Matey Privacy Policy

Last updated: 25 September 2026

English only for now. If a translation ever conflicts, the English version applies.

Matey (matey.fun) is operated by The Tech Yoda Limited, a company registered in England and Wales, trading as Matey. This policy explains, honestly and in plain English, what data we collect, why, where it lives, and what your rights are. Many Matey users are from the EU, so this policy is written with the GDPR in mind. Questions: ben@techyoda.uk.

1. What we collect

• Account data: your email address and password (password is stored hashed, we never see it).
• Profile info: whatever you choose to add, such as name or nickname, photo, nationality, languages, travel plans, and bio.
• Photos and content: photos, reviews, posts, and other content you upload.
• Location: only if you choose to share it, for example pinning yourself on the map or tagging a spot. You can leave it off.
• Messages: chats and group messages you send on the platform. They are private between participants, but they are stored on our servers so the service can deliver them, and moderators may review reported messages.
• Sign-in details: your email address; if you sign in with Google (or another provider we add), we receive your email, name and profile photo from them: nothing more, and we never see your password.
• Usage analytics: product analytics via PostHog, hosted in the EU, so we can see which features are used and fix what is broken. We also use the Meta Pixel to measure whether people arriving from our social posts find Matey useful.

We do not collect more than we need, and we do not ask for data we have no use for.

2. Why we use it

• To run the service: accounts, profiles, messaging, maps, listings.
• To keep the community safe: handling reports, moderation, preventing spam and scams.
• To send you emails you have signed up for: account emails, and community updates you can opt out of.
• To improve the product: understanding usage via analytics.

Our legal bases under the GDPR are performance of contract (running the service you signed up for), legitimate interests (safety, moderation, product improvement), and consent (optional things like location sharing and marketing emails).

3. Where your data lives

• Supabase (database, authentication, file storage), hosted in the EU (Frankfurt).
• Vercel (website hosting and delivery).
• Resend (sending emails, such as sign-in and notification emails).
• PostHog EU (product analytics, EU-hosted).
• Google (optional sign-in provider: only if you choose it).
• Meta (advertising measurement via the Meta Pixel).
• Impact.com and Partnerize (affiliate networks): only if you accept optional cookies, so that a purchase you make on a partner's site after clicking one of our links can be credited to Matey. Off unless you opt in.

These providers process data on our behalf under their standard data processing agreements. Where any processing touches infrastructure outside the EU, it is covered by standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.

4. What we do not do

• We do not sell your data. Ever.
• We do not show display ads or let ad networks build profiles of you. Partner listings on Matey are first-party: businesses pay to be shown on the platform. The one exception is optional affiliate links, explained in the next section, which only run if you opt in.
• Beyond the optional affiliate and analytics cookies described below, we do not build advertising profiles of you or track you around the web.

5. Cookies, localStorage and affiliate links

We keep this minimal. We use a session cookie to keep you logged in, and localStorage for small preferences like your language choice and your cookie consent choice. Analytics runs through PostHog EU, and we use the Meta Pixel to measure whether our ads are working.

Some of our links to partners (for example insurance, SIMs, and tours) are affiliate links. If you tap Accept on our cookie banner, our affiliate networks, Impact.com and Partnerize, may set a cookie so that if you buy something after clicking, Matey earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps keep Matey free. These trackers are off by default: nothing loads until you accept, and if you tap Decline they never load, while every feature and the links themselves still work. You can change your mind at any time by clearing this site's storage in your browser.

6. How long we keep it

We keep your data while your account is active. When you delete your account, your profile, content, and personal data are deleted. Copies may persist in encrypted backups for a short period before rotating out. We may keep minimal records where the law requires it (for example, records related to a resolved abuse report).

7. Your rights

Under the GDPR (and similar laws elsewhere) you can:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectify it (most of it you can edit directly in your profile).
• Delete it: use the account deletion option in your profile settings, or email us and we will do it for you.
• Port it: ask for a copy of your data in a common format.
• Object or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent for anything based on consent (like location sharing) at any time.

To exercise any of these, use the in-app tools or email ben@techyoda.uk. We respond within one month. If you are in the EU and unhappy with how we handle it, you can complain to your local data protection authority.

8. Changes

If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we will notify you in the app or by email before the change takes effect.

9. Contact

The Tech Yoda Limited, a company registered in England and Wales, trading as Matey
Email: ben@techyoda.uk