Privacy Policy

Last updated October 9, 2026

This policy explains what information VCH Solutions, LLC (“DateChi,” “we”) collects when you use DateChi, how we use it, and the choices you have. We wrote it to match exactly what the service does.

What we collect

Account: your email address, used to sign you in.
Launch list: if you join our waitlist on the website, your email address and city, used only to tell you when DateChi opens there. Email us to be removed.
Profile: first name, last initial, birthday, gender, who you’d like to meet, city and neighborhood, and optional details you choose to add (job, school, height, bio, interests, food and drink favorites, days you’re usually free, and lifestyle answers such as kids, drinking, religion and politics).
Race / ethnicity (optional): only if you choose to add it. It’s shown on your profile, and it’s used to filter who you see only if you set a race preference yourself. You can remove it at any time in Profile → The basics. By adding it, you consent to us using it this way.
Dating preferences: who you’d like to meet (age, height and the optional filters you choose). Only you can see these.
Live check-ins: when you use Live and tap Check in, your phone’s precise location at that moment, to confirm you’re at the place. While the Live screen is open, the app also checks your location now and then so it can check you out if you leave; those checks aren’t stored. Other members see only the place name, never your location. We erase your exact location 24 hours after you check in; we keep the place and time with your account. We never track your location in the background.
Photos you upload. We re-encode them on your device before upload, which removes embedded location (GPS) data.
Activity: who you like or pass on, your matches, date proposals, messages, blocks, and reports you file.
After-date check-ins: if you answer “How did it go?” after a date, whether you met, whether you’d see them again, and any note you add. The other person never sees your answers.
Notifications: if you allow push notifications in the iPhone app, a device token so we can send them to your phone. You can turn them off in Profile or in your phone’s settings.
Venue searches: the text you type when searching for places to meet.
Selfie check: when you apply, a selfie of you doing a pose we pick. A member of our team compares it with your profile photos by eye; we don’t use automated face recognition. Only our team can see it, and we delete it once your application is reviewed.
Membership: whether your profile was approved, your founding or paid membership status, and, if ID verification is turned on, whether you passed it.
Technical data: sign-in session cookies and standard server logs (such as IP address and browser type) kept by our hosting providers for security.

We do not collect biometric data or contacts, we collect precise location only when you check in with Live, and we never see your payment card details.

Who sees what

Other members see your first name, last initial, age (never your birthday), photos, and the profile details you fill in.
Your email address, birthday, likes, passes, and reports are never shown to other members.
Messages are visible only to you and the person you’re chatting with. If either of you files a report, our team may read your messages with that person to review it; every such review is logged.
Adding a date to your calendar uses your phone’s own calendar screen; we don’t read your calendar.
Profiles are visible only to signed-in members, never on public pages.

How we use it

To run the service: show you people to meet, create matches, deliver proposals and messages.
To keep members safe: review reports, enforce our Terms, and prevent abuse.
To send sign-in emails and essential service messages.

We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising.

Service providers

We use a small number of providers that process data on our behalf:

Supabase — database, sign-in, photo storage, and real-time messaging.
Our web hosting provider — serves the website.
Stripe Identity: when ID verification is required, Stripe collects an image of your government ID and a selfie, and uses facial geometry (a biometric identifier) to confirm they match. You’re asked for your consent first. DateChi never sees or stores these images or biometric data; we receive only whether you passed. Stripe stores and deletes this data under its own privacy policy and the law, including the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
Stripe — processes membership and DateChi+ payments. Your card details go directly to Stripe; we never see or store them. We keep your subscription status and renewal date.
Google Maps Platform and OpenStreetMap — place search. Only your search text and city are sent, not your identity.

We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect someone’s safety.

Keeping and deleting your data

We keep your information while your account is active, with these limits:
Conversations with no new message for 12 months are deleted.
Live chats that didn’t become a match are deleted a week after they end, and Live check-in locations after 24 hours.
Notifications are deleted after 90 days. Message notifications never include what was said.
Accounts nobody has signed in to for 2 years are deleted, with their photos.
You can pause your profile at any time to stop appearing in discovery.
You can delete your account from Profile → Account. This permanently erases your profile, photos, likes, matches, and messages. Backups held by our providers roll off within their standard retention periods.
You can download a copy of your data from Profile → Account.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, and other states), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your personal information, and to not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. Most of this you can do yourself in your profile. For anything else, contact us at support@datechi.com.

Age requirement

DateChi is only for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, and we delete such accounts when we learn of them.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Messages, Live chats and report details are additionally encrypted with a separate key that isn’t stored with the database, so a copy of the database alone can’t be read. Database access rules restrict each member to their own information, and our admin team must use two-step sign-in. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a unique email password and tell us about any concern.

Changes

If we make material changes, we’ll update this page and the date above, and notify members by email or in the app.