Privacy Policy

1 Information We Collect

Account and Profile Information

When you create a DinkConnections account, we collect the following information:

• Phone number — used for account verification via SMS
• Name — your first and last name as displayed on your profile
• Date of birth — used to calculate your age and ensure you meet minimum age requirements
• Gender — used for profile display and matching preferences
• Bio — a free-text description you provide about yourself
• Profile photos — images you upload to your profile (at least one photo is required to use the Service)
• City and state — your general location, used for matching you with nearby players
• Pickleball skill level and DUPR rating — your self-reported skill level and/or verified DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating), used for compatibility matching

Activity and Usage Data

As you use DinkConnections, we collect data about your interactions with the Service, including:

• Swipe activity (likes and passes)
• Matches formed with other users
• Messages sent and received between matched users
• Beacon posts (requests to find playing partners)
• Profile views and discovery activity
• Notification preferences and interaction history

Membership and Payment Data

DinkConnections offers three membership tiers: Free (free), Basic (paid), and Premium (paid). If you subscribe to a paid tier or purchase add-ons such as profile boosts, your payment is processed securely by Stripe. We do not store your full credit card number, CVV, or other sensitive payment credentials on our servers. We retain a record of your subscription tier, transaction history, and Stripe session identifiers for billing and support purposes.

Device and Technical Data

We automatically collect certain technical information when you use the Service, including:

• Device type, operating system, and version
• Push notification tokens (if you opt in to notifications)
• IP address
• Browser type and version (for the web application)
• App version

2 How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide and operate the Service — creating your account, displaying your profile to other users, facilitating matches, and enabling messaging
• Enable discovery and matching — recommending compatible profiles based on location, age, gender preferences, and pickleball skill level
• Verify your identity — confirming your phone number during account creation
• Send notifications — alerting you to new matches, messages, likes, and beacon activity (with your permission)
• Process payments — managing subscriptions to Basic and Premium tiers, and processing boost purchases through Stripe
• Improve the Service — analyzing usage patterns to enhance features, fix issues, and develop new functionality
• Enforce our policies — detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service
• Provide customer support — responding to your questions and resolving issues

3 How We Share Your Information

With Other Users

Your profile information — including your name, photos, bio, age, city/state, and pickleball skill level — is visible to other DinkConnections users through the discovery, matching, and people features. Messages you send are visible to the recipients of those messages.

With Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Service:

• Stripe — for secure payment processing of subscriptions and purchases
• Push notification services — Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) and Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for delivering notifications to your device
• Hosting providers — for storing and serving application data

We Do Not Sell Your Data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. Your data is used solely to provide and improve the DinkConnections Service.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a lawful government request.

4 Photo Storage and Usage

Photos you upload to DinkConnections are stored on our secure servers. At least one profile photo is required to use the Service — this ensures authenticity and trust within our community.

Your photos are displayed to other users as part of your profile in discovery, matching, and messaging features. We do not use your photos for advertising or share them with third parties outside the Service. When you delete a photo from your profile or delete your account, the photo is removed from our active servers.

5 Push Notifications

With your permission, we send push notifications to your mobile device or web browser to alert you about new matches, messages, likes, beacon activity, and other updates related to your account.

You can manage or disable push notifications at any time through your device settings or the notification preferences within the DinkConnections app. Disabling notifications will not affect the core functionality of the Service, but you may miss time-sensitive updates.

6 Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encrypted data transmission via HTTPS/TLS
• Secure server infrastructure with access controls
• Payment processing handled entirely by Stripe's PCI-compliant systems
• Phone-based account verification to prevent unauthorized access

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to following industry best practices.

7 Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. If you delete your account, we will remove your profile information, photos, and messages from our active systems. Some data may be retained in backup systems for a limited period or as required by law for legal, tax, or regulatory compliance.

Anonymized or aggregated data that cannot be used to identify you may be retained indefinitely for analytics and service improvement purposes.

8 Your Rights and Choices

Account Deletion

You have the right to delete your DinkConnections account at any time. Upon deletion, your profile, photos, matches, and message history will be removed from the Service. To delete your account, use the account deletion option in the app settings or contact us at Support@PeopleStar.com.

Access and Correction

You can view and update your profile information at any time through the app. If you need to access a copy of the personal data we hold about you, contact us at the email address below.

Notification Preferences

You can opt out of push notifications through your device settings or the app's notification preferences at any time.

Data Portability

You may request a copy of your personal data in a portable format by contacting us at Support@PeopleStar.com.

9 Age Requirements

DinkConnections is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected information from a user under 18, we will take steps to delete that information and terminate the associated account promptly.

10 Third-Party Links

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.

11 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the Service, or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the effective date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, through an in-app notification or email. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12 Contact Us

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

We will respond to your inquiry within a reasonable timeframe.