Privacy Policy

Last updated 2 November 2026

SecretSwapp helps groups run gift swaps (Secret Santa). This policy explains what information we collect, why, who can see it, and the choices you have. It covers the SecretSwapp website and the SecretSwapp mobile app. We've tried to keep it plain; if anything is unclear, write to support@secretswapp.com.

1. The short version

We collect only what we need to run your Swapps, your account, your support requests and our ambassador programme.
Nobody sees who got whom - not the host, not other participants, not our staff. Each person is told only who they are gifting.
We don't sell your personal information and we don't run advertising trackers.
If you sign in with Google, we receive only your name, email address and profile picture, and use them only to run your account (see section 3).
AI is used for matching only if the host turns on "Smart match" and you tick the consent box. It never receives your name or email.

2. What we collect

If you have an account

Your name, email address, a username (if you choose one), your password (stored only in scrambled form - we can't read it), your date of birth if you give it in the mobile app, an optional profile picture, and when you accepted this policy.

If you sign in with Google (website only)

Google tells us your name, your email address (and that Google has verified it), the address of your Google profile picture, and a private identifier that is always the same for your Google account. Section 3 explains exactly what we do with it.

If you host a Swapp

The title, message, picture or theme, the kind of Swapp (Secret Santa, Sallah / Eid and so on), group size, budget, dates and settings you choose (including whether anonymous hints are on), and a record of what happened to the Swapp (people joining and leaving, the draw, changes you make).

If you join a Swapp (no account needed)

Your name, email address and wish, an optional private note for Smart match (and whether you agreed to it being used), the match you were given after the draw, a secret link token that lets you edit your own entry, and, if you use them, the anonymous hints and replies you send. Those are short pieces of text (no links, phone numbers or e-mail addresses are allowed) and any message you report.

If you contact support

Your report, any screenshots you attach, your email address and name, and technical details that help us fix the problem: which app you used (web, Android or iOS), the app version, the page you were on and your browser type.

If you are an ambassador or influencer

Your sign-up codes, how many people used them, points you earned and spent, rewards you requested and the delivery details you provide for them.

Technical information

Which platform you last signed in from and when, your IP address in our server logs (used for security and to limit abuse), and - only for sign-ups that use an ambassador's code - a one-way scrambled version of your IP address that lets us spot one person creating many fake sign-ups. We never store that address in readable form for this purpose.

In your browser we store a sign-in token, your light/dark preference, and a small token for each Swapp you joined on that device. These are essential, so the site can't work without them. We don't use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If you choose "Accept all" in the cookie notice, we also load Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, which help us understand how the site is used (for example which pages are visited, and the kind of device and browser) and may set cookies and send that information, with your IP address, to Google. It stays off unless you accept. You can change your choice any time with "Cookie settings" in the footer; switching it off takes effect the next time a page loads.

3. Google user data

Where it is available, you can create an account or sign in on our website with your Google account instead of a password. This is exactly what we receive from Google and what we do with it.

What we receive. Your name, your email address (and whether Google has verified it), the web address of your Google profile picture, and a private identifier that is always the same for your Google account. We ask only for the basic sign-in permissions (openid, email and profile). We do not ask for, and cannot see, your Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, Contacts or anything else in your Google account, and we never see your Google password.
How we use it. Only to create your SecretSwapp account or recognise it when you come back, to show your name and picture in the app, to send you the emails described in section 4, and to keep your account secure. We keep a record of which Google account is connected to your account, and when it was connected and last used. We do not use it for advertising, profiling or marketing, and we do not use it to train AI models.
Who we share it with. We do not sell it and we do not give it to anyone for advertising. It is held with the rest of your account details and handled only by the service providers described in section 7, as needed to run SecretSwapp. Our staff can see it only to help you with a support request, to keep the service secure, or if the law requires.
How we protect it. It travels over encrypted connections, is stored in our database with access limited by role, and staff actions on accounts are logged.
How long we keep it, and how to delete it. We keep it while your account exists. Email support@secretswapp.com and we will delete your account, including the Google details above (see section 11).
Disconnecting Google. You can remove SecretSwapp's access at any time in your Google Account, at myaccount.google.com/permissions. That stops "Sign in with Google" for your account. Your SecretSwapp account stays until you ask us to delete it, and you can keep using it with a password by choosing "Forgot password" once.
Google's rules. SecretSwapp's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.
What we never do with Google's services. Where we use Google's Gemini AI service (section 6), it is for short pieces of text only. We do not use Google APIs or Google user data to create, change or share images, video or audio of anyone, and we never use them to create sexual or intimate content of any kind.

4. How we use it

To run the service: create and manage Swapps, let people join, draw names and email results.
To send the emails you'd expect: confirmations, "your Swapp is ready", your match, gift-day reminders, a note that you have a new anonymous hint (never the hint itself), sign-in codes, and replies to support requests.
To keep things safe: prevent spam and fake sign-ups, limit repeated attempts, investigate abuse, and keep a log of actions our staff take on accounts.
To support you and improve SecretSwapp, including understanding whether a problem happens on the web or on mobile.
To run the ambassador programme fairly: attribute sign-ups, award points, and review claims.
To meet legal obligations.

5. Who can see what

The host sees each participant's name and email so they can run the Swapp. They never see anyone's wish, private note or who is gifting whom.
Your gifter sees your name and your wish, after the draw - nothing else.
Other participants see only how many people have joined.
Anonymous hints are seen only by the two people they are between: the sender and the person they were sent to. The sender is never named to the receiver. The host and other participants never see them, and they aren't in the Swapp's activity list. Our team doesn't read them, except to look into a message someone has reported or to investigate abuse.
Our support and admin team can see account details, support requests and Swapp settings when needed to help. They cannot see draw results.
Ambassadors see the first name, a partly hidden email, join date and verification status of people who signed up with their code.

6. Smart match (AI)

If a host chooses Smart match, each participant may add a private note about what they like. If - and only if - you tick the consent box, we send your wish and note to an AI service to suggest how to pair people. The AI sees anonymous labels (like "P3"), never your name or email. If you don't consent, your note is not stored and not sent. We currently use Google's Gemini service, with DeepSeek as a backup. Those providers process the text to return a result under their own terms. We always check the result ourselves, and if it isn't usable we fall back to a random draw.

7. Service providers we rely on

We share information only with companies that help us run SecretSwapp, and only as needed: hosting and infrastructure (including Vercel for the website and the servers that run our API), Cloudinary (storing pictures), our email delivery provider, Cloudflare (a spam check on the join form), Google (Tag Manager and Analytics, only if you accept optional cookies), and the AI providers described above. We may also disclose information if the law requires it or to protect people's safety.

8. How long we keep it

We keep account information while your account exists. Swapp information is kept while the Swapp exists and for a reasonable period afterwards so people can still find their entries and match. Support conversations are kept so we can help with follow-ups. Sign-in codes expire after 15 minutes, and the copy of a personal link or match inside our email queue is erased once the email has been sent. You can ask us to delete your information at any time (see section 11). For team Swapps, see section 9, which is shorter.

9. Team Swapps and surveys

A team Swapp is a paid Swapp for a company or large group, where the host adds people's names and e-mail addresses (typed, or from a CSV file) and we e-mail each person a personal invitation.

Who decides, and who handles. The host decides whose details are added and why, and confirms they have the right to share them. We handle those details on the host's behalf to run the Swapp: to send the invitations, keep the list, let people join, draw names and e-mail the results. We don't use them for anything else, and we don't use them for marketing.
What the host sees. The invitation status of each person (waiting, sent, delivered, joined, bounced), their name and e-mail address. Never their wish.
E-mail delivery. Our e-mail provider tells us whether an invitation was delivered, bounced or marked as spam, so the host can see it and we can stop e-mailing someone who says an invitation wasn't for them. A person can use the links in the invitation to say it isn't for them or to report it.
Payment. Paystack take the payment. We keep a record of the payment and the summary the host approved (what, how much, when, and which version of the Terms and this policy). That record holds nothing about the host's team.

Deleting a team's data

For a team Swapp, the invite list and everyone's name, e-mail address, wish, private note, match and anonymous hints are deleted automatically 7 days after the gift exchange (or 7 days after the host cancels), or immediately if the host chooses "Delete now". We e-mail the host a day before and again afterwards. The Swapp's title, dates and counts, and the payment record, stay. The day is counted from the gift exchange date the host sets, which is why a team Swapp needs one. Our systems keep routine backups for a short, limited time, so a copy can briefly remain in a backup after deletion; it isn't used, and it is overwritten as backups rotate.

Surveys and ratings

After a Swapp has been drawn we send each participant one short survey e-mail (the day after the gift exchange, or three days after the draw if there's no date), and we ask the host in the app to rate it. People give 1 to 5 stars and may write one message. The answer is stored without name, e-mail address or any link to the person, hosts never see it, and only our team reads it, to improve SecretSwapp. We send a survey once per Swapp, every survey e-mail has a "Don't send me surveys" link, and if you use it we remember it (as a scrambled code, not your address) and don't send you surveys from any Swapp. The address a survey is sent to isn't kept with the answer, and is deleted with the rest of a team Swapp's data.

10. Security

Passwords are stored in scrambled form, traffic is encrypted, access to administrative tools is limited by role, and staff actions on accounts are logged. No online service can promise perfect security, so please choose a strong, unique password and tell us if you notice anything suspicious.

11. Your choices and rights

You can ask us to: give you a copy of your information, correct it, delete it, stop using it for a purpose you object to, or withdraw consent (for example, for Smart match). You can edit or withdraw your entry in a Swapp yourself, before the draw, using your personal link. To make a request, email support@secretswapp.com from the address you used with us; we may ask you to confirm it's you, and we aim to reply within 30 days. If you are in Nigeria, the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 gives you these rights and you may complain to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission. Depending on where you live you may have further rights under local law.

If you use "Sign in with Google", you can also disconnect it at any time from your Google Account (see section 3).

12. Children

SecretSwapp is not intended for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information. If you believe a child has given us information, tell us and we'll delete it.

13. Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll update the date above and, where appropriate, tell you by email or in the app.

14. Contact

Questions or requests: support@secretswapp.com. You can also report an issue through the app. See also our Terms of Use.