Privacy Policy
Effective date: November 3, 2026
SEOULMATE (“we”, “us”) helps travelers plan trips in Korea with local recommendations, saved itineraries and public-transit routes. This policy explains what information we collect at seoulmate.travel and our related pages, why we collect it, and the choices you have.
1. Information we collect
Account information. When you create an account we collect your name, email address and a password. Passwords are handled by Firebase Authentication and are never visible to us.
Profile and trip information you add. Your starting location (the place you are staying), and optionally your gender, phone number and a profile photo.
Itinerary. The places you save with the heart button.
Messages. When you use the contact form, your name, email address, subject and message.
Technical information. Our hosting and authentication providers may log standard technical data such as IP address, browser type and request times. We do not use advertising trackers.
Information stored on your device. We keep a small amount of data in your browser’s local storage, such as your signed-in state and a cached copy of your profile, so the site loads quickly.
2. Signing in with Google
If you choose “Continue with Google”, Google shares your name, email address and Google account ID with us, along with your profile picture if you have one. We use this only to create and sign in to your SEOULMATE account and to show your name on your profile. We do not request access to your Gmail, contacts, calendar, Drive or any other Google data, and we do not post anything on your behalf.
Our use of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.
3. How we use information
- To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
- To save your profile and itinerary so they are available on any device you use.
- To plan public-transit routes between your saved places, starting from the location you provide.
- To reply to messages you send us.
- To keep the service working, prevent abuse and fix problems.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
4. Services we share data with
We use a small number of providers to run SEOULMATE. They receive only the data needed for their part of the service.
| Provider | What it does | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore) | Account sign-in and storage of your profile and itinerary | Name, email, Google account ID, profile and itinerary data |
| OpenAI, via our Cloudflare Worker | Plans the order of your saved places and the transit directions | Names and districts of your saved places and your starting location. Your name and email are not sent. |
| FormSubmit | Delivers contact-form messages to our inbox | Contents of the contact form |
| GitHub Pages | Hosts the website | Standard technical request data |
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of our users or SEOULMATE.
5. Where data is stored
Account and profile data is stored with Google Firebase. Some of our providers may process data outside Korea, including in the United States. Where this happens, they handle it under their own security and privacy commitments.
6. How long we keep data
We keep your account, profile and itinerary until you delete your account. Contact-form messages are kept in our inbox for as long as needed to answer them and handle follow-up. Route requests are not stored by us after the route is returned to you.
7. Your choices and rights
- Access and update: you can view and edit your profile at any time on the Profile page.
- Delete: use “Delete account” on the Profile page to permanently remove your account, profile and itinerary. You can also email us to ask for deletion.
- Google access: you can remove SEOULMATE’s access from your Google Account settings under “Third-party apps and services”.
- Other requests: depending on where you live, including under Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act, you may have rights to request access, correction, suspension of processing or deletion. Email us and we will respond within a reasonable time.
8. Children
SEOULMATE is not intended for children under 14, and we do not knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
9. Security
We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), Firebase Authentication, and database rules that let each user read and write only their own record. No online service can be completely secure, so please use a strong, unique password.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above. For significant changes, we will give notice on the site before they take effect.
11. Contact us
For privacy questions or requests, email seoulmate.official@gmail.com.