Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible for your data

Pingdd is the controller of the personal information described here. This policy explains what we collect, why, who it is shared with, how long we keep it and what choices you have. It applies to the Pingdd website and app.

2. What we collect

• Account details: your email address, username, display name, your date of birth (required, to check you are at least 13; friends can see only the day and month), an optional gender (private, never shown to other users), a password (stored only as a secure hash), and the avatar and banner you choose. If you sign in with Google we receive your name, email address and profile picture from Google.
• Content you create: messages, Pings (photos and videos), stories, Memories, captions, reactions, replies, group chats, and your friends, friend requests, close friends and blocks.
• Location: if you turn on Snap Map sharing, your device location and who you share it with. We do not collect your location in the background when sharing is off. While you share, we keep your places from the last 24 hours so friends with Pingdd Plus whom you share your location with can see a Ghost Trail on the Friendship page. There is no separate setting for this: the trail only exists while you share, only the people you share with can see it, and it is deleted automatically after 24 hours and as soon as you stop sharing or go into Ghost mode.
• Plus preferences: your post view emoji and your ringtones, including a ringtone you give to a particular friend.
• Usage information: your Pings score and streaks, whether Pings were viewed, replayed or saved, when you were last active, and your online presence.
• Calls: connection details needed to set up voice and video calls. We do not record or store call audio or video.
• Support messages you send to Helper, and the replies from our team.
• Safety records: blocks you make, reports you send or that are made about you, bans and the reasons for them, and appeals. Reports are only seen by our moderators and are not shown to the person reported.
• Snapchat import: if you choose to import from a Snapchat data export, the file is read in your browser and only the items you select (such as photos, videos, your display name and matching friends) are sent to us. The zip itself is never uploaded, and messages, location history and login history from the export are not imported.
• Settings for individual friends, such as muted notifications, your #1 BFF pin and shared countdowns.
• Device and security information: your IP address, browser type, and records used to prevent abuse, such as rate limits and sign-in attempts.
• Notification settings and the push subscription from your browser or phone if you turn on notifications.

3. How we use it

We do not sell your personal information and we do not show advertising in Pingdd.

• To check your age, and to understand who uses Pingdd in general terms. Your gender and date of birth are not shown to other users and are not used for advertising.
• To provide Pingdd: create your account, deliver messages and Pings, show stories, power Snap Map, streaks and calls, and keep your Memories.
• To keep people safe: review reports, deal with abuse and enforce our Terms of Service.
• To keep the service secure and working, including preventing spam, fake accounts and disposable email sign-ups, and fixing faults.
• To send you messages about your account: email verification, login and delete-account codes, and notifications you have asked for.
• To answer your Help & Support requests.

4. Our legal bases

Under UK and EU data protection law we rely on: performing our contract with you (running your account and delivering what you send); our legitimate interests in keeping Pingdd safe, secure and working; your consent, for things like location sharing, push notifications and optional cookies, which you can withdraw at any time; and legal obligations where the law requires us to keep or share information.

5. Who can see your information

Providers may only use your information to provide their service to us.

• Other users: what you share with them, such as your profile, Pings, messages, stories (to the audience you choose), and location (to the people you choose). People you share with can save or screenshot what you send.
• Pingdd administrators and moderators: only as needed to run support, handle reports and keep the service safe.
• Service providers that help us run Pingdd: our hosting and database infrastructure, Cloudflare (network and security), Resend (sending emails), Stripe (taking payments for Pingdd Plus; Stripe handles your card details and we only keep your subscription status and renewal date), Mapbox (map display on Snap Map), Google (sign in with Google and the STUN service used to connect calls), and a call relay server where calls cannot connect directly.
• Authorities, where the law requires it or where it is needed to protect someone from serious harm.

6. How long we keep it

• Pings, stories and messages are deleted automatically after they expire unless they have been saved in a chat.
• Saved chat items and Memories are kept until you or the person who saved them deletes them, or the account is deleted.
• Account information is kept for as long as you have an account.
• When you delete your account we delete your profile, messages, Pings, stories, Memories, friends, streaks and files. Limited records may be kept for a short time in backups, or longer where needed to deal with abuse or to meet legal duties.
• Support conversations are kept for as long as needed to help you and to keep a record of issues.

7. Where your data is stored and transfers

Pingdd runs on servers we control, and some providers listed above may process data outside the UK or the European Economic Area. Where that happens we rely on approved safeguards such as adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses.

8. Security

We protect your information with encrypted connections, access controls on every table and file bucket so that you can only reach what you are allowed to see, hashed passwords, rate limiting, and optional extra verification for sensitive actions such as deleting your account. No service can be completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password.

9. Your rights and choices

You can, depending on where you live:

• access, correct or update your information, most of which you can do in Settings and Edit Profile.
• delete your account and data from Settings.
• switch off location sharing, change who sees it, or use ghost mode at any time.
• turn notifications on or off.
• ask us for a copy of your information, object to or ask us to restrict some uses, or withdraw consent, by contacting us through Help & Support.
• complain to your data protection authority. In the UK this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). We would appreciate the chance to put things right first.

10. Children

Pingdd is not for children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child under 13 has an account, contact us through Help & Support and we will remove it.

11. Cookies and similar technology

We use a small number of cookies and local storage to keep you signed in and remember your settings. See our Cookie Policy for details.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. If a change is significant we will tell you in the app or by email before it starts. The date at the top shows when it was last changed.

13. Contact us

To ask a question or use any of your rights, open Settings, then Help & Support, then Contact us. Your message goes to the Pingdd team.