At Mate, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our application.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly, as well as information generated through your use of the App.

1.1 Personal Information

When you create an account and use our App, we may collect:

Email address, phone number (if used), and display name
Sign-in identifiers from Apple or Google when you use those sign-in methods
Username and invite code
Profile photo (if uploaded)
Age, gender, and country (if provided during profile setup)
Device information (type, operating system, push tokens)

1.2 Mat & Social Data

To provide shared mats and Explore, we collect:

Friend relationships, friend requests, and invite / deep-link usage
Mat content you create (notes, drawings, photos, stickers, GIFs, backgrounds)
Public Explore interactions (likes, saves, copies, publish status)
Reports you submit about users or mats, and block relationships
Contacts (only if you allow access): phone numbers from your address book are hashed (SHA-256) on your device, and only these hashes are sent to find friends already on Mate. We don't upload names or plain-text numbers, and we don't store the hashes after matching

1.3 Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you use the App:

App usage patterns and feature interactions
Error logs and crash reports
Performance metrics
Notification preferences and interaction data
Attribution data from Apple Search Ads (when available) and, in the iOS app, install attribution and ad measurement data from AppsFlyer and Apple's SKAdNetwork (see Section 10)

2. How We Use Your Information

Providing and maintaining shared mats, friends, Explore, invites, and widgets
Sending push notifications about mat updates and friend requests
Managing Premium subscriptions (including purchase restore)
Moderating reported content and enforcing Acceptable Use
Improving and personalizing your experience
Detecting, preventing, and addressing technical issues and abuse
Measuring how well our ads work (see Section 10)
Complying with legal obligations

3. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored securely using industry-standard cloud infrastructure services, including Firebase by Google. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, secure authentication protocols, and access controls and monitoring. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

4. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

With friends and Explore viewers: Content you place on a shared mat is visible to mat members; public mats are visible to other users of the App.
Service providers: We use trusted third-party services that process data on our behalf: Firebase by Google (sign-in, database, file storage, backend, push notifications, analytics, and crash reports), Sign in with Apple and Google Sign-In, RevenueCat (subscriptions and purchases), AppsFlyer (install attribution and ad measurement in the iOS app), OpenAI (AI features and content moderation, see Section 11), and Resend (internal email alerts to our team).
Advertising partners: When we advertise Mate, for example on Meta platforms (Instagram, Facebook) or Google, AppsFlyer may share attribution results and the in-app events described in Section 10 with those ad networks so we can see which ads led to installs and purchases. We never share your mat content, photos, or contacts for advertising.
Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government regulation.
Safety and protection: We may share information to protect the rights, property, or safety of Mate, our users, or the public.

5. Push Notifications

With your permission, we send push notifications about mat updates and friend requests via Apple Push Notification service / Firebase Cloud Messaging. You can manage notification preferences through the App settings or your device settings at any time.

6. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data and account
Portability: Request your data in a portable, machine-readable format
Opt-out: Opt out of push notifications and certain data collection
Tracking: allow or deny tracking at any time (see Section 10.4)
Block / report: Block users and report content from within the App

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@mate-mats.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with services. If you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 90 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal, regulatory, or legitimate business purposes. Reports submitted for moderation may be retained as needed to investigate abuse and protect the community.

8. Children's Privacy

Mate is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from your jurisdiction. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data during international transfers, in compliance with applicable laws.

10. Analytics, Attribution & Ad Measurement

We use the tools below to understand how the App is used, fix problems, and measure our ads. Mate doesn't show third-party ads inside the App.

10.1 Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics

Firebase Analytics (Google) records in-app events and screen views (for example sign-up, mat created, item added, or purchase completed) together with device and app information. Firebase Crashlytics collects crash reports and diagnostics, which may be linked to your Mate user ID so we can fix problems on your account. Learn more about privacy and security in Firebase.

10.2 AppsFlyer (iOS app)

In the iOS app, we use AppsFlyer to find out which ad or link led to an install and to measure ad performance. AppsFlyer may collect:

Device and app information, such as the identifier for vendors (IDFV), device model, iOS version, app version, IP address, and install and launch times
Your device's advertising identifier (IDFA), only if you allow tracking in Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt
Attribution data, such as which ad, campaign, or link led to your install or opened the App
In-app events, such as sign-up, login, onboarding completed, mat created, item added, friend request sent, invite shared, subscription screen viewed, and purchases or free-trial starts (product, price, and currency)
Your Mate user ID once you're signed in with an account (never for guests), so events can be linked to the right account

We also link RevenueCat to AppsFlyer so purchases and renewals can be attributed. For this, RevenueCat receives your AppsFlyer ID and device identifiers (the IDFA only with your permission). AppsFlyer processes this data on our behalf; see the AppsFlyer Services Privacy Policy.

10.3 Meta, Other Ad Networks & SKAdNetwork

Mate doesn't include the Meta (Facebook) SDK. When we run ads on Meta platforms (Instagram, Facebook) or other networks such as Google, those networks receive ad measurement data from AppsFlyer as described above. They also receive Apple SKAdNetwork reports: aggregated install and conversion data that Apple sends without identifying you or your device. If you don't allow tracking, your IDFA is not shared with anyone. Meta's processing is described in the Meta Privacy Policy.

10.4 Your Choices

You can allow or deny tracking in the App Tracking Transparency prompt and change your choice anytime in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. Denying tracking doesn't limit any Mate feature.
If you deny tracking, AppsFlyer still measures installs and in-app events without the IDFA, and SKAdNetwork reports stay anonymous and aggregated.
To ask us to delete analytics and attribution data linked to your account, contact support@mate-mats.com.

10.5 Our Website

Our website (mate-mats.com) uses the Google Ads tag (gtag.js) to measure visits and conversions from our Google ads. Google may use cookies or similar technologies for this. Learn more in the Google Privacy Policy.

11. AI Features & Content Moderation (OpenAI)

Mate's AI features (Matebot voice assistant, AI images, AI stickers, the handwriting helper, drawing cleanup, and AI Touch) are powered by OpenAI, a third-party AI provider. Before you use them for the first time, the App asks for your explicit consent. Nothing is sent to OpenAI for these features until you tap “I agree”, and we save your choice with your account. If you tap “Not now”, you can keep using everything else in Mate.

When you use an AI feature, we send OpenAI only what's needed to respond:

Matebot: your voice and the conversation, streamed from your device to OpenAI, plus your display name, app language, and Premium status so Matebot can answer correctly
AI images and AI stickers: the text prompt you write
Handwriting helper, drawing cleanup, and AI Touch: the drawing, image, or note text you pick, and any instructions you add
Before anything is generated, your prompts and submitted images are checked with OpenAI's moderation model

Content moderation: To keep Explore safe, mats submitted to Explore and public mats that were reported or recently edited are checked automatically with OpenAI's moderation model. This can include the mat title, text notes, emoji, photos, cover and background images, stickers, AI images, drawings, GIF frames, and still frames from videos. The results help our team approve, reject, or hide mats, and our team can always review and change these decisions.

Notifications: Some general push notifications (such as weekly tips) are written or translated with OpenAI. These texts are the same for everyone and don't contain personal data from your account.

OpenAI processes this data as our service provider under its API terms. According to OpenAI's API data policies, data sent through the API is not used to train OpenAI's models, and OpenAI may keep it for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring before deleting it. AI images or text you add to a mat are stored with your mat like any other content. Learn more in the OpenAI Privacy Policy and OpenAI API data privacy.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy within the App and updating the “Last updated” date.

13. Contact Us

Email: support@mate-mats.com

Mate – Shared Mat App