Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 June 2026. Last updated: June 2026. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains how nextduo (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, stores, discloses, and protects your information when you use the nextduo platform (“Service”). By using the Service, you agree to the practices described in this Policy.

1. Who We Are

nextduo is an independent online social and dating platform designed for gamers. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any game publisher, game developer, gaming platform, or esports organisation. For any privacy enquiries, contact us via our contact page.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account data: email address, password (stored as a hashed credential — we never see your plaintext password), and date of birth (collected for 18+ age verification only).
• Profile data: display name, username, bio, profile photos, pronouns, gender identity badge, gaming preferences (games, platform, rank, role, playstyle), relationship intent, play schedule, and any other information you choose to add to your profile.
• Communication data: messages you send and receive on the Service. We store message content to power the messaging feature and to enable safety moderation.
• Payment data: if you subscribe to Premium, payment is processed by our payment processor (Stripe). We do not store your full card number; we receive a tokenised reference and subscription status only.
• Support & contact data: information you provide when you contact us.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Log data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and timestamps.
• Device data: device identifiers and technical information about the device you use to access the Service.
• Usage data: actions you take on the Service (e.g., swipes, matches, profile views) used to power matching and improve the product.
• Location data: approximate location (derived from IP address or, with your permission, device GPS) used to surface nearby users. We do not store precise GPS coordinates unless you explicitly grant location access.
• Cookies and similar technologies: see Section 8 below.

3. You Control What Is Public

Sensitive identity fields are private by default. You independently choose, per field, whether to display your age, approximate distance, pronouns, gender identity badge, online status, social links, and streaming links. We never infer your gender from your pronouns — these are always separate, opt-in choices. You can change any privacy setting at any time from Settings › Privacy. Changes take effect immediately.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide, operate, and improve the Service, including matching and messaging features;
• Verify your age and enforce our 18+ requirement;
• Process subscription payments and manage your account;
• Personalise your experience and surface compatible users;
• Send transactional emails (e.g., account verification, subscription receipts, security alerts);
• Enforce our Terms of Service, investigate complaints, and take safety actions;
• Comply with applicable legal obligations, respond to legal process, and cooperate with law enforcement where required;
• Protect the rights, property, and safety of nextduo, our users, and others;
• Analyse usage trends (in aggregated or de-identified form) to improve the Service.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not share your personal data with game publishers, advertisers, or advertising networks for targeting purposes without your explicit consent.

5. Legal Basis for Processing (EEA / UK Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Contract: processing necessary to provide the Service you signed up for;
• Legitimate interests: to operate, secure, and improve the Service, prevent fraud, and enforce our terms, where these interests are not overridden by your rights;
• Consent: for optional features and non-essential cookies where we ask for your consent;
• Legal obligation: where we are required to process data by law.

6. Photos and Real-Photo Verification

Dating discovery on nextduo requires at least one approved real photo of you. Gaming Buddy Only mode allows you to use an avatar instead of a real photo, in which case your account is not visible in the dating discovery pool. Profile photos are stored securely and are displayed only to other users as part of the matching experience, consistent with your privacy settings. We do not share your photos with third parties except as necessary to store and serve them (see Section 9).

7. Information Sharing & Disclosure

We do not share your personal information with third parties except in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: we share data with trusted service providers who assist us in operating the Service (e.g., cloud hosting, payment processing, email delivery). These providers are contractually bound to protect your data and to use it only for the purposes we specify.
• Safety and legal compliance: we may disclose information where required by law, court order, or government request, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of any person, to detect or prevent fraud, or to enforce our Terms.
• Business transfers: in the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, your information may be transferred to the successor entity. We will notify you via the email on your account before your data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
• With your consent: in any other circumstance, only with your explicit consent.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and to secure the Service. These are strictly necessary and cannot be disabled while using the Service.

We may use analytics cookies to understand how users interact with the Service. These are consent-gated: you will be asked for consent before any non-essential cookies are set, and you can withdraw consent at any time via cookie settings in the footer or your browser settings.

We do not use tracking cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking purposes.

9. Third-Party Service Providers

The Service is built on infrastructure provided by trusted third-party services including (but not limited to): Supabase (database and authentication), Stripe (payment processing), and Vercel (hosting). Each provider is subject to their own privacy policy and data processing terms, and is bound by contractual obligations to protect your data. We do not control the data practices of these providers beyond the terms agreed with them.

10. Third-Party Names & Content

Game titles, platform names, and publisher names referenced on nextduo are used only so you can describe your gaming interests. nextduo is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in partnership with any listed game, publisher, developer, esports organisation, or gaming platform. We do not receive data from these third parties and do not share your data with them.

The Service may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., your linked social profiles). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party website. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

11. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encryption in transit (TLS), encrypted storage, access controls, and regular security reviews.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that affects your rights, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

12. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as necessary to provide the Service, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

When you delete your account, your profile, photos, and personal data are permanently deleted within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain certain records for a longer period. Message data exchanged with other users may be retained in anonymised or aggregated form for safety and legal compliance purposes. Backup copies may take up to 90 days to be fully purged.

13. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
• Rectification: request correction of inaccurate data (most profile data can be updated directly in the app);
• Erasure: request deletion of your personal data (most directly via Settings › Account › Delete account);
• Portability: request an export of your personal data in a machine-readable format;
• Restriction: request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;
• Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• Withdrawal of consent: where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us via our contact page. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

14. International Data Transfers

nextduo may transfer your personal data to countries outside your country of residence, including countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home country. Where such transfers occur, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

15. Children’s Privacy

The Service is strictly for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a person under 18, we will delete that data immediately and terminate the relevant account. If you believe a minor has provided us with their personal data, please contact us immediately via our contact page.

16. No Responsibility for Third-Party Conduct

nextduo is not responsible for the conduct, content, or actions of any user on the platform, whether on or off the Service. We do not verify the identity, intentions, or background of any user beyond the information provided during registration. Users interact with each other at their own risk. We strongly encourage you to exercise caution and use the in-app safety tools (blocking, reporting, unmatching) at any time.

We expressly disclaim any responsibility for any harm, loss, or damage resulting from interactions with other users, including meetings arranged through the Service.

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices, legal requirements, or the Service. We will notify you of material changes via the email on your account or by an in-app notice at least 14 days before changes take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy. The date at the top of this page always indicates when it was last revised.

18. Contact Us

For privacy questions, data requests, or to raise a concern, please contact us via our contact page. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 30 days.