Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 26, 2026 · Last updated: August 26, 2026

Pothos ("we," "us," or "our") is a boutique international matchmaking service. We take the privacy of our members seriously — you are sharing personal information with us because you trust us, and we intend to honor that trust fully.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have over it. If you have questions, contact us at support@pothos.love.

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This policy applies to all users of the Pothos platform, including applicants, approved members, and visitors to our website. It applies regardless of your country of residence.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

Information you provide directly: When you apply or register, you provide your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, country, gender, and a personal message. During the intake conversation with Aria (our AI advisor), you share details about your relationship history, values, lifestyle, and what you are looking for.
Profile information: Photos you upload, your display name, bio, and any other details you add to your profile.
Messages: The content of conversations you have with other members and with AI companions on the platform. These are stored to enable the chat experience and to allow you to review your conversation history.
Booking information: If you schedule a call with our matchmaker, we collect the date, time, and contact details associated with that booking.
Technical information: Your device type, browser type, operating system, IP address, and usage patterns (pages visited, time spent). This is collected automatically when you use the platform.
Push notification subscriptions: If you enable push notifications, we store a browser subscription token on our servers.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Operate the platform and provide the matchmaking service
Create and manage your account and profile
Match you with compatible members based on your intake responses and preferences
Enable real-time messaging and automatic translation between members
Send you notifications about new messages, matches, and bookings
Allow our matchmaker (Jason) to review applications, approve accounts, and manage matches
Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service
Improve the platform and understand how it is being used
Communicate with you about your account, bookings, and service updates

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data for advertising. We do not share your information with third parties except as described in Section 5.

4. Automatic Translation

Pothos uses AI translation to enable conversations between members who speak different languages. When you send a message, it may be automatically translated and shown to the other person in their preferred language. The original text of your messages is always stored alongside translations. You can view the original text of any translated message at any time.

Translation is performed using a third-party AI service (Anthropic Claude). Message content sent for translation is subject to Anthropic's data processing terms. We do not permit Anthropic to use your messages to train their models.

5. Information We Share

We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

With your match: When you are matched with another member, they can see your display name, profile photo, bio, and the messages you send them. They cannot see your email address, phone number, or intake responses.
With our matchmaker: Jason (our founder and matchmaker) has access to all member profiles, intake data, and conversations for the purpose of managing the service, creating matches, and ensuring member safety.
Service providers: We use third-party services to operate the platform, including hosting (Hostinger), email delivery (Google SMTP), AI services (Anthropic), and push notifications. These providers access only the data necessary to perform their function and are not permitted to use it for any other purpose.
Legal requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Pothos, our members, or the public.
With your consent: For any other purpose, with your explicit permission.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete your profile, messages, and personal data within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain certain records.

Anonymized or aggregated data (data that cannot identify you) may be retained indefinitely for service improvement purposes.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your country of residence, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information
Deletion: Request that we delete your account and personal data
Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
Objection: Object to certain types of processing
Withdrawal of consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@pothos.love. We will respond within 30 days.

You can also delete your account directly from your profile settings at any time.

8. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. These measures include encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed password storage, and restricted access to our systems.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we do our best to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Cookies and Local Storage

We use cookies and browser local storage to:

Keep you logged in across sessions (via a secure remember-me cookie)
Remember your preferences (such as color scheme)
Enable push notification subscriptions

We do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking pixels.

10. Children's Privacy

Pothos is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that a minor has registered, we will immediately terminate their account and delete their data.

11. International Data Transfers

Pothos serves members across multiple countries. Your data may be stored and processed in servers located outside your country of residence. By using Pothos, you consent to the transfer of your information to these servers, which may have different data protection laws than your home country.

Where required, we implement appropriate safeguards for international transfers, including standard contractual clauses.

12. Indonesian Personal Data Protection Law (UU PDP)

For members located in Indonesia, we comply with Indonesia's Personal Data Protection Law (UU No. 27 Tahun 2022). You have the right to access, correct, and delete your personal data. To exercise these rights, contact us at support@pothos.love.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, notify you by email or via a notice on the platform. Your continued use of Pothos after any change constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

Pothos
Email: support@pothos.love

Pothos is a boutique matchmaking service. We are here for people who are serious about love.