Shwink is built for wedding and event photographers. We take your privacy seriously, especially your health data. This policy explains what we collect, why, and how you stay in control.
1. Who We Are
Shwink is operated by Sensego (Pty) Ltd, based in South Africa. For privacy questions, contact privacy@shwink.app.
2. What We Collect
- Account information: email address, display name, username, and optional bio, location (city/country), years of experience, and profile photo.
- Date of birth: collected at signup to verify you are at least 13. Stored privately, never shown on your profile, never shared with other users or third parties.
- Health & fitness data: with your explicit permission we read from Apple HealthKit / Google Fit during shoot sessions: step count, distance, heart rate (average and peak), flights climbed, active calories. Used only to generate your Shwink Card stats and personal bests. We never sell health data, never use it for advertising, never share it with third parties without your explicit consent.
- Shoot & session data: shoot type, duration, date, mood, photo count, optional venue or couple name. You control what appears on your public Shwink Card.
- Photos & content: behind-the-scenes photos you choose to share and the Shwink Card images we generate. You own this content at all times.
- Social activity: follows, winks (likes), comments, notifications.
- Device & technical data: push notification tokens, app version, device type, crash reports.
- Safety & moderation data: records of reports you file and users you block.
3. How We Use Your Data
To operate the app and provide your Shwink Card; show stats, streaks and personal bests; power the social feed and notifications; improve performance and fix bugs; and send product updates / stat summaries you have opted into (section 7). If we introduce new uses we will update this policy and notify you in the app first.
4. Who We Share Data With
- Firebase / Google: authentication, database hosting (Firestore in Europe), file storage, push notifications, basic product analytics. Processed under a Data Processing Agreement. See policies.google.com/privacy.
- Image moderation (Google Cloud Vision): uploaded photos are automatically scanned by Cloud Vision SafeSearch for adult/violent/graphic content before publishing. Automated; staff don't review unless content is later reported. Cloud Vision does not retain the image.
- Apple HealthKit: health data is never shared with third parties, never used for advertising, never combined with third-party data outside the app.
- Other users: your profile, Shwink Cards, and posts you share are visible to other users. You control what is public; venue and couple names can be kept private.
- Legal requirements: we may disclose data if required by law or to protect user safety.
- We do not sell your personal data. Period.
5. Your Rights & Controls
Access (view your data in-app), correction (edit profile/shoots), deletion (Settings → Delete Account, permanent and processed immediately; see also shwink.app/delete-account), health-permission revocation (iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Health), notification control (device Settings). EEA/UK users also have the right to object to processing, request data portability, and complain to their local data protection authority.
6. Tracking & Analytics
On iPhone we ask via Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt before any analytics use the device advertising identifier (IDFA). If you choose "Ask App Not to Track," analytics continue in non-personalised aggregate form without the IDFA. Shwink is currently ad-free. We don't sell data to advertisers. If we add advertising we'll update this policy and notify you in-app.
7. Marketing & Email
Occasional emails (weekly stat summaries, monthly Shwink Card, product updates, tips). Opt out anytime via the Unsubscribe link or Settings → Notifications → Email notifications. Transactional emails (verification, password reset, security alerts, content-removal notices) are still sent.
8. Safety, Reporting & Blocking
Report any post, comment, or profile in-app. We aim to review within 24 hours and remove content that violates our Terms. Block any user anytime. Once blocked you won't see their content and they can't see yours or message you. Blocked users are not notified.
9. Data Retention
We keep your data while your account is active. On deletion, your profile, shoots, posts, health data, and date of birth are permanently deleted from our servers. Reports you have filed may be retained for safety-audit purposes for up to 12 months after deletion. Some anonymised, aggregated statistics (e.g. total platform steps) may be retained and cannot be linked back to you.
10. Children
Not intended for anyone under 13. Age is verified at signup; under-13 signups are blocked. Report suspected under-13 accounts to privacy@shwink.app.
11. Data Security
Stored on Google Firebase with encryption in transit and at rest. Industry-standard practices. Report vulnerabilities to privacy@shwink.app.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy and will notify you of significant changes in-app. Continued use means you accept the update.
13. Contact
privacy@shwink.app for privacy; support@shwink.app for everything else. We aim to respond within 24 hours and always within 30 days.