Privacy Policy

1. Overview

OpalMate is an Australian business. We collect personal information to run a marketplace where adults can meet safely, and we handle it in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It covers the OpalMate app and website.

2. What we collect

• Account: your name, email address, date of birth and a securely hashed password.
• Adult checks: a live selfie for the age check every account passes, and for an Opal who wants to be paid, a government photo ID and a recent bank statement. These are stored privately and are never shown on your profile.
• Profile: your display name, photos, video introduction, bio, interests, languages, your suburb or city and postcode, and your hourly rate. We never store or show a street address.
• Private details: your mobile number and trusted contact details, kept on your account and never displayed on your public profile.
• Activity: bookings, messages, reviews, reports, blocks, favourites, profile views, and your membership and boost records.
• Payments: card payments and payouts are handled by Stripe. We receive confirmation and reference details, and we never see your full card number.
• Technical: the device and browser you use, your IP address, and cookies we need to keep you signed in.

3. Why we use it

• To confirm you are an adult and to keep the platform adults-only.
• To publish your profile, run search, take bookings and carry messages between members and Opals.
• To take membership and boost payments, and to pay Opals their share of a completed booking.
• To keep people safe: reviewing reports, identity checks, and looking into anything that breaks our terms.
• To meet our legal and tax obligations, and to improve the service using aggregated, de-identified information.

4. Identity documents and selfies

Your age check selfie, photo ID and bank statement are sensitive information. They are used only to check your age, your identity and that your payout account is yours. Access is limited to the small review team, the files are held in private storage, and they are never shown on your profile or shared with members.

5. Who we share it with

• Stripe, our payment provider, to take payments, pay out Opals and handle refunds and chargebacks.
• Our email provider, to send booking, message and account emails.
• Our own team, for support, verification and moderation.
• Police, regulators or courts where the law requires it, or where we believe there is a serious risk to someone's safety.
• A buyer, if the business is ever sold, with notice to you.

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it for third-party advertising.

6. Location

Search and distance only work at suburb or city level. We store the suburb or city you choose, its postcode, and the centre point of that area so members can search by distance. Your home address is never collected and never displayed.

7. Cookies and analytics

We use cookies that are needed to keep you signed in and to remember your session, plus basic usage measurement that tells us which pages and features are used. We do not run third-party advertising cookies or sell browsing data. You can clear cookies in your browser, but you will be signed out.

8. Security

Data is encrypted in transit, identity documents are held in private storage with restricted access, and only the people who need your information to do their job can see it. No system is perfect, so choose a strong password and tell us at once if you think your account has been accessed by someone else.

9. How long we keep it

We keep your account information while your account is open. Identity documents, booking and payment records are kept for as long as we need them for safety, disputes, tax and record-keeping, and are then deleted or de-identified. Some records, such as a ban for a serious breach, may be kept to keep the platform safe.

10. Your choices and your rights

• Edit your profile, hide it from search, or hide your location from your public profile, from the My profile tab.
• Block or report a member at any time.
• Ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it.
• Ask us to close your account and delete your profile.
• Unsubscribe from optional emails, while still receiving booking and account emails that you need.

To make any of these requests, email support@opalmate.com. We may need to confirm who you are before we act.

11. Overseas processing

Some of our providers, including Stripe, store and process information overseas. We use providers that take security seriously and we take reasonable steps to make sure your information is protected wherever it is held.

12. Younger users

OpalMate is for adults only. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that an account belongs to a minor, we close it and delete the account information.

13. Changes to this policy

If this policy changes in a way that matters to you, we will tell you in the app or by email. The date at the top of this page always shows the current version.

14. Contact us

For privacy questions, or to exercise any of the rights above, email support@opalmate.com. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.