Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1 October 2026

luv.ug is a dating service for people in Uganda. This page explains, in plain words, what information we collect, why we collect it, who can see it, and how you can delete it.

1. What we collect

  • Phone number. Used to log you in with an SMS code and to keep one account per person. Other members never see your number.
  • Google account (outside Uganda only). Our SMS codes reach Ugandan numbers only, so people elsewhere log in with Google instead. We then receive your Google account's ID and e-mail address, nothing else, and use them only to log you in. Other members never see your e-mail. To keep this for people abroad, we check the country of your internet connection (with the free DB-IP database, running on our own server) and, in the app, the country of your SIM card; neither is stored. IP geolocation by DB-IP.
  • Profile. First name, birthday (we show only your age), gender, who you want to meet, your town, a short text about you and your interests.
  • Photos. The photos you upload. They are resized and stored on our server.
  • Location. Your town is required. Sharing your GPS location is optional and only used to sort people by distance. You can turn it off at any time in Edit profile.
  • Posts. What you share in the Feed: a short text and, if you add one, a photo, plus replies you write under other people's posts. A post is public — every member can see it — unless you choose "Friends only" when you write it. Replies take the setting of the post they answer.
  • Nearby map. If you turn on "Share my location" on the map, your position (rounded to about 100 metres) and the short status you type are shown to members nearby, only while the switch is on and only for three hours after your last update. Turn it off and it is deleted right away.
  • Activity. Likes, passes, friend requests, matches, messages, blocks and reports you make, and which profiles you opened. We use the last one to tell a member how many people looked at them; Premium members also see the names.
  • Technical data. IP address and browser or app version, kept in server logs for security and to limit abuse (for example too many login attempts).

2. Why we use it

  • To show your profile to other members and show their profiles to you.
  • To let friends chat with each other and see what each other shares.
  • To tell you when someone asks to connect, writes to you, or looks at your profile.
  • To keep the service safe: reviewing reports, removing fake or abusive accounts, checking photos.
  • To run optional paid features (Premium) where available.

We do not sell your data. We do not share your data with data brokers.

3. Who can see what

  • Any member sees your first name, age, town, approximate distance, photos and interests. That is what people use to decide whether to ask to connect.
  • Only friends — people whose request you accepted, or who accepted yours — see the text you wrote about yourself, the posts you share, how many friends you have and when you were last here. They are also the only people who can write to you.
  • Who looked at you. When you open someone's profile, they can see that somebody did. Every member sees the number; Premium members see the names. You see the same about your own profile.
  • Nobody else sees your phone number, exact location or messages, except our small moderation team when a chat is reported.
  • Photos are only served to logged-in members. Search engines cannot see profiles.

4. Where it is stored

Everything is stored on servers we control in a European data centre. Apart from the optional video ads described below, we do not use third-party analytics, cloud storage or tracking services. SMS codes are sent through a telecom gateway; the gateway only receives your number and the code.

When you add a profile photo, a program on our own server checks it once for nudity. The photo is not sent to anyone for this. A photo it has doubts about is hidden from other members until one of our moderators has looked at it.

Videos for extra likes. In the Android app, a free member who has used the day's likes can choose to watch a short video ad for more. Only then, and only on that phone, Google AdMob loads the video. Google receives what any ad needs: the phone's advertising ID, its IP address and basic device details. The ads are not personalised: we never tell Google your name, phone number, photos, age, gender or whom you are looking for. To confirm the video was watched, Google tells us an internal account number we gave it, and nothing more. Plus, Premium and Elite members, and the website, never see ads. You can reset or delete the advertising ID in your phone's Google settings. Google's own policy: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

5. How long we keep it

  • Your profile, photos, posts and messages: until you delete them or delete your account.
  • Who looked at your profile: 30 days, then it stops being counted.
  • Login codes: 10 minutes. Login sessions: 30 days.
  • Reports and bans: kept so that removed people cannot come back.
  • Server logs: up to 30 days.

6. Deleting your account

You can delete your account yourself at any time: open Profile → Edit profile → Delete my account in the app, or use the delete account page on the web. Your profile, photos, posts, friends and messages are removed right away. Reports made about you may be kept in an anonymous form.

7. Age

luv.ug is for adults only. You must be 18 or older. We remove accounts that appear to belong to minors and you can report them from any profile.

8. Your rights

You can see and change your profile data in the app at any time. You can ask us for a copy of your data or ask us to correct or delete it by contacting us at the address below.

9. Changes

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top and, for big changes, tell you in the app.

10. Contact

Questions about privacy: privacy@luv.ug