Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 6, 2026

Boldswitch LTD ("we", "us", or "our") operates the Flatmate mobile application and website at flatmate.ng (collectively, the "Platform"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your rights regarding your personal data.

By creating an account or using the Platform, you consent to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use Flatmate.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account & Profile Information

When you register and set up your profile, we collect:

• Full name, display name, and email address
• Phone number (optional, verified via OTP)
• Profile photo / avatar
• Gender, age range, and occupation
• Bio and personal description
• User type (seeker or lister)
• Preferred city, areas, budget range, move-in date, and stay duration

1.2 Lifestyle & Matching Preferences

To match you with compatible flatmates, we collect responses to our lifestyle questionnaire, including:

• Sleep schedule, cleanliness level, and noise tolerance
• Cooking, smoking, and drinking habits
• Guest frequency and pet preferences
• Work-from-home status and prayer frequency
• Bill splitting and supply sharing preferences
• Gender preference for flatmates
• Vibe matching preference (similar, balanced, or opposite)

1.3 Identity Verification (KYC) Data

To maintain a trusted community, we may collect the following through our verification partner:

• National Identification Number (NIN)
• Government-issued ID document (scan or photo)
• Selfie and liveness check image
• Verified name, date of birth, and gender extracted from your ID
• Verification status and session identifiers

1.4 Financial & Payment Information

• Bank account number, bank name, and bank code (for payouts)
• Credit balance and transaction history within the Platform
• Escrow payment details (amounts, status, timeline, and dispute records)
• Payment references generated by our payment processor

We do not store your full debit or credit card details. All card payments are processed securely by Paystack, a PCI-DSS compliant payment processor.

1.5 Listing & Property Data

If you list a property, we collect:

• Property type, address, and optional coordinates (latitude/longitude)
• Photos of the property (watermarked for security)
• Rent amount, frequency, and availability date
• Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and amenities
• House rules, pet and smoking policies, and gender preferences
• Current occupant information

1.6 Communication Data

• Chat messages (text, images, voice notes, videos, documents, and shared listings or profiles)
• Message metadata (timestamps, delivery and read receipts)
• Voice and video call logs (duration, status, participants)
• Push notification tokens and delivery records

1.7 Reviews & Ratings

• Star ratings (1–5) and review comments
• Review tags (e.g. clean, respectful, pays on time, noisy, unreliable)
• Anonymous review preference

1.8 Automatically Collected Information

• IP address (used once at sign-up to suggest your city — we do not track your GPS location)
• Device type, operating system, and app version
• Online/offline status and last-seen timestamp
• Usage events and feature interactions (collected via PostHog analytics)
• Error and crash reports (collected via Sentry)

1.9 Other Data

• Emergency contact information (when provided)
• Referral codes and referral source
• Reports submitted against other users (reason, description, and context)
• Account deletion reason (if you choose to delete your account)
• Rental agreement details and digital signatures (when using our agreement feature)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the data we collect to:

• Create and manage your account
• Match you with compatible flatmates using our vibe-matching algorithm
• Display your profile to other users in discovery and search
• Verify your identity and maintain trust through NIN, document, and liveness checks
• Facilitate in-app messaging, voice calls, and video calls between users
• Process payments, credit top-ups, escrow deposits, and payouts to bank accounts
• Send push notifications, in-app alerts, and email updates (e.g. matches, messages, payment confirmations)
• Manage the credit and rewards system (sign-up bonuses, verification rewards, referrals)
• Enable safety features including user blocking, reporting, and dispute resolution
• Generate watermarked listing photos to protect property content
• Improve the Platform through analytics, crash reporting, and usage insights
• Enforce our Terms of Service and prevent fraud or abuse
• Respond to your support enquiries

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We may share information with the following parties:

3.1 Other Flatmate Users

Your profile information (name, photo, bio, lifestyle preferences, verification badge, and reviews) is visible to other users as part of the matching and discovery experience. You can enable Ghost Mode to hide your profile from discovery at any time.

3.2 Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf:

• Supabase: Database hosting, authentication, real-time messaging, and file storage
• Ssync: Identity verification (NIN, document, and liveness checks) and phone number verification
• Paystack: Payment processing, bank account verification, and fund transfers
• Agora: Voice and video call infrastructure
• PostHog: Product analytics and usage tracking
• Sentry: Error monitoring and crash reporting
• Resend: Transactional email delivery
• Expo (EAS): App distribution, push notifications, and over-the-air updates

Each provider is contractually required to process your data only for the purposes we specify and in accordance with applicable data protection standards.

3.3 Legal & Safety Obligations

We may disclose your information when required to:

• Comply with applicable law, regulation, or legal process
• Respond to lawful requests from law enforcement or government authorities
• Protect the rights, safety, or property of Flatmate or its users
• Investigate potential violations of our Terms of Service

4. Data Storage & Security

4.1 Where We Store Data

• Server-side: Your account, profile, messages, listings, payments, and reviews are stored in our Supabase PostgreSQL database. Files (photos, documents, media) are stored in Supabase Storage.
• On your device: Session tokens, profile cache, notification preferences, and onboarding state are stored locally using secure device storage (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore).

4.2 Security Measures

We implement industry-standard security measures, including encryption in transit (TLS/SSL), encrypted local storage, rate limiting on sensitive operations (e.g. OTP requests, message sending), and text sanitisation to prevent injection attacks. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

5. Data Retention

• Active accounts: We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services.
• Deleted accounts: When you delete your account, we perform a soft deletion (marking your account with a deletion flag and timestamp). Your personal data is purged within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for dispute resolution.
• Financial records: Transaction data, escrow records, and payment references may be retained for up to 7 years to comply with Nigerian financial regulations.
• Reports and disputes: Records of reports, blocks, and escrow disputes may be retained after account deletion for safety and legal purposes.

6. Your Rights

Under the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Rectify inaccurate or incomplete data
• Delete your account and personal data (via the in-app account deletion feature or by contacting us)
• Restrict processing in certain circumstances
• Data portability — request a copy of your data in a structured format
• Withdraw consent for optional processing (e.g. analytics) at any time
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Location Data

Flatmate does not use GPS or continuous location tracking. During sign-up, we use your IP address (via ip-api.com or ipapi.co) to suggest your city. You can manually change your preferred city at any time. If you list a property, you may optionally provide coordinates for map display. We do not collect background location data.

8. Push Notifications & Communications

We send push notifications for messages, match alerts, buddy requests, call notifications, payment updates, and credit activity. You can disable push notifications at any time through your device settings. We also send transactional emails (welcome, connection requests, payment confirmations) which are necessary for the operation of the service.

9. Children's Privacy

Flatmate is intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we discover that we have collected data from a minor, we will delete that data immediately. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal data, please contact us at [email protected].

10. Cookies & Tracking

Our mobile app does not use browser cookies. We use PostHog for event-based analytics (not cookie-based) and Sentry for crash reporting. Our website (flatmate.ng) may use essential cookies for functionality. You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings.

11. Third-Party Links

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites or services (e.g. payment pages, app stores). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal data.

12. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers operate outside Nigeria. When your data is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with the NDPR and other applicable regulations.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on this page, updating the effective date, and where appropriate, notifying you via the app or email. Your continued use of Flatmate after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, contact us at:

• Email: [email protected]
• Address: 15 Steve Orosanye Street, Gwarinpa 012340, 4th Avenue, FCT, Abuja, Nigeria