MatchYard Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 10, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information MatchYard (“MatchYard,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. It applies to the MatchYard mobile application and related services (the “Service”). By using the Service, you agree to this Policy.

1. Information we collect

We collect only what we need to run a sport-partner matching service:

• Account information — your email address and a password (stored only as a salted hash — we never store or see your plain-text password), or, if you use Sign in with Apple, the identifier and name Apple shares with us.
• Profile information — your display name, optional bio, optional profile photo, the sports you play and your skill levels, and your home city.
• Approximate location — a home city and an approximate latitude/longitude you set, plus optional device location used to find players and posts near you. Location is used to compute distances and is shared with other users only as approximate, post-level location (for example, a neighborhood and the general area of a planned session) — never your exact live location.
• Posts — the sport sessions you create (sport, skill level, time, location label, notes).
• Messages — the messages you exchange with other users in chats.
• Ratings and reports — the post-session ratings and reviews you give, and any reports you submit about other users or content.
• Device tokens — a push-notification token, if you enable notifications.
• Basic technical/usage data — standard information needed to operate and secure the Service, such as timestamps and error logs.

2. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Match you with sport partners — show your posts to nearby users, surface relevant posts to you, and compute distances;
• Operate core features — profiles, chats, ratings, and notifications;
• Keep the community safe — review reports, act on objectionable content or abusive users (we have a zero-tolerance policy), and enforce our Terms;
• Communicate with you — service and account-related messages; and
• Secure and improve the Service — diagnose problems and prevent abuse.

3. How your information is shared

• With other users. Your profile (name, photo, bio, sports, home city) and your posts are visible to other users so they can connect with you. Messages are visible to the people in your chats. Aggregate ratings (such as an average star score) may be visible on your profile; individual reviews are not shown publicly with reviewer identities.
• With service providers. Your data is stored in a database we operate ourselves, hosted with our cloud infrastructure provider. We use Anthropic (the Claude API) to power AI match recommendations; for this feature we send limited profile information — display name, sports and skill levels, availability, bio, age, and approximate distance — and never your messages, email address, photos, or precise location. When you choose Sign in with Apple, Apple processes your sign-in, and Apple also delivers push notifications if you enable them. These providers process data on our behalf to operate the Service.
• For legal and safety reasons. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users or MatchYard.

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Data retention and deletion

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. You can delete your account at any time, directly in the app (Profile → Delete Account). When you delete your account, we permanently delete your profile, posts, chats, messages, and ratings; deletion cascades through our database and cannot be undone. Some information may persist briefly in backups or be retained where the law requires.

5. Children

MatchYard is not directed to children. You must be at least 17 years old to use the Service. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 17. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

6. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit (TLS), passwords stored only as salted bcrypt hashes, short-lived signed access tokens, per-request authorization checks so that users can only access data they are permitted to see, and rate limiting to prevent abuse. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your choices and rights

You can edit your profile information at any time, control device-location and notification permissions in your device settings, and delete your account from within the app. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights (such as access, correction, or deletion); contact us to exercise them.

8. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.

9. Contact

Questions about this Policy or your data? Contact us at privacy@matchyard.us.