristics, app crashes, advertising IDs and identifiers associated with cookies or other technologies that may uniquely identify a device or browser. For more information about cookies, see our Cookie Policy. |
| Other data we collect with your permission/consent | |
| Categories | Description |
| Geolocation Data | If you give us permission, we can collect your geolocation (latitude and longitude) from your device. If you decline permission, features that rely on precise geolocation may not be available to you. |
| Face Geometry Data | You may choose to participate in certain of our features, like Photo Verification, or Photo and ID Verification, that involve the collection of face geometry data, which may be considered biometric data in some jurisdictions. |
| ID Data | You may provide us with a copy of your government-issued ID to help us check that you’re who you say you are. |
The main reason we process your data is to provide our service to you and improve it over time. That includes connecting you with members who might make your heart skip a beat, personalizing your experience, and just helping you make the most of our service. We also process your data to keep you and all of our members safe and secure while using our service. We take this responsibility very seriously and we’re always working to improve our systems and processes to help protect you. And yes, we process your data to show relevant ads – you can control this in your settings. Read on for a more detailed explanation.
| Purposes for processing your data | Grounds for processing your data | Categories of data processed
(Those are described in Section 3 of this Policy) |
|
enable you to use our service, including: Creating and maintaining your account and profile on our service Operating and maintaining the various features on our service Recommending other members to you and recommending you to them Organizing sweepstakes and contests Responding to your requests and questions Monitoring the well functioning of our service and troubleshooting and fixing issues as needed Processing your applications to join one of our premiere/VIP services |
Performance of our contract with you Your consent (where sensitive data or other type of data that requires consent is processed) |
Account Data Profile Data Content Purchase Data Marketing, Survey and Research Data Third Party Data Customer Support Data Social Media Data Usage Data Technical Data Geolocation Data Face Geometry Data |
|
To enable your purchases on our service, including: Processing payments Offering discounts and promotions, customizing prices |
Performance of our contract with you |
Account Data Profile Data Technical Data Purchase Data Usage Data |
|
To operate advertising and marketing campaigns, including: Performing and measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns run on our service Performing and measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns promoting our own service on third-party platforms Communicating with you about products and services we believe may interest you |
Consent (where required under applicable law) and otherwise our legitimate interest. It is in our legitimate interest to promote our service and to show ads to our members which are tailored to their interests, as a way to improve their experience and help fund the parts of our service which are free |
Account Data Profile Data Usage Data Marketing, Survey and Research Data Technical Data |
|
To improve our service and create new features and services, including: Running focus groups, market studies and surveys Analyzing how our service is used Reviewing interactions with customer care teams to improve service quality Developing and improving new features and services, including through machine learning and other technologies, and testing them out Conducting research and publishing research papers |
Performance of our contract with you Our legitimate interest: It is in our legitimate interest to improve our service over time Consent where required under applicable law (e.g., we may process data deemed sensitive or special in certain countries to help make sure that the various communities using our service are being treated fairly and equitably and that our service remains diverse and inclusive) |
Account Data Profile Data Content Purchase Data Marketing, Survey and Research Data Third Party Data Customer Support Data Social Media Data Usage Data Technical Data |
|
To keep you and other members safe on our service and across Match Group, including: Preventing, detecting and fighting against violations of our Terms fraud and other illegal or unauthorized activities Developing and improving tools to prevent, detect and fight against violations of our Terms, fraud and other illegal or unauthorized activities Preventing recurrences, notably by preventing individuals who violate our Terms from creating a new account Letting individuals who submit a report know what we’ve done about it Verifying your identity Securing payments and fighting against financial fraud For more information on safety, integrity and security generally, visit our Community Guidelines. |
Performance of our contract with you Our legitimate interest: It is in our legitimate interest and that of our members to keep them safe Protection of your vital interests and that of other members Compliance with legal obligations that apply to us such as taking down illicit content Your consent (where sensitive data or other type of data that requires consent is processed) |
Account Data Profile Data Content Purchase Data Third Party Data Customer Support Data Usage Data Technical Data Face Geometry Data ID Data |
|
To comply with applicable law, establish, exercise and defend legal claims & rights, including: Preserving data to comply – and evidence compliance – with applicable law Supporting investigations and defending potential or ongoing litigation, regulatory action or dispute Responding to lawful requests from law enforcement, courts, regulators, and other third parties Reporting illegal or infringing content to law enforcement, government or other authorities Establishing, exercising, or defending ongoing or threatened claims Sharing data with law enforcement or partners to combat abusive or illegal behavior |
Our legitimate interest: It is in our legitimate interest to comply with applicable law and protect ourselves, our members and others, including as part of investigations, legal proceedings and other disputes Protection of your vital interests and that of other members Compliance with legal obligations applying to us such as responding to law enforcement requests for information |
The categories of data shared will vary based on the specific circumstances surrounding each obligation, compelling interest or dispute |
Since our goal is to help you make meaningful connections, some of your information is of course visible to other members on the service. We also share data with service providers and partners who assist us in operating the service, with other Match Group companies for the reasons laid out below and, in some cases, for legal and related reasons. Read on for more details.
| Recipients | Reasons for sharing | Categories of Personal Data |
| Other members |
You share data with other members when you voluntarily disclose information on the service for others to see (e.g., your public profile). If someone submits a report involving you (such as a claim you violated our Terms of Use), we may let the reporter know what actions we took, if any, as a result of their report. The same applies if you submit a report involving another member. |
Profile Data Content Social Media Data Third Party Data Customer Support Data |
| Service providers/partners |
We share data with vendors and partners who help us operate, promote and improve our service. They provide us services such as data hosting and maintenance, analytics, customer care, marketing, advertising, payment processing, legal support, and security operations. |
Depending on the service provided by the vendor or partner, it may include: Account Data Profile Data Content Purchase Data Marketing, Survey and Research Data Third Party Data Customer Support Data Social Media Data Usage Data Technical Data Geolocation Data Face Geometry Data ID Data |
| Advertising Partners |
We may publish ads about third-party advertisers’ products and services on our service, and publish ads promoting our own service on third-party sites and apps. To help improve the relevance of these ads, we provide certain info about you to third parties, including advertising partners, or allow them to collect such data from our services (such as via cookies, SDKs, or similar technologies). Some of our advertising partners enable us to transform your email address, advertising identifiers or phone number into an identifier that can’t be used to identify you personally and then use that unique identifier to either exclude you from our marketing campaigns, or to target our ads at an audience that is similar to you in terms of background, interests or app usage. |
Account Data Profile Data Usage Data Technical Data |
| Affiliates |
We may share data with affiliates or receive data from them for the purposes laid out in Section 6 of this policy. |
The categories of data will vary based on the reason for sharing, but it may include: Account Data Profile Data Content Purchase Data Marketing, Survey and Research Data Third Party Data Customer Support Data Social Media Data Usage Data Technical Data Geolocation Data Face Geometry Data ID Data |
| Law enforcement authorities |
We may disclose your data to: (i) comply with a legal process, such as a court order, subpoena or search warrant, government / law enforcement investigation or other legal requirements; (ii) assist in the prevention or detection of crime; (iii) protect the safety of any person; and (iv) establish, exercise or defend legal claims. |
The categories of data shared will vary depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the request, but it often can include: Account Data Profile Data Content Purchase Data Customer Support Data Third Party Data Social Media Data Usage Data Technical Data Geolocation Data Face Geometry Data ID Data |
| In the context of merger and acquisition, with our Affiliates or new owner(s) |
We may transfer your data if we are involved, whether in whole or in part, in a merger, sale, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, bankruptcy or other change of ownership or control. |
The categories of data shared will vary based on the type of corporate transaction. It may include the entire organization data or only a specific subset such as Purchase Data. |
| When the profile sharing functionality is used |
You may choose to share other members’ profiles and they may share yours with people outside of our service, using the sharing functionality. |
Profile Data Content |
We may share data about you with our Affiliates and they may share data about you with us, for the reasons laid out below:
Because we operate a global service, the sharing of your data laid out in Section 5 involves cross-border data transfers to the United States of America and other countries that may have different laws about data processing. When we transfer personal data outside of the EEA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland or other countries whose data protection laws have been deemed adequate by the European Commission or other competent governmental bodies, we typically rely on what are called standard contract clauses. These standard contractual clauses are commitments between companies transferring personal data, binding them to protect the privacy and security of your data. Contact us for a copy.
We want you to be in control of your data, so we want to remind you of the following rights, options and tools available to you. Depending on where you live, you may not have the same rights or they may be named differently. If you have any questions about your rights and how to exercise them, please contact us.
| Your Rights | How to exercise it |
|
Access, Portability or To Know Right to be informed of the personal data we process about you and/or ask for a copy of it |
You can access and review some data directly by logging into your account. |
|
Rectification or Correction Right to amend or update your personal data where it’s inaccurate or incomplete |
You can update your data directly within the service by simply updating your profile. If you wish to rectify other data, please contact us here. |
|
Deletion or Erasure Right to delete personal data |
You can delete some of the data you provided us directly within the service. You can also close your account and we’ll delete your data as laid out in this Privacy Policy. In any event, you can always contact us. |
|
Objection (Opt-out) or Restriction Right to object to us processing personal data or to request that we temporarily or permanently stop processing personal data |
You can directly opt-out from certain of your personal data processing in your account settings. Otherwise you can contact us should you wish to object to or restrict a data processing we’ve listed throughout this Privacy Policy. |
|
Consent Withdrawal Right to withdraw a consent you’ve given us to process your personal data for a specific purpose |
You can directly withdraw consent you’ve given us either by updating your account setting or removing Device Permissions you’ve agreed to in your device settings (e.g., access to specific types of device data such as phone contacts, pictures, advertising identifiers and location services or consent to receive push notifications). When you withdraw consent, certain services may lose functionality. You can always contact us for more information. |
For your protection and the protection of all of our members, we may ask you for information to verify your identity or authority to act on behalf of a member before we can answer the above requests. We wouldn’t want someone else to get in control of your data!
Keep in mind, we may reject requests, including if we are unable to authenticate you, if the request is unlawful or invalid, or if it may infringe on trade secrets or intellectual property or the privacy or other rights of someone else. If you wish to receive information relating to another member, such as a copy of any messages you received from them, the other member will have to make a request themselves.
If you are a resident of Texas, Oregon, Montana, Virginia, Colorado, or Connecticut, USA, if we deny your privacy request, you may be able to appeal by contacting us, and explicitly referencing “Privacy Request Appeal.” If you have concerns about the result of your appeal, you may contact the attorney general for your state.
In certain countries, including in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate data protection authority if you have concerns about how we process your personal data. You can find information about your data protection regulator in the European Economic Area here, and in the United Kingdom here. The data protection authority you can lodge a complaint with may be that of your habitual residence, where you work or where an alleged infringement took place.
We want the connections you make through our service to last forever, but we keep your personal data only as long as necessary for legitimate business reasons (as laid out in Section 4) and as permitted by applicable law.
If you decide to stop using our service, you can close your account and your profile will no longer be visible to other members. Note that we will close your account automatically if you are inactive for two years.
Following account closure, we delete your data as laid out below:
Where and as legally permitted, we may maintain and use data that, by itself, cannot identify or be attributed specifically to you for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to improve our service and create new features, technologies and services and keep Match Group services safe.
Our service is restricted to individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not permit individuals under the age of 18 on our platform. If you suspect that a member is under the age of 18, please use the reporting mechanism available on the service.
This policy may change over time. We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to help you build meaningful connections and strive to make sure explanations of our data practices remain up-to-date. We will notify you before material changes take effect so that you have time to review the changes.