1. What We Collect

When you use Heard, we collect the following:

Account information: Email address, name, age, identity, and preferences you provide during signup
Voice content: Voice intros, voice notes, voice stories, voice reactions, and daily prompt responses you record
Photos: Images you upload to your album or as your favorite image, only shared through the mutual consent system
Usage data: How you interact with the app, including matches, messages sent, streaks, Heard Score activity, and feature usage
Location data: Only when you explicitly enable GPS sharing for date safety check-ins. We do not track your location passively
Device information: Device type, operating system, and app version for troubleshooting
Diagnostics data: Error reports, crash details, and technical metadata collected through Sentry to help us identify, investigate, and fix bugs

2. How We Use Your Data

To match you with compatible people based on your activities, preferences, and engagement
To deliver voice content to your matches and potential matches
To calculate your Heard Score and compatibility scores
To power safety features (GPS sharing, emergency contact alerts, date check-ins)
To moderate content and enforce community standards
To send you notifications about matches, messages, streaks, and daily prompts
To improve the app based on aggregate, anonymized usage patterns
To detect, investigate, and fix technical problems using crash and error monitoring tools such as Sentry

3. What We Do Not Do

We do not sell your personal data to third parties
We do not share your voice content with anyone outside your matches
We do not use your data for targeted advertising
We do not track your location unless you activate a date safety check-in
We do not share your photos with anyone until both you and your match agree

4. Voice Content

Your voice is central to Heard. Here is how we handle it:

Voice intros are stored and played to users who receive you as a daily match
Voice notes and reactions are only accessible to the participants in that conversation
Voice stories expire and are permanently deleted after 24 hours
Daily prompt responses are accessible to other users within the app for 7 days
Wavelength calls are peer-to-peer. Audio is not recorded or stored by Heard

5. Photo Privacy

Photos on Heard are protected by the mutual album consent system. Your photos are not visible to anyone until both you and your match agree to share albums. Photos uploaded as your "favorite image" are visible on your profile but must not contain identifiable human faces.

Automated photo scanning: Every photo uploaded to Heard is automatically scanned using Microsoft PhotoDNA to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This scan happens at the time of upload, before the photo becomes visible to any other user. PhotoDNA generates a hash of the image and compares it against a database of known illegal content maintained by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The actual image content is not stored or reviewed by PhotoDNA. If a match is detected, the photo is hidden, the account is suspended, and a mandatory report is filed with NCMEC as required by federal law.

6. Location Data

Heard only accesses your precise location when you activate a date safety check-in. During an active check-in, your GPS coordinates are recorded so you can share a live tracking link with a trusted contact. Your general area (city-level) may be used for matching purposes.

Retention:

3 days: when a check-in ends normally (you tap End, no SOS fires). GPS pings are deleted after 3 days.
30 days: when SOS is triggered, auto-escalation fires, or the check-in is never ended. We hold the location history for 30 days so it is available if a missing-person request or lawful request is made, then delete it.
We do not sell location data. It is never used for advertising.

7. Safety Features & Your Responsibility

Heard offers safety features (check-ins, live GPS sharing, SOS, emergency-contact links) to help you feel safer on dates. These features are provided on a best-effort basis.

Heard does not run background checks, does not verify that anyone's name, age, photos, or identity are accurate, and cannot guarantee the conduct of anyone you meet through the app. Safety features depend on variables outside our control (cellular coverage, GPS accuracy, device battery, notification permissions, carrier SMS delivery).

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Heard is not responsible for what happens on, during, or after a date arranged through the app. You are responsible for your own safety: meet in a public place, tell someone where you're going, trust your instincts, and do your own due diligence on anyone you choose to meet.

If you are in immediate danger, call emergency services (911 in the US). Heard is not an emergency service and cannot dispatch help.

8. Error Monitoring and Diagnostics

We use Sentry for error tracking and crash diagnostics. When the app encounters a problem, Sentry may receive technical information such as the error message, stack trace, app version, device type, operating system version, and request metadata needed to troubleshoot the issue. We use this information only to monitor reliability, investigate failures, and improve app stability. We do not use Sentry for advertising or profiling.

9. Data Storage

Your data is stored on Supabase infrastructure with encryption at rest and in transit. Voice content and photos are stored in encrypted storage buckets. We also use service providers such as Sentry to process limited technical diagnostics data on our behalf for reliability and support purposes. We retain your data for as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion, all personal data including voice content, photos, messages, and profile information is permanently deleted within 30 days.

10. Reports and Moderation

When you report another user, the report details (including any voice note you attach) are reviewed by a real person on our team. Report data is kept confidential and is not shared with the reported user. The reported user is only informed that a report was reviewed and what action was taken, not who reported them.

11. Your Rights

You can:

Download a copy of all your data from Privacy settings in the app
Delete your account and all associated data at any time
Control what is visible on your profile (distance, age, identity, Heard Score)
Toggle read receipts and active status on or off
Opt out of marketing notifications

12. Children

Heard is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If we discover an account belongs to someone under 18, it will be immediately terminated.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves. Significant changes will be communicated through the app or via email. The "last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

14. Contact

Questions about your privacy? Email us at privacy@heardapp.co.

Privacy Policy