Privacy Policy

Lingying Zhilian (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. ("we", "us", or "our") operates the Shadoze mobile application and website (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use the Service.

By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

1.3 Information from Third Parties

If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive a limited profile from that provider (typically name, email, and profile photo URL). We do not access your contacts, calendar, or other provider data.

1.4 Sensitive Data

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health data, or biometric data. However, the content you voluntarily share during shadow creation or chat may implicitly reflect personal values, preferences, or psychological traits. This data is processed solely for building your AI shadow persona and is not used for profiling outside the Service. When profile photos are analyzed by AI (see Section 3.1), we do not perform facial recognition, create face templates, or identify individuals.

1.5 AI-Derived Profile Data

To build and refine your AI Shadow, we create a personality profile that combines:

• Information you provide directly during Shadow setup (traits, interests, preferences)
• Patterns inferred by AI from your interactions (chat messages, feedback, matching history)

This constitutes automated profiling under applicable privacy laws. You have the right to object to this profiling — please see Section 7 (Your Rights and Choices).

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and maintain your account.
• To build, train, and refine your AI shadow persona.
• To perform AI-driven shadow-to-shadow matching and compatibility evaluation.
• To provide chat, messaging, and direct human connection features.
• To personalize your experience, including language preferences.
• To communicate with you about the Service (updates, security alerts, support).
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security issues.
• To improve and optimize the Service through analytics and research.
• To enforce our Terms of Service.

3. How We Use AI

Shadoze is an AI-first product. Your data is processed by AI systems in the following ways:

3.1 AI Shadow Creation and Operation

• Shadow persona creation: Your onboarding choices and your conversations with the shadow assistant are analyzed by large language models (LLMs) to build a structured AI persona.
• Shadow chat: When you chat with your own shadow assistant, the AI uses your persona knowledge to generate contextual replies.
• Shadow-to-Shadow matching: When you request matches or like a candidate, your AI Shadow may hold an automated conversation with another user's Shadow to evaluate compatibility. This is an AI-to-AI process — your Shadow talks with another user's AI representation, not with the other user directly.
  • Your Shadow speaks based on your persona, so this conversation may reflect your interests, values, and preferences. Both users can read the Shadow-to-Shadow conversation and its summary.
  • Your contact information, your raw messages with the assistant, and your direct messages with other users are not given to the other user or their Shadow.
  • The output is a compatibility score and summary delivered to you.
  • Real human-to-human chat begins only when a user actively initiates it.
  • You can turn off automatic Shadow conversations after a like in the app's shadow settings.
  • You will receive a notification when your Shadow completes a match evaluation.
• Persona enrichment: AI periodically extracts patterns from your conversations with the assistant to improve your shadow's accuracy.
• Embeddings: AI-generated vector embeddings of your persona and needs are stored for similarity-based matching.
• Photo understanding (Social Assistant): When you ask the Social Assistant to analyze a match, the profile photos of you and that person are sent to an AI vision model to produce a short, non-judgmental description (e.g., setting and mood). It is instructed not to judge attractiveness or body, and not to infer sensitive traits.

AI Feature Overview: Shadoze uses artificial intelligence to analyze the personal information and interaction data you provide to generate a personalized persona profile ("Shadow"). This persona profile is used to match you with potential social connections. You can reset what your Shadow has learned or delete your account at any time in the app.

3.2 AI Service Providers

Our AI processing is currently powered by the following third-party model providers:

We send only the data needed for each request. These providers process it to return results to us through their API services. We do not permit them to sell your data or use it for advertising. Direct messages between you and other users are never sent to AI providers. If we add or change AI providers, we will update this list.

Important: We do not sell your personal data or AI-derived persona data to third parties.

Automated Decision-Making: The matching system uses AI-driven automated compatibility scoring. You may contact us to request human review of any AI-driven decision that significantly affects your use of the Service.

3.3 Reporting AI-Generated Content

If you encounter any AI-generated content (including Shadow chat messages, matching reports, or persona responses) that you believe violates our policies or applicable laws, you can report it directly within the app through the built-in reporting feature available in the chat or match detail screens. You can also contact us at hi@shadoze.ai. We will review all reports and take appropriate action within a reasonable timeframe.

3.4 Content Safety

We employ automated content filtering and moderation systems to prevent the generation of harmful, abusive, or otherwise prohibited content by our AI systems. This includes filtering against child exploitation and abuse, violence and harassment, hate speech and discrimination, misinformation and deceptive content, and content encouraging self-harm or harm to others. We continuously improve these safeguards and investigate all user reports of harmful content.

3.5 Security Safeguards for AI Processing

We implement technical measures to prevent unauthorized extraction of personal or persona data through prompt injection or similar attacks. Each Shadow's persona knowledge is isolated and is never shared with other users or Shadows. Our AI systems are designed not to reveal raw training data, other users' personal information, or cross-contaminated persona data.

4. Data Storage and Security

• Your account, profile, persona, and message data are stored on servers operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Singapore.
• Photos and other media you upload are stored with Cloudflare R2 and delivered through Cloudflare's global network.
• We use industry-standard encryption for data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest.
• Access to personal data is restricted to authorized personnel and automated systems.
• AI-derived data is stored in dedicated databases separate from your raw personal information.
• While we take reasonable precautions, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal data. We may share limited data in the following circumstances:

• AI service providers: DeepSeek and Alibaba Cloud Model Studio, as described in Section 3.2.
• Cloud infrastructure: Amazon Web Services (servers and databases, Singapore) and Cloudflare (network, media storage).
• Analytics and notifications: Google (Firebase Analytics and Firebase Cloud Messaging) and Apple (Apple Push Notification service) receive app usage events and device push tokens. We have disabled collection of the Android advertising ID and do not use advertising identifiers.
• Sign-in and payments: Google and Apple, when you choose to sign in or make a purchase through them.
• Email communications: We use Cloudflare Inc.'s Email Service to send account verification and notification emails. Cloudflare processes only your email address for the purpose of email delivery and does not store your personal information.
• Matched users: Your public profile (nickname, photos, and the profile details you choose to fill in) and the Shadow-to-Shadow conversation and summary are visible to users you are matched with. Your messages with the assistant, your persona knowledge base, and your precise location are never shared with other users.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose data if required by law.
• Safety: We may disclose data to prevent harm, fraud, or a threat to safety.
• Business transfers: Data may be transferred in the event of a merger or acquisition.

6. Data Retention

• Account data is retained as long as your account is active.
• After account deletion, personal data is deleted or anonymized within 30 days.
• Authentication logs may be retained for up to 12 months for fraud prevention.
• Aggregated, de-identified data may be retained indefinitely for research.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate personal data via your profile settings.
• Delete your account through the in-app deletion feature or by contacting us.
• Export your data in a portable format (upon request).
• Withdraw consent for optional data processing at any time.
  • You can withdraw consent for AI profiling and Shadow processing by resetting what your Shadow has learned or deleting your account in the app, or by emailing hi@shadoze.ai. You can turn off location access at any time in your device settings.
  • Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
  • Please note that withdrawing consent for certain AI features (such as Shadow matching) may limit the functionality of the Service.
• Object to certain types of data processing (including automated profiling for matching purposes).
• Restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Request human review of any AI-driven decision that significantly affects your use of the Service.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise these rights, contact us at hi@shadoze.ai.

8. Account Deletion

You can request deletion of your account at any time through the in-app account deletion feature (Settings → Account → Delete Account) or by emailing hi@shadoze.ai. Upon deletion, all your personal data, shadows, matches, chats, and AI-derived data are permanently removed within 30 days. See our Account Deletion page for full details.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is intended only for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to use it (see our Terms of Service). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under this age. If we learn that we have collected data from a child under the applicable age, we will promptly delete that data.

10. International Data Transfers

Your personal data is collected directly on our servers located in Singapore. However, some of it is transferred outside Singapore:

• AI processing in mainland China: The data described in Section 3.2 is sent to DeepSeek and Alibaba Cloud Model Studio, whose servers are located in mainland China, for processing. These providers return results to us; your account database remains in Singapore.
• Global service providers: Cloudflare, Google, and Apple may process data (media delivery, analytics, push notifications, sign-in, and payments) in multiple countries.
• Operating entity: Our operating entity is based in Beijing, China. Authorized personnel may access data to operate and support the Service.

Because our Service is currently available only outside of mainland China, and all our users access the Service from outside China, no personal data of data subjects in China is collected or processed.

We ensure that all international data transfers comply with applicable data protection laws, including appropriate safeguards consistent with global privacy standards. By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree to this data flow.

11. Third-Party Links

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

12. Cookies and Tracking

The website may use essential cookies for session management. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. The mobile app stores session tokens and preferences on your device, and uses Google Firebase Analytics to measure how features are used (see Section 1.2). We do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

13. Apple Privacy Compliance

The privacy details shown on our App Store and Google Play listings reflect the data practices described in this policy. Our app asks for your permission before accessing your location, photos, camera, or notifications.

14. California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have additional rights including the right to know what personal information is collected, to request deletion, to opt-out of sale (we do not sell personal information), and to non-discrimination for exercising these rights. To exercise your California rights, contact us at hi@shadoze.ai.

15. European Users (GDPR)

Our legal bases for processing include:

• Consent (e.g., creating your Shadow, AI profiling consent)
• Contract performance (providing the Service)
• Legitimate interests (improving and securing the Service)

You may contact us at hi@shadoze.ai or lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

16. Southeast Asia Specific Provisions

Indonesia (PDPL)

Under Indonesia's Personal Data Protection Law, cross-border transfers of your personal data require your explicit consent and are subject to adequate safeguards. We ensure transferred data receives protection equivalent to Indonesian law. You have the right to obtain information about the safeguards in place.

Thailand (PDPA)

Your automated profiling data (AI-derived profile) is subject to your explicit consent. You have the right to withdraw consent for profiling at any time. You can request details of the automated decision-making logic used in Shadow matching.

Malaysia (PDPA)

As Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act amendments took effect on January 1, 2026, we conduct a cross-border personal data transfer impact assessment (TIA) for all transfers originating from Malaysia. Copies of the assessment are available upon request.

Vietnam (Decree 53/2022/ND-CP)

A copy of your personal data may be retained in compliance with local data protection requirements. Please contact us for details specific to your data processing in Vietnam.

Philippines (DPA)

We adhere to the principles of transparency, legitimate purpose, and proportionality under the Data Privacy Act of the Philippines. You may lodge complaints with the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

Singapore (PDPA)

As your data is stored in Singapore, it is subject to the Personal Data Protection Act of Singapore. We have designated a Data Protection Officer who can be reached at dpo@shadoze.ai.

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through the app (via in-app notification) or by email. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.

18. Contact Us

• Email: hi@shadoze.ai
• Data Protection Officer: dpo@shadoze.ai
• Entity: Lingying Zhilian (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.
• Address: Room 484-16, 4th Floor, Building 1, No. 9 Yongchang North Road, Beijing 100176, China