Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

“Joviel,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Joviel, the operator of joviel.one and the Joviel mobile applications (together, the “Service”). Joviel is operated from the Republic of Korea and offered first to users in the United States. You can reach us any time at hello@joviel.one.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Waitlist email. When you join the waitlist on our website, we collect your email address.
• Account & profile (in the app). When the app launches and you create an account, we collect details such as your name, age, photos, approximate location (e.g., city/region), and the answers you give during the faith interview.
• Identity & biometric verification. To keep the community real and safe, we (or trusted verification providers) may process a government ID and a live “selfie.” This may include biometric information (such as a facial scan) used to confirm you are a real, unique person. See Sections 3 and 4.
• Messages & support. Content you send to other members or to us for support.

Information collected automatically

• Technical data. When you submit a form or use the Service, we may log your IP address, browser/user-agent, and timestamps to prevent spam and abuse and to keep the Service secure.
• No advertising trackers. Our website does not use third-party advertising cookies, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

3. Sensitive information & your consent

Some information we process is treated as “sensitive” under U.S. state privacy laws and as a “special category” under the EU/UK GDPR — in particular, information that reveals your religious beliefs, your racial or ethnic origin, your biometric information, and any precise geolocation. We process this information only with your opt-in consent, only to operate the Service (for example, to build your profile and suggest compatible introductions), and you can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us or deleting your account. We do not use your religious information for advertising and we do not sell it.

Ethnicity is optional. You may leave it blank, and you can clear it at any time in Settings. Where you do provide it, it is shown on your profile and used only to suggest people — it never excludes anyone from your matches, and no one is filtered out of your queue because of it.

4. Biometric information

If you complete identity verification, we (or our verification provider) may collect biometric information such as a scan of your facial geometry to confirm you are a real, unique human (“liveness” and identity matching). We will:

• obtain your separate, informed written consent before any biometric information is collected, with the specific purpose stated;
• use it only for identity and liveness verification and fraud prevention — never for advertising;
• never sell, lease, or trade your biometric information;
• retain it only as long as needed to fulfill that purpose. In practice we delete the raw ID photo and selfie shortly after the verification decision — within about 30 days — keeping at most a minimal record that a check took place, and in no case longer than three (3) years of your last interaction with us.

5. How we use information

• To operate the waitlist and tell you when verification or a spot opens.
• To create and run your account, profile, verification, and introductions.
• To keep the community safe — we use automated checks and human review to detect bots, fraud, scams, and abuse. New accounts start with limited reach that grows with time and good standing, and we may apply risk-based review to some sign-ups (this never blocks people by where they live).
• To respond to your questions and provide support.
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not “share” it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We disclose information only to:

Service providers (preceding 12 months)

• Hosting (Vercel) — to serve the website and apps.
• Database & authentication (Supabase) — to store your waitlist email and, in the app, your account data securely.
• AI processing (Anthropic) — in the app, your faith-interview answers and profile text are processed by Anthropic’s Claude models to understand your responses, write your profile, and suggest compatible introductions. This is done only with your consent, never for advertising, and under a data-processing agreement; your answers are not used to train models.
• Sign-in providers (Apple, Google) — only if you choose to sign in with them, to authenticate your account.
• Identity-verification provider (when the app launches) — to verify identity and liveness.
• Photo moderation (Sightengine) — profile photos are screened automatically before being shown to other members (for example for nudity, AI-generated images, or apparent minors). Sightengine receives the photo and returns moderation signals; it does not receive your name or profile.
• App stores (Apple App Store, Google Play) — if you buy credits or a subscription in the app, Apple or Google processes the payment as the seller of record. Your card and billing details go to them, not to us — we never see or store your full card number. We receive only a confirmation and a transaction ID to add your purchase to your account.
• Email provider (when applicable) — to contact you about the Service.

Each provider may use your information only to provide services to us. We may also disclose information for legal and safety reasons (to comply with the law, enforce our Terms, or protect members) or in a business transfer (such as a merger), subject to this policy.

7. Your privacy rights & choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or port your personal information, to opt out of certain processing, and to withdraw consent — without being discriminated against for exercising these rights. To make a request, email hello@joviel.one and we will respond as required by law.

• In-app controls. In the app you can download a copy of your data and delete your account directly from Settings — you do not have to email us. You can also review and withdraw your consents there.
• Opt-out preference signals. We honor recognized universal opt-out signals, including the Global Privacy Control (GPC). Because we do not sell or share personal information for advertising, there is nothing to opt out of for that purpose, and we will confirm the status of any request you make.
• U.S. state rights (incl. California). California residents may exercise CCPA/CPRA rights, including access and deletion and limits on the use of sensitive personal information. Residents of states such as Connecticut, Virginia, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, and Montana have comparable rights, including opt-in consent for sensitive data.
• EEA/UK. Where GDPR/UK GDPR applies, we rely on your explicit consent for special-category data (religious beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, and biometric verification), and otherwise on contract performance and our legitimate interest in operating a safe Service. You may withdraw consent and may complain to your local supervisory authority.

8. Account & data deletion

You can delete your account and request deletion of your personal data at any time from in-app settings or by emailing hello@joviel.one. Deletion removes your data (it is not merely a deactivation), except for limited information we must retain for security, fraud-prevention, or legal reasons.

9. Email communications

We email you only about Joviel (for example, when verification or a spot opens). Every email identifies us, includes a working way to unsubscribe, and we honor opt-out requests promptly. Our postal contact address is available on request.

10. How long we keep information

We keep information only as long as we need it, then delete or anonymize it. We keep data to protect you and the community, not to hold onto it. Our general schedule:

• Waitlist emails — until you ask us to remove them or launch outreach is complete.
• Account & profile — while your account is active. When you delete your account, we remove it (see Section 8).
• Greetings that were never mutual, and stale/expired matches — deleted after a limited period (currently about 90 days).
• Chats — kept while you and the other member are matched and active, and removed within a limited period after a conversation ends or an account is deleted.
• Purchase & billing records (transaction IDs, amounts, credit history) — retained in a restricted store for the period required by tax, accounting, and fraud-prevention law (generally a few years), minimized and separated from your everyday profile data.
• Reported content — a conversation involved in a safety report may be kept longer as evidence, accessed only for a specific reason and with that access logged.
• Identity & biometric information — follows the schedule in Section 4.

These periods are our current practice and may be refined; where the law sets a specific retention period, we follow it.

11. How we protect information

We use technical and organizational safeguards including encryption of your most sensitive answers, database-level access controls, restricted internal access, and audit logging. We do not keep all data in one place: your most sensitive information — faith-interview answers, identity and biometric verification, and purchase/billing records — is held in separate, more tightly restricted storage than everyday profile data, so a problem in one area does not expose the others. We also never store your full payment-card number (the app stores handle payment). No system is perfectly secure, but protecting you is a foundation of how we build.

12. International users & transfers

Joviel is operated from Korea and offered first in the United States, so your information may be processed in Korea, the U.S., and other countries. Where required for users in the EEA or UK, international transfers rely on an approved mechanism (such as the UK/EU adequacy decisions for the Republic of Korea) and, for special-category data, on your explicit consent.

13. Children

Joviel is only for adults. The Service is not directed to anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from minors. We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and exploitation — see our Child Safety Standards. If you believe a minor has used the Service, contact us and we will remove the data.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Service grows. We will revise the “Last updated” date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice.

15. Contact us

Questions about your privacy, or want to exercise a right? Email hello@joviel.one. Please also read our Dating Safety notice.