The short version
- What we collect: your account details (name, email), the items and photos you post, your messages with other users, an approximate location for the distance filter, and basic device and usage data.
- Why: to run the swapping service — showing you nearby items, creating matches, and letting matched users message each other.
- We don't sell your personal information, and we don't run third-party advertising inside Swapt.
- No payments: Swapt is for bartering items. We don't process payments or collect card details. Any values shown are user estimates, not prices.
- Your rights: you can access, correct, delete, or export your data, and withdraw consent. See Your rights.
- Contact: [privacy@swapt.app].
1Who we are
Swapt (“Swapt,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a mobile-first application that lets people list items they own and swap them with other users through a swipe-and-match flow. This policy is issued by [LEGAL COMPANY NAME], located at [COMPANY ADDRESS].
For the purposes of data-protection law, [LEGAL COMPANY NAME] is the data controller (GDPR) and the organization responsible (PIPEDA) for the personal information described here. Our privacy officer can be reached at [privacy@swapt.app].
2Scope of this policy
This policy applies to the Swapt mobile app, any related websites we operate, and the accounts, listings, matches, and messages created through them (together, the “Service”). It does not cover third-party services you might reach from Swapt — for example, if you choose to add a link to your Instagram, Facebook, or X profile, those platforms have their own privacy policies that govern what happens once you leave Swapt.
3Information we collect
We collect only what we need to run a swapping service. Here is everything, grouped by why we have it:
| Category | What it includes | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | Your display name, email address, and password (stored only as a secured credential by our authentication provider — we never see your password in plain text). | You, at sign-up. |
| Profile information | A location you type in (e.g. a city), your chosen search radius, and any social handles (Instagram, Facebook, X) you optionally add to your profile. | You, when you edit your profile. |
| Item listings & photos | Titles, descriptions, categories, tags, an optional estimated value, and photos of the items you post. Photos are compressed and stored as part of your listing. | You, when you add an item. |
| Swipes & matches | Which items you swiped right (want) or left (pass) on, and the matches created when two users want each other's items. | Generated by your activity. |
| Messages | The content and timestamps of messages you send to users you've matched with. | You and the users you message. |
| Approximate device location | If you enable the map view, your device's approximate coordinates, used to draw your search-radius circle. If you decline the browser/OS location prompt, we fall back to a default and the feature still works. | Your device, only with your permission. |
| Device & technical data | Basic information needed to deliver and secure the app — such as device type, app version, and log/diagnostic data. On supported devices we may trigger short haptic vibration for feedback; this uses a device capability and does not collect data. | Automatically, as you use the app. |
| Notifications | In-app notifications about activity on your listings (for example, when someone swipes right on your item). | Generated by other users' activity. |
4How we use your information
We use the information above to:
- Create and secure your account and authenticate you when you log in.
- Show you other users' items to browse, filtered by your chosen distance radius.
- Record your swipes, create matches when interest is mutual, and enable messaging between matched users.
- Display your listings and profile to other users so swaps can happen.
- Send you in-app notifications about relevant activity.
- Maintain, troubleshoot, and improve the Service, and keep it safe from fraud, abuse, and misuse.
- Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.
We do not use your personal information to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you through solely automated means.
5Legal bases & consent
Under PIPEDA (Canada), we collect, use, and disclose personal information only for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate, and we rely on your consent. Consent may be express (for example, when you enable location) or implied (for example, when you post an item, you understand it will be shown to other users so a swap can happen). You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual limits — see Your rights.
Under the GDPR (EU/UK), we rely on the following legal bases:
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Creating your account, running listings, swipes, matches, and messaging | Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Securing the Service, preventing fraud/abuse, and improving the app | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Accessing your device's approximate location for the map | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), which you can withdraw |
| Meeting legal obligations | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) |
7Service providers
We use a small number of trusted providers to operate the Service. They may process personal information only on our instructions and are bound by confidentiality and data-protection obligations. Our providers include:
- Cloud hosting, authentication & database — [e.g. Google Firebase / Firestore], used to authenticate accounts and store your profile, listings, photos, matches, and messages.
- [Add any others you use — e.g. crash reporting, hosting for this website, email delivery — or delete this line.]
8Location information
Swapt uses location in two ways. First, you can type a location (like a city) into your profile — this is text you choose to share. Second, the optional map view can request your device's approximate coordinates from your browser or operating system to draw the circle that represents your search radius.
We only access device location after you grant permission through your device's standard prompt. If you decline, the map falls back to a default area and Swapt keeps working. You can turn location access off at any time in your device or browser settings.
9Information visible to other users
Swapt is a community marketplace, so some information is meant to be seen by others:
- Your display name and profile location.
- Any social handles you choose to add.
- Your item listings, including photos, descriptions, and tags.
- Your messages, which are shared with users you've matched with.
Please treat photos, descriptions, and messages as information you're comfortable sharing with the people you might trade with. Avoid posting sensitive personal details in listings or chats.
10How long we keep data
We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes in this policy:
- Account, profile, and listings — for as long as your account is active.
- Matches and messages — while the account and the related match exist, so both users retain a usable conversation history.
- Diagnostic and log data — for a limited period needed to keep the Service secure and reliable.
When you delete your account, we delete or anonymize your personal information within [e.g. 30 days], except where we must retain certain records to meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. Note that messages you sent may remain visible to the other participant unless they are also removed on their side.
11How we protect your data
We apply technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS) between the app and our backend, authentication controls, access restrictions to stored data, and reliance on established cloud infrastructure. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and are never stored in plain text.
No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities where required by law — including, under the GDPR, the applicable supervisory authority without undue delay, and, under PIPEDA, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and affected individuals where the breach poses a real risk of significant harm.
12International data transfers
Swapt and our service providers may store and process your information in countries other than the one you live in, including [e.g. the United States]. Data-protection laws in those countries may differ from yours.
Where we transfer personal information out of the EU, UK, or Canada, we rely on appropriate safeguards — such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK Addendum where relevant) — or another lawful transfer mechanism. Under PIPEDA, information handled by providers abroad may be accessible to the courts and authorities of those countries. You can contact us for more detail on the safeguards we use.
13Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have rights over your personal information. Many of these you can exercise directly in the app — editing your profile, updating or deleting listings, or deleting your account. For anything else, contact us at [privacy@swapt.app] and we'll respond within the timeframe required by law.
Common rights across both frameworks include the right to access the information we hold about you, to correct inaccurate information, to delete it, to withdraw consent, and to complain to a regulator. The two sections below set out the specifics.
14Your PIPEDA rights (Canada)
If you are in Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act gives you the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you and be told how it has been used and to whom it has been disclosed.
- Challenge the accuracy of your information and have it corrected.
- Withdraw consent to our collection, use, or disclosure of your information, subject to legal or contractual limits (withdrawing certain consents may mean parts of Swapt no longer work).
- Ask questions about our privacy practices and direct them to our privacy officer.
To exercise these rights, contact our privacy officer at [privacy@swapt.app]. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca or 1-800-282-1376.
15Your GDPR rights (EU/UK)
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the right to:
- Access — obtain a copy of your personal data.
- Rectification — correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Erasure — have your data deleted (“right to be forgotten”) in certain circumstances.
- Restriction — limit how we process your data in certain circumstances.
- Data portability — receive data you provided in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, and have it transmitted to another controller where technically feasible.
- Object — object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent — at any time, where we rely on consent (such as location access), without affecting processing already carried out.
- Not be subject to solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects (we don't carry out such decision-making).
We will respond to requests within one month, as required by the GDPR. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority — in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk); in the EU, your national data-protection authority.
[If you are established outside the EU/UK but offer Swapt to people there, name your EU and/or UK representative and their contact details here, as required by Art. 27 GDPR.]
16Children's privacy
Swapt is not directed to children. You must be at least [16] years old to use the Service (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, if higher). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below that age. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at [privacy@swapt.app] and we will delete it.
18Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we'll update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app or by email. Your continued use of Swapt after an update means you accept the revised policy, unless the change requires your fresh consent under applicable law — in which case we'll ask for it.
19Contact & complaints
For any privacy question, request, or complaint, contact:
Swapt — Privacy Officer
[LEGAL COMPANY NAME]
[COMPANY MAILING ADDRESS]
Email: [privacy@swapt.app]
We'll acknowledge your request and respond within the timeframe set by the law that applies to you. If we can't resolve your concern, you may contact the relevant regulator listed in the PIPEDA and GDPR sections above.