Swanned dating app

Your privacy is important to us. Swanned Pty Ltd (Swanned) takes all reasonable steps to ensure that your private information is protected. In this policy, we explain how we collect, store and protect your personal information.

It also explains how you can complain about a breach of the privacy laws, how you can access the personal information we hold and how to have that information corrected. Our Privacy Policy complies with the Privacy Act 1988(Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Personal Information

Personal information is data that can be used to identify or contact a single person.

In order to join Swanned, we require you to login via Facebook where we will be able to see your name, age, email address and Facebook ID.

Other personal information we may collect from you will be from use of our app. When creating your profile on Swanned it is optional for you to tell us your height, occupation, education, country of origin, home town, how long you have lived in Australia and how long you are intending on staying.

We also require you to upload at least one picture of yourself to let other Swans know who they are talking to, however, it is totally up to you what picture you upload. Swanned will not intervene unless an inappropriate image is uploaded that does not match our terms of service.

How we collect it

There are several ways we may collect your personal information. This includes, when logging into the Swanned app, when creating your profile, when messaging other swans, signing up to our swanned superior service, feedback you give us on the app, when you email one of our awesome customer service staff, your device information, your location information, or through associated appointed third-party agents.

If you login with via Facebook you are authorizing us to access your name age, email address and Facebook ID.

We may collect information about your device when you use the app, for example the unique device identifier, device model and operating system.

Our servers automatically record information log and usage data created by your use of the Swanned app, which helps us to improve our service. This may include information such as your IP address, access times and your mobile carrier. Other actions, such as interactions with Swanned and advertisements may also be included, however all data will be blind, meaning we cannot identify attribute back to a specific user.

If you contact one of our awesome support team, we will receive your email address, and may track your IP address as well as whatever information you share with us via your question or query. Swanned keeps all records of our users correspondence including any feedback, questions or complaints about other users.

How we use it

We will only use your personal information for the Swanned app purposes and to provide you with the best service that we can.

Such purposes include verifying your identity, learning your location and any other purpose which is stated to you at the time of collection.

Some examples include:

Notifications: We hope you want to hear from us about our exciting events, new partnerships, promotions and more that are relevant to the services we provide. If you have given us your details and said it’s ok to get in touch we will use your phone number and email address to notify you of these things. You can choose to opt out to receive any of these communications in Settings in the app. Or you can choose to opt out to receive any of these communications in emailing info@getswanned.com.

Feedback: Occasionally we may ask you for feedback about your services and how we can improve. We may use your phone number or email address to ask you to rate how we are doing. We love hearing from you about how we do!

Location: Swanned uses your phone's GPS in order to learn your location. If you decide to enable location settings, we will collect information about your longitude and latitude and may save your device's coordinates to offer certain features to you. We collect this information so we can show you users close by to you to enhance your experience on the Swanned App. Please see our FAQs on how to turn off your phone’s location settings. Please note, the Swanned app will not work without location settings enabled.

Device: We may collect your phone’s unique device identifier, device model and operating system to make sure the app runs smoothly on the various devices. We may also use this information to block users who we would rather not be on the app.

Links: We may keep track of how you interact with links available on Swanned including links to our website getswanned.com and third-party services and clients by redirecting clicks or through other means. We may share aggregate click statistics such as how many times a particular link was clicked on.

To identify fake profiles and stop unacceptable behavior: It’s important to us that all our users are genuine and behave in an appropriate manner as expressed in our terms and conditions. In order to ensure our users are safe and real we will record device information, IP, location. The information we collect helps to enhance the Swanned App and verify that you are a real human. Information such as your name will be visible to the public on your profile page.

Spam: Information such as your IP addresses and email addresses are retained for anti-fraud and anti-spam purposes for as long as they are relevant.

Personalize the app and content we deliver to you:We always want to give our Swans the best possible service. In order to analyse our features we collect anonymised information about activity on Swanned for statistical and product research purposes but this is not attributable to an individual once the profile has been deleted.

Deleted profiles: Where you request that your profile is deleted via the app, it is immediately made unavailable and deleted within 30 days. When we say deleted, we will still have anonymized information about that person, but the data will be blind, or selectively changed, so that no one person is identifiable by their data. Correspondence with our Customer Support team will be retained for longer to allow us to deal with any subsequent queries.

How we hold and protect it

At Swanned, we do our utmost to protect the privacy and security of any personal information we hold. However, unfortunately no app, website or internet transmission is ever completely 100% secure and even we cannot guarantee that unauthorised access, hacking, data loss or other breaches will never occur.

When you use our app, you agree that Swanned operates through servers which may be located throughout all of Australia.

In some cases, your information may be archived and sent to an external data storage provider for a period of time. We use storage providers located in Australia who are regulated by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles, as well as some storage providers located overseas.

We take security seriously and protect your personal information in the following ways:

  • We do not keep your credit card number as any payments you make to Swanned are all controlled via the App or Play store.
  • The servers we use are protected by industry standard firewalls and have password protection systems.
  • We restrict access to personal information to our employees and contracted third party providers who need to know that information in order to process it for us and who are subject to strict contractual confidentiality obligations.
  • We take appropriate steps to destroy or de-identify personal information if we no longer need it for any authorised purpose and are not required by law to retain it.
  • The getswanned.com website and the backend API uses industry standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology which encrypts the information you enter via our website and the app.

Data breach response plan

If we do suffer a data breach of any kind this is the type of situation we take very seriously. In accordance with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) we have an official data breach response plan in place which can be viewed here.

Facebook Third Party Registration

When you register via a third party social media platform like Facebook, your Swanned profile will be available to all users of Swanned whether via our App. Remember that when you register with a third party, you are also giving them personal information, so we recommend that you read their privacy policies as Swanned does not control how they use their information.

Other third parties

From time to time, the Swanned app will have deals and discounts from their partners which show in the app. By agreeing to our terms you are agreeing to seeing these deals. It is at your own discretion if you choose to interact with these deals.

How you should keep your own data safe

By downloading Swanned you understand that your Swanned profile and other information you make available via the app, including information you provide directly or indirectly through Facebook (i.e. your Facebook photos, your name, age, approximate location) may be viewed and shared by Swans with individuals who may or may not be users.

To give you an example; a Swan may like the look of you and screenshot a picture of you to their friend who is not on the Swanned App. So remember, when using Swanned and messaging other Swans, you must be happy for anything you share to be seen in the public domain, and to be seen by both users and non-users of the Swanned app.

We suggest that all Swans consider the information they share with us and other users on the app. It is not advised to share email addresses, phone numbers, full name, addresses, credit card details, drivers' license details and other information which is open to misuse.

All information you provide us with is optional. We suggest you take caution when volunteering information to others on your profile. Remember, the pictures you choose to use in your profile may suggest things about you, for example where you live, or where you like to go out. When you upload photos to the Swanned app you are giving consent that these images can be made public to other users.

If you post anything that is inconsistent with our Terms and Conditions, we reserve the right to terminate your Account - we really don't want to have to do this so please play by the rules!

Here are some handy tips which you can also use to help keep your data secure:

  • Log out of your account after use.
  • Don't share your social media password with anyone.
  • Change your social media password from time-to-time. If you ever think someone has had access to your social media password, please report it to the relevant social media platform and change your password immediately. We cannot guarantee the security of your personal data while it is being transmitted to our site and any transmission is at your own risk.

Click here to see more comprehensive tips on how to stay safe online.

How we use cookies and tracking tools

No we’re not giving delicious treats away we’re afraid. “Cookies” is the name given to data files that live in your computer hard drive that store information about when you visit the getswanned.com web site and what you prefer to see.

We use cookies to allow us to anonymously learn how people interact with Swanned, therefore helping us to improve our service for you, for example analytics that help us determine how our site is performing and ensuring a smooth and trouble-free experience for our members and visitors.

Anonymous data we collect includes your computer’s IP address, recording the time and pages you visited, the device and browser you are using. Cookies by themselves cannot be used to discover the identity of a user. Cookies may also be used to help us tailor our online ads or to deliver an advertisement to you that may be more relevant to you. You can choose to disable cookies in your web browser at any time. Cookies are also used to ensure against fraud, misuse.

How to update your information

You have the right to request access to, or correction of, the information Swanned holds about you by emailing us using the contact details below.

Upon receipt of your request and enough information to allow us to identify you, we will disclose to you the personal information we hold about you. We will also correct, amend or delete any personal information that you tell us is inaccurate, irrelevant, out of date or incomplete.

Delete your data

At any time you can request to have your data deleted by Swanned by contacting info@getswanned.com. In the app itself, you can deactivate and delete your profile under account settings. When you do this there will be a 30 day cooling off period where we will store your data in case you change your mind. After this period all your data will be deleted. We delete all data associated with your account on our app including images, messages, matches and profile. We will continue to store blind data to help us understand statistics and demographic data about our users to help us improve, however this data that we keep cannot identify a person, it is only used for a statistical basis.

You can permanently delete your Account (although we really hope you don't!) When your Account is deactivated, we take reasonable efforts to make sure it is no longer viewable on the app.

If you choose to delete your account with Swanned, you will have to re-join and go through the onboarding process once again. We are not responsible for any information, pictures, comments, or other content that is deleted from our systems resulting from the deactivation of your account.

Removed and deleted information may persist in backup copies for up to 30 days to enable restoration, but will not be available to others in the meantime.

To prevent misuse of Swanned following deletion of a profile we may keep information we deem necessary to ensure that that user does not open a new account in breach of our Terms and Conditions and to ensure compliance with all laws and regulations.

Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your account, be aware that copies of that information may still be viewable and/or accessed - for example if information has been previously shared with others, or copied or shared with search engines. We cannot control this, nor do we accept any liability for this. If you have given other Swans, third party applications or websites access to your personal information they may retain such information to the extent permitted under their terms of service or privacy policies.

Age policy

Although we want those of all ages to find the swan they want – you do have to be at least 18 years old in order to use our app.

Swanned does not knowingly collect any information about, or market to children, minors or anyone under the age of 18. If you are less than 18 years old, we ask that you do not use our app. If we become aware of anyone under the age of 18 has registered with us, we will terminate that person's registration from Swanned. If we do delete a profile because you violated our age rules, we may retain your email and IP address to ensure that you do not try to get around our rules by creating a new profile.

From time to time we might have to share your data

We will only disclose your personal data to regulators, law enforcement bodies, or other third parties where we think it’s necessary to comply with applicable laws or regulations. Where possible and appropriate, we will notify you of this type of disclosure.

How to contact us

If you believe your privacy has been breached, or if you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information, please contact us using one of the methods outlined below.

Email: info@getswanned.com

We will investigate the matters raised and we will respond to you directly. If you are dissatisfied with our response, or with the way that the complaint was handled, then you should refer the matter to the Privacy Commissioner’s Office in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Swanned Pty Ltd is registered as an Australian company 628 614 120 under the Corporations Act 2001 and it is taken to be registered in NSW.

Effective date

Swanned Pty Ltd may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. When we change the policy in a material way, a notice will be posted on our website along with the updated Privacy Policy. This policy was last updated 01/10/21.

Thanks for reading!