Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly when using Dine With Me:

• Account Information: name, display name, email address, and password when you create an account.
• Profile Information: avatar image, bio, and other details you choose to add to your profile.
• Competition Data: competitions you create or join, including titles, descriptions, categories, dates, and locations.
• Ratings & Reviews: ratings you give to other participants' dinners, including per-category scores and comments.
• Payment Information: wallet transactions, entry fees, and prize-related data processed through our platform.
• Communications: messages sent through our in-app chat feature.
• Camera & Photos: with your permission, we access your device camera and photo library to allow you to take photos for identity verification (selfie and ID document) and to upload images of your dishes for competitions. Photos are uploaded to our secure servers and are not shared with third parties without your consent.
• Location Data: with your permission, we access your device's approximate location to show you cooking competitions and chefs near you. Location data is used only to filter and sort results by proximity and is not stored on our servers or shared with third parties. You can disable location access at any time in your device settings.
• Push Notifications: with your permission, we may send push notifications to your device about competition updates, new messages, payment confirmations, and friend requests. You can manage notification preferences in your device settings at any time.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Enable you to create, join, and participate in dinner competitions.
• Calculate and display ratings, rankings, and competition results.
• Process competition entry fees, prize payouts, and chef lesson payments via Stripe.
• Facilitate real-time communication between competition participants.
• Send push notifications about competition updates, invitations, and results via Firebase Cloud Messaging.
• Send transactional emails (competition invites, payment confirmations, account updates) via Resend.
• Display competition and chef lesson locations on maps via Google Maps.
• Improve and optimize the platform experience using anonymous analytics.

3. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored securely using Supabase, a trusted cloud infrastructure provider. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS).
• Row-level security policies on database tables.
• Secure authentication with hashed passwords.
• Regular security reviews of our infrastructure.
• Payment data processed exclusively by Stripe (PCI-DSS compliant). We never store credit card numbers.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share limited data in the following circumstances:

• Supabase (supabase.com) — Authentication, PostgreSQL database, real-time messaging, and file storage.
• Stripe (stripe.com) — Payment processing for competition entry fees, chef lesson bookings, and winner payouts. PCI-DSS compliant.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (firebase.google.com) — Push notification delivery to iOS and Android devices.
• Resend (resend.com) — Transactional email delivery (competition invites, payment confirmations, account notifications).
• Google Analytics (analytics.google.com) — Anonymous usage analytics to improve the platform. No personally identifiable information is shared.
• Google Maps (maps.google.com) — Displaying competition and chef lesson locations on maps.
• Google Fonts (fonts.google.com) — Loading the Poppins web font. Google may collect anonymized usage data.
• Font Awesome (fontawesome.com) — Icon library served via CDN.
• Pexels (pexels.com) — Free stock photos used for competition cover images.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

We use cookies and browser local storage for essential platform functionality, such as keeping you signed in and remembering your preferences. For more details, please see our Cookie Policy.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information in your profile.
• Delete your account and associated data.
• Export your data in a portable format.
• Withdraw consent for optional data processing at any time.
• Opt out of analytics tracking by disabling cookies in your browser settings.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the email below.

7. Children's Privacy

Dine With Me is not intended for users under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the updated policy on our platform with a revised "Last updated" date.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at:

Email: privacy@dinewithme.org