Privacy Policy

Last updated July 23, 2026

509 Connection ("509 Connection," "we," "us") is a dating app built for Haitians and the Caribbean community. This policy explains what we collect, why, how we share it, and the choices you have. By using the app you agree to this policy.

1. Information you give us

• Account. When you sign up with email and password, we collect your email address. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo from Google.
• Profile. Your name, date of birth (to confirm you are 18+ and show your age), gender, sexual orientation, who you want to meet, city, occupation, bio, interests, and answers to profile prompts.
• Photos. The photos you upload to your profile, stored in our secure cloud storage.
• Messages and activity. The messages you send, the people you like, pass, match, block, or report, and similar in-app activity.
• Support. If you contact support through the in-app chat, the messages you send and the contact details you provide.

2. Information we collect automatically

• Approximate location. With your permission, we use your device location to show you people nearby and to power distance and "Passport" (browse another city) features. You can deny or revoke this permission at any time in your device settings.
• Activity status. A "last active" timestamp so others can see whether you are recently online.
• Push token. A device push-notification token so we can send you match and message alerts.
• App preferences. Settings such as your language (English / Kreyòl) and notification preferences.
• Advertising ID & app-event data. To measure how well our own ads perform, Meta's app-events SDK collects your device advertising ID (a resettable identifier you control in Android Settings → Privacy → Ads) and records basic app events such as installing the app and completing sign-up. This helps us reach more people who would enjoy the app. It is not used to build advertising profiles for other companies.

We do not sell your personal information or share it with third-party ad networks for their own advertising. We use Meta's app-events SDK to measure app installs and sign-ups from our own advertising, which involves your device advertising ID (see below).

3. How we use your information

• To create and operate your account and profile.
• To show you potential matches and to power discovery, distance, and Passport.
• To enable matching, messaging, and notifications.
• To verify age and identity, and to keep the community safe (reviewing reports, enforcing our rules, preventing fraud and abuse).
• To process subscriptions and provide Gold features.
• To provide customer support and respond to you.
• To comply with law and protect our users and our rights.

4. How we share your information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run the app, and only as needed:

• Supabase — secure hosting of our database, authentication, and photo storage.
• Google — Google Sign-In (if you use it), Google Play in-app billing for subscriptions, and Firebase Cloud Messaging for delivering push notifications.
• RevenueCat — manages and validates your subscription status. Payment itself is handled by Google Play; we never see or store your card details.
• Idswyft — powers optional identity verification (the "verified" badge). If you choose to get verified, you complete the check on Idswyft's hosted page, where you provide a government-issued ID and a selfie/liveness scan; Idswyft confirms your identity and returns the result to us. We do not receive or store your ID document. To confirm the verified person matches your profile photos, we retrieve your verification selfie and compare it with your main photo; if you pass, we keep a single reference image of your face so we can re-confirm it's you if you later change your main photo, and we delete it when you delete your account. We do not store a facial template or other biometric signature.
• Expo — delivery of push notifications to your device.
• Tawk.to — powers the in-app support chat, if you use it.
• Meta (Facebook) — measures installs and sign-ups from our advertising via its app-events SDK, using your device advertising ID. This lets us optimize our ad campaigns. We do not send Meta your messages, matches, or profile content.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the safety, rights, or property of our users or the public. Your public profile (first name, age, photos, city, and prompts) is visible to other users of the app as part of the service.

Identity verification (in-app selfie). If you choose to get verified, we use your device camera to capture a brief selfie with a head-turn, to confirm you are a real, live person who matches your main profile photo. This is processed for fraud prevention and security. We delete the capture frames immediately after the check; if you pass, we keep a single reference image of your face so we can re-confirm it's you if you later change your main photo, and we delete that image when you delete your account. We do not store a facial template or other biometric signature. Verification is optional.

5. Data retention and deletion

We keep your information while your account is active. You can delete your account at any time from Settings → Account in the app. When you request deletion, your profile is removed from discovery immediately and your data is permanently deleted after a short grace period (about 30 days), after which it is purged from our systems. Some records may be retained longer where required by law or to resolve disputes and prevent abuse.

6. Your choices and rights

• Access and edit. View and update your profile and settings in the app at any time.
• Delete. Delete your account from Settings (see above).
• Location. Turn location permission on or off in your device settings.
• Notifications. Turn push notifications on or off in the app or your device settings.
• Requests. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data. Contact us to exercise them.

7. Security

We use industry-standard measures — encryption in transit, access controls, and row-level security — to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, but we work hard to safeguard your data.

8. Children

509 Connection is for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that an account belongs to a minor, we remove it.

9. International users

We operate from and store data on cloud infrastructure that may be located outside your country. By using the app, you consent to the transfer and processing of your information as described here.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version here and update the "Last updated" date. Significant changes may also be communicated in the app.

11. Contact

Questions or requests about your privacy? Email us at team@509connection.com.