Privacy Policy

App: Dear — “Dear: Questions Made for Us” (App Store) · “Dear: 우리에게 꼭 맞는 질문” (Google Play)
Identifiers: com.grohong.dear.app (iOS) · com.hcb.dearcouplecounselor (Android)
Developer: Hong Seong Ho
Effective date: September 20, 2026
Last updated: September 20, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how Dear (“the App”, “we”, “us”) collects, uses and protects your information. By installing or using the App, you agree to the practices described below.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the minimum information necessary to operate the App’s features.

a. Account information

• Google Sign-In — unique user ID (UID), email address, display name, profile photo URL
• iOSSign in with Apple — unique user ID, display name and email address. If you choose “Hide My Email”, Apple gives us a private relay address instead of your real one, and we store only that relay address.

b. Onboarding profile (provided voluntarily by you)

• Personality, values, communication style, love language, conflict points and other relationship profile answers you enter during onboarding
• Your date of birth (used for fortune features)
• The date you and your partner met, marriage status and wedding anniversary
• Whether you have children and, if you choose to enter them, your children’s names and birthdays

c. Couple and content data

• Couple invitation code and couple ID
• Q&A questions and answers you write or receive
• Exchange diary entries — the text, mood and date that you and your partner write
• Calendar events (anniversaries, birthdays, D-Day and other entries you add)
• AndroidCounseling messages (“Heart Mail”) and chat messages sent between you and your partner. These features do not exist in the iOS version.

d. Device and technical information

• Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) registration token, for push notifications
• App version, OS version, device model, language setting, crash and diagnostic logs
• Product-interaction events (which screens you open and which features you use), used for analytics
• AndroidAdvertising ID, used by Google AdMob
• iOSThe App does not present the App Tracking Transparency prompt and does not access the IDFA. Advertising requests are sent as non-personalized.

e. Subscription and purchase information

• AndroidPurchase token, product ID and subscription status, processed by Google Play Billing. We never receive or store your card number.
• iOSSubscriptions are not currently offered in the iOS version, so no purchase information is collected there. If subscriptions are offered in a future version they will be processed by Apple’s StoreKit, and Apple — not we — handles the payment.

f. Authentication-related data

• The optional app lock is processed entirely on your device by the operating system (iOSFace ID / Touch ID · Androidthe system biometric prompt). No biometric data is collected or transmitted, and none ever leaves your device.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and maintain your account, link you with your partner, and route you to the correct screen
• To generate recommended questions, rephrased messages, fortune content, weekly and monthly exchange-diary reports, and anniversary letter drafts and gift suggestions (see Section 4)
• To deliver push notifications (new questions, new answers, reminders, couple matching events)
• AndroidTo provide and verify premium subscription benefits
• To display advertisements to users without a premium subscription — iOSbanner and interstitial ads · Androidbanner, interstitial and rewarded ads
• To understand which features are used (product-interaction analytics) and to diagnose crashes
• To prevent abuse and to comply with applicable laws

3. Third-Party Services

We rely on the following services. Each has its own privacy policy governing how it processes data.

4. What We Send to the AI Provider

Several features generate text with Google’s Gemini API. This table lists exactly what leaves your device for each of them. Nothing is sent unless you use the feature.

We do not send your email address, payment information, precise location, contacts, photos, or device identifiers to the AI provider.

5. Advertising and Your Consent

• Advertising requests are sent as non-personalized on both platforms. We do not build advertising profiles about you and we do not sell your data.
• iOSIn the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland we ask for your consent through Google’s User Messaging Platform before requesting any advertisement. You can reopen that choice at any time in Settings ▸ Ad privacy settings inside the App. Where consent is required and you decline, advertising is not requested.
• A premium subscription, where offered, removes advertising.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only in these cases:

• With your partner — couple content (Q&A answers, exchange diary entries, shared calendar eventsAndroidand Heart Mail / chat messages) is visible to the partner linked by the same couple ID. This is the core purpose of the App.
• With the service providers listed in Section 3, strictly to operate the App
• When required by law, valid legal process, or to protect rights, safety and property

7. Data Retention

• Account and profile data — retained until you delete your account
• Couple content (Q&A, exchange diary, calendarAndroid, messages) — retained until you or your partner delete it, or until the account is deleted
• AndroidLocal message cache — stored only on your device and cleared when you clear app data. The iOS version keeps no local message cache.
• Crash and analytics logs — retained according to Firebase’s default retention

Upon account deletion we delete or anonymize your personal data within a reasonable period, except where retention is required by law.

8. Data Security

• Transport is encrypted with HTTPS/TLS
• Access to backend data is restricted by Firestore security rules, and requests are attested with Firebase App Check
• Authentication is handled by Firebase Authentication together with the platform sign-in provider
• The optional app lock is evaluated locally by the operating system; no biometric template leaves your device
• AndroidLocally cached counseling messages are encrypted on the device before being stored

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction (including the EEA and the UK under the GDPR, and California under the CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction or deletion
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Withdraw consent at any time — including your advertising consent (Section 5)
• Data portability
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

You can exercise most rights directly in the App — edit your profile, delete content, or use Settings ▸ Delete Account — or by emailing the address in Section 14.

10. Children’s Privacy

The App is intended for users aged 16 and older who are in, or interested in, a romantic relationship. Store age ratings describe how suitable the App’s content is and are derived from each store’s own questionnaire; they do not change the minimum age required to create an account.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone below this age, or below the higher digital consent age that applies in your country (up to 16 in the EEA under GDPR Article 8). If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly. Our full child-safety commitments are published in our Child Safety Standards.

11. International Data Transfers

The App relies on Google Cloud infrastructure. Your information may be processed in countries other than your own, including the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Google’s Standard Contractual Clauses.

12. Permissions

• Internet — required to communicate with Firebase, the Gemini API and AdMob
• Notifications — to deliver push notifications. You may decline or disable this at any time in system settings; the App remains usable.
• Biometric / Face ID — optional app-lock feature only
• AndroidBilling — required by Google Play Billing for subscriptions

13. Account Deletion

You can delete your account and all associated personal data at any time from inside the App, using Settings ▸ Delete Account. Deleting your account removes your profile, Q&A history, exchange diary entries, calendar events, couple link and subscription records held by the App within a reasonable period. iOSIf you signed in with Apple, we also revoke the Apple sign-in token as part of deletion. If you prefer, you can request deletion by emailing the address in Section 14.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced within the App or on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. Continued use of the App after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Contact

For questions, requests or complaints about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact:

Developer: Hong Seong Ho
Email: sh7903@gmail.com