Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

LOKAL is operated by Compassfriends Limited ("we", "us", or "LOKAL"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share information when you use the LOKAL iOS app and related services at l0kal.com (the "Service").

Contact: [email protected].

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you use the Service, we may collect:

• Account information — email address, display name, and password (stored hashed) when you register with email.
• Google user data (Sign in with Google) — when you choose Google sign-in, we access the Google account information you authorize, typically your Google account email address, name, and a unique Google user identifier. We do not receive your Google password.
• Sign in with Apple — Apple account identifiers and profile details Apple shares with us (such as name and email), when you choose that option. We do not receive your Apple password.
• Profile information — photos you upload, your self-declared date of birth and derived age, gender, about-me text, and home or travel location details you provide.
• Trip and social activity — trips you create, invites you send or receive, conversations and messages with other users, and report or block actions you take.
• Technical and session data — session tokens, device or app identifiers needed to keep you signed in, and basic server logs (such as IP address, timestamps, and error data) used for security and reliability.
• In-app partner advertising — which advertisements you see (impressions), their button clicks and dismissals, event timestamps, the campaign and creative revision, placement, and event identifiers. These records are associated with your signed-in LOKAL account ID; they are not anonymous. If you report an ad, we also collect your selected reason, the reported creative revision, account ID and submission time.
• Optional ad measurement — if you allow tracking in iOS, Meta's SDK receives app activations, successful new-account registrations and onboarding completion, together with device and app identifiers (including the advertising identifier), IP address, and SDK technical and crash-diagnostic information. These events help measure which Meta ads bring people to LOKAL. We do not add your name, email, birthday, profile photos, verification images, location, trips or messages to these events, or send Google or Apple sign-in account data to Meta.

Your date of birth is used to determine eligibility and calculate your displayed age. We show your age to other users, not your full birthday. We also retain the version and time of your agreement to our Terms. Device push tokens are used to deliver notifications you enable.

3. How we use information (including Google user data)

We use account and profile data, including Google user data obtained through Sign in with Google, to provide and improve the Service. Specifically, we use it to:

• Create and manage your LOKAL account and keep you signed in.
• Provide matching, trip posting, invites, messaging, and related features.
• Show your profile and content to other users as you choose to make it visible.
• Process reports and blocks, and enforce our Terms.
• Operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the Service.
• Communicate with you about the Service (for example, verification codes or support replies).
• Comply with legal obligations and protect the rights, safety, and integrity of LOKAL and our users.

We do not use Google user data for targeted advertising, selling to data brokers, determining credit-worthiness, or training non-personalized AI/ML models.

Partner advertisements inside LOKAL

Partner campaigns are available to all LOKAL users. We do not use your profile, messages, home city or other personal characteristics to select the advertised creative. An ad appears only in its configured placement and schedule; account-associated exposure records and on-device cooldowns help control how often it is shown. We use impressions, clicks and dismissals to operate this feature and measure campaign performance.

Use the information menu on an ad to read its explanation or select a reason to report it. Authorized LOKAL administrators can review the report, its account association and the creative revision you saw. We retain ad event records for campaign reporting and frequency controls, and reports for moderation and abuse prevention, under the retention and deletion provisions below. Reports can remain as limited safety records where needed.

This advertising feature sends these records to LOKAL, not to Meta or sponsors. Our hosting and storage providers process them as needed to run the Service. It does not use an advertising identifier, link these events with activity on other companies' apps or websites, or send account-linked ad events or report reasons to sponsors. Opening an ad link visits the sponsor's website, whose own privacy practices apply. This feature is separate from the optional Meta measurement described next; changing iOS tracking permission for Meta does not disable these LOKAL ad records.

Optional measurement of LOKAL ads

When you give iOS tracking permission, we share the limited app activity and technical data described above with Meta to measure and optimize LOKAL advertising. Meta may associate this information with information from its services and other businesses under its Privacy Policy. Tracking is optional and does not affect access to LOKAL. We initialize the Meta SDK only after iOS tracking permission is granted, and do not backfill events that happened before permission.

Apple's SKAdNetwork may separately provide delayed, privacy-preserving install attribution to an ad network, subject to Apple's privacy thresholds. This does not give us an individual's advertising identifier or a list of people who declined tracking.

Content safety and moderation

We automatically check new profile photos for sexually explicit imagery and screen profile descriptions, trip descriptions, invitations and messages for prohibited language before publishing or delivering them. These checks run on our servers; images are not sent to a separate moderation provider and are not used to train the image model. Rejected photo uploads are processed temporarily and are not added to your profile or public photo storage.

Automated checks can make mistakes and do not detect every form of abuse. Authorized reviewers may examine reported profiles, photos and relevant conversations to investigate reports, protect users and enforce our Terms. Review decisions and limited safety records may be retained for enforcement. Contact [email protected] to request review of a moderation decision.

4. How we share, transfer, or disclose information

We may share information, including Google user data where applicable:

• With other users — profile details, photos, trip information, and messages you choose to share through the Service.
• With service providers — companies that host our servers, store uploaded photos, send transactional email, or help us run the Service, only as needed to provide those services.
• With authentication providers — when you sign in with Apple or Google, those providers process your sign-in according to their own privacy policies.
• With Meta, when tracking is allowed — the limited ad-measurement data described above. This is separate from the account and profile data used to provide the Service.
• For legal and safety reasons — if required by law, or to investigate abuse, fraud, or security issues.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not transfer or disclose Google user data to third parties for purposes other than providing or improving the Service, or as required by law.

5. How we store and protect information

Security procedures are in place to protect the confidentiality of your data. We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords for email accounts, and access controls on our systems. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your information may be processed on servers in countries other than where you live. Where required, we take steps to protect data in accordance with applicable law.

6. Data retention and deletion

We retain your personal information, including Google user data linked to your account, for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the Service and fulfill the purposes in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

You may request deletion of your data by deleting your account in the app (where available) or by emailing [email protected]. When the retention period ends or your deletion request is processed, we delete or de-identify the data, except limited records we must keep for legal, security, or abuse-prevention purposes (for example, reports or bans).

Server logs and backups may be retained for a limited time for operations and security.

7. Your choices and rights

You may:

• Update profile information in the app.
• Delete your account from the Service where that option is available.
• Contact us at [email protected] to request access, correction, or deletion of personal data we hold about you, subject to applicable law.

If you signed in with Apple or Google, you can also manage those connections in your Apple or Google account settings.

You can decline the iOS tracking request or withdraw permission in iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. The app's App settings → Ad measurement section also links to system settings. After withdrawal, LOKAL stops logging new Meta app events. Withdrawing consent does not undo earlier lawful processing. For questions about data already sent to Meta, contact us or use Meta's privacy controls.

8. Children

The Service is for users who are at least 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us data, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

9. Third-party links and services

The Service may link to or integrate third-party services (including Apple and Google sign-in). Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this one.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and change the "Last updated" date. If we change how we use Google user data, we will update this policy so users can review the change. Continued use of the Service after changes means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, email [email protected] or use the Support page. See also our Terms & Conditions.