🐧 Penguin Couple Privacy Policy

Welcome to Penguin Couple. Penguin Couple ("App") is operated and managed by Thousand Ways Private Limited ("Company", "we", "us", or "our", https://thethousandways.com/). We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile app (iOS and Android).

Please read this policy carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

Effective Date: February 7, 2026

1. Information We Collect

Personal Information

When you create an account and use Penguin Couple, we may collect the following personal information:

Account Information: Name, email address, nickname, avatar/profile picture
Demographics: Age, gender
Authentication Data: Apple User ID (for Apple Sign-In users), Google account information (for Google Sign-In users)
Partner Connection: Partner code, partner relationship details, connection date
Payment & Purchase Data: Order IDs and subscription status (processed securely by Apple App Store or Google Play Billing; Penguin Couple does NOT collect or store your payment card details).

User-Generated Content

When using Penguin Couple's features, we collect content you create and share:

Messages & Chat: Text messages exchanged with your partner through the app
Scribbles & Drawings: Digital drawings you create and send to your partner
Photos & Videos: Images and videos uploaded as part of daily challenges or shared puzzles
Voice Recordings: Audio messages recorded within the app
Game Data: Tic Tac Toe moves, Wordle games, jigsaw puzzle images
Question Responses: Answers to daily challenges and topic questions (including "Never Have I Ever", "Most Likely To", and other relationship questions)
Mood Data: Your current mood status and mood history

Location Data

With your explicit permission, we collect location information to enable core proximity features:

Geolocation Information: Real-time precise or approximate location coordinates (latitude and longitude) to calculate and display the distance between you and your partner on home and lock screen widgets.

Audio & Video Calling Data (WebRTC & E2EE)

With your explicit permission, we access your device's Camera and Microphone to enable in-app audio and video calls:

Exclusive Partner Calling: Audio and video calls can strictly and exclusively be made between you and your linked partner. Calling unlinked accounts or third parties is not supported.
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE): Real-time audio and video streams are transmitted directly between partners using peer-to-peer WebRTC technology with DTLS-SRTP end-to-end encryption.
Zero Call Storage or Monitoring: Penguin Couple does NOT record, listen to, monitor, or store any call audio, video streams, or call logs on any servers. Temporary WebRTC signaling metadata used solely to establish the connection is processed in memory and discarded immediately after setup.

Technical & Usage Information

We automatically collect certain technical information and analytics data:

Device Information: Device type, operating system and version, unique device identifiers
Push Notification Tokens: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) tokens for delivering notifications
App Analytics & Performance (Google Analytics for Firebase & Crashlytics): In-app events, user engagement metrics, screen views, session duration, app crashes, system diagnostics, and pseudonymous Firebase Installation IDs to analyze app stability and improve user experience
Activity Data: Online status, last seen timestamps, app usage patterns
Topic Progress: Your progress through question categories

2. How We Use Your Information

To Provide Core Services

Creating and managing your account
Connecting you with your partner
Enabling real-time messaging, scribbles, and content sharing
Providing real-time, end-to-end encrypted audio and video calling exclusively between connected partners
Facilitating games (Tic Tac Toe, Wordle, Jigsaw Puzzles)
Delivering daily challenges and relationship questions
Syncing mood status with your partner
Powering home and lock screen widgets (including calculating and displaying the distance between you and your partner)

To Improve Our Services

Enhancing user experience, app stability, and functionality
Analyzing aggregated usage patterns and feature engagement via Google Analytics for Firebase
Diagnosing crashes, bugs, and performance bottlenecks via Firebase Crashlytics
Developing new features and content based on user interaction insights

To Communicate With You

Sending push notifications about partner activity
Notifying you of new messages, game invites, or daily challenges
Sending important service announcements
Responding to support inquiries

3. Data Protection & Security

Security Measures

We implement robust security measures to protect your personal information:

Encryption in Transit: All data transfers between your device and our servers are protected using industry-standard TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption
End-to-End Encrypted Calling: Real-time peer-to-peer audio and video calls are protected with DTLS-SRTP end-to-end encryption, ensuring media is accessible only to you and your connected partner
Secure Authentication: Token-based authentication with verified OAuth providers (Google, Apple)
Secure Storage: User media files are stored in secure Cloudflare R2 object storage with restricted access controls
Access Controls: Limited access to personal data within our organization

Secure Data Transfer

All communications between the Penguin Couple app and our servers use HTTPS with TLS encryption. This ensures that your personal information, messages, scribbles, and activity data cannot be intercepted or read by unauthorized parties.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary to:

Provide you with our services
Comply with legal obligations
Resolve disputes
Enforce our agreements

When you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

4. Sharing Your Information

With Your Partner

The core function of Penguin Couple involves sharing information with your connected partner:

Messages, scribbles, and media you send
Real-time audio and video streams during active calls (transmitted directly via WebRTC)
Your mood status
Game moves and challenges
Question answers (shared in the chat context)
Online/activity status
Your calculated distance and/or location data (if enabled to show distance on home or lock screen widgets)

Third-Party Service Providers

We may share information with trusted third-party services that help us operate the app:

Service Provider	Purpose	Data Shared
Google Firebase	Authentication, Push Notifications, Crash Reporting (Firebase Crashlytics)	Email, FCM tokens, crash traces, device technical metadata
Google Analytics for Firebase	App Telemetry, User Engagement & Feature Analytics	Pseudonymous device identifiers, in-app event interactions, session metrics, anonymized IP addresses
Apple	Authentication (iOS), In-App Subscriptions	Apple User ID, email, subscription purchase status
Cloudflare (Cloudflare R2)	Media Storage	Uploaded photos, videos, voice messages
MongoDB Atlas	Database Hosting	User account, profile, and app data (stored securely with restricted access controls)

These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the specified purposes.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, such as:

Complying with a subpoena, court order, or legal process
Protecting our rights, property, or safety
Protecting the safety of our users or the public
Responding to lawful requests from public authorities

5. Your Rights & Choices

Access & Update

You have the right to:

Access your personal information through your account settings
Update your profile information (name, nickname, avatar, age, gender)
View and manage your partner connection

Data Deletion

You can request deletion of your personal data by:

Contacting us via email at admin@thethousandways.com
We will process deletion requests within 7 business days
We will confirm deletion via email

Note: Some data may be retained if required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., fraud prevention, legal compliance).

Push Notifications

You can control push notifications through:

Your device settings (iOS/Android)
The app's notification preferences

Location Permissions

You can grant, modify, or revoke location tracking permissions at any time through:

Your device system settings (iOS/Android) for the Penguin Couple app
The in-app settings (to toggle the distance widget features)

Camera & Microphone Permissions

You can grant, modify, or revoke camera and microphone access for in-app calling at any time through:

Your device system settings (iOS/Android) for the Penguin Couple app

Account Deletion

To delete your entire account and all associated data, use the "Delete Account" option in the app settings. Upon deletion:

Your profile and personal information will be removed
Shared content (messages, photos) may remain visible to your partner
Game history and challenge responses will be deleted

6. Third-Party Authentication & Analytics

Google Sign-In

If you sign in with Google, we may collect:

Your Google email address
Your display name
Other information you've made publicly available on Google

We use this information solely for authentication and account creation. We adhere to Google's Limited Use requirements and will not share your Google data with unauthorized third parties.

Apple Sign-In

If you sign in with Apple, we may collect:

Your Apple User ID
Your email address (or Apple's private relay email)
Your display name (if provided)

Apple Sign-In may provide a private relay email address, which we respect and use for account communications.

Google Analytics & Firebase Developer Services

We utilize Google Analytics for Firebase and related Firebase developer tools to help us understand user engagement, optimize performance, and maintain app stability:

Analytics & Usage Metrics: Google Analytics collects pseudonymized usage events (such as features accessed, screen transitions, and session duration). This data is aggregated and does not directly identify individual users.
Crashlytics & Diagnostic Reports: When unexpected errors or crashes occur, Firebase Crashlytics records technical telemetry (operating system version, device model, stack traces) to expedite debugging.
User Privacy Controls: Google processes analytics data in compliance with the Google Privacy Policy and Firebase Terms. You can opt out or restrict personalized tracking at any time through your operating system settings (such as "Ask App not to Track" on iOS or "Opt out of Ads Personalization" on Android).

7. Children's Privacy

Penguin Couple is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately, and we will take steps to delete such information.

8. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including India and the United States, where our servers and service providers are located. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

Changes in our practices
New features or services
Legal or regulatory requirements

We will notify you of significant changes by:

Posting the updated policy in the app
Updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this policy
Sending a notification through the app (for material changes)

Your continued use of Penguin Couple after any changes indicates your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

Company: Thousand Ways Private Limited (thethousandways.com)

Email: admin@thethousandways.com

Address: Patna, Bihar, India

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

Right to Know: Request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect
Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights

To exercise these rights, contact us at the email address above.

12. European Privacy Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have additional rights under GDPR:

Right of Access: Obtain confirmation and access to your personal data
Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate personal data
Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data
Right to Restrict Processing: Request limitation of processing
Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a portable format
Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time

Legal Basis for Processing:

Purpose	Legal Basis
Account creation & services	Contract performance
Push notifications	Legitimate interest
Analytics, performance monitoring & crash reporting (Google Analytics & Firebase)	Legitimate interest / Consent
Location-based distance widget	Consent
Legal compliance	Legal obligation

To exercise your GDPR rights, contact us at the email address above.