Privacy Policy
Your photo library never leaves your phone. DéVu only ever sees the neighborhood and the date, never your exact spot, never the time of day, and never a picture from your library.
Who we are
DéVu is an iPhone app made by Art is Dangerous LLC, a Texas limited liability company. It tells two people who just met in person whether their paths crossed before. In this policy, "DéVu", "we" and "us" mean Art is Dangerous LLC and the app.
What stays on your phone, and what we receive
DéVu reads your photo library's location and date information on your phone. Before anything is sent, your phone turns each place and day into a coarse "place-day": a neighborhood-sized area (about 1.2 km × 0.6 km) plus a calendar date.
Stays on your phone
- Your photos and videos
- Exact GPS coordinates
- Times of day
- Anything else in your library
Sent to DéVu
- Neighborhood-sized area code
- Calendar date
- City and country name
- How many photos matched that place-day
An example of everything DéVu receives about one place-day.
Information we collect
Account
- If you sign in with Apple: a private identifier from Apple, and the email address Apple shares with us (this can be an Apple private relay address). Apple may also share your name if you choose to.
- If you sign in with email: your email address.
- The handle and display name you choose.
- A profile photo, if you choose to add one. This is the only photo DéVu ever uploads, and only the one you pick. Only you and the people you've DéVu’d with can see it.
Places, from your photos
Only if you allow photo access. We receive place-days as described above, never the photos.
Places, going forward
Only if you allow location access. DéVu uses iOS's low-power "significant location change" and "visits" features (with Always access), plus one approximate check when you open the app, never continuous GPS. Your phone converts each location into the same neighborhood-and-date place-day before sending it. For re-encounter alerts, we also keep your current city-sized area (about 39 km × 20 km). We ignore it after 48 hours and delete it automatically.
Waitlist
If you join the waitlist on our website: your email address, the city you suggest (optional), and which page or link you signed up from. We use it only to email you about your DéVu invite and launch. It isn't linked to an account, and we never sell or share it.
When you DéVu with someone
When you DéVu with someone, we record the connection: when and in which city you met, the crossings we found (area, dates and place name), and each person's "tell me if we cross paths again" setting.
Bluetooth, only on the code screen
Only while the code screen is open. The phone showing its code broadcasts a short random token over Bluetooth, and the phone scanning listens for it, so DéVu can tell the two phones are right next to each other. The token changes every few seconds, carries no location or identity, and our server deletes it within an hour. Bluetooth isn't used at any other time.
Blocks and reports
If you block someone, we record that you blocked them. If you report someone, we receive the reason you pick, any note you add, who you reported and which DéVu it was about. We use reports only to keep DéVu safe.
How we use it
- To find where and when your path crossed with someone you DéVu’d with in person.
- To let two people who both opted in know they're in the same city again.
- To run your account: signing in, your handle, and deleting your data when you ask.
We don't use your information for advertising, we don't track you across other apps or websites, and we don't sell or share your personal information.
Who can see what
- Other people never see your place history. Matching happens on our server, and the only result is the overlap between you and the person you DéVu’d with.
- After a DéVu, you both see the crossings you share and where you met.
- Re-encounter alerts only happen when both of you have alerts turned on for each other. Both of you are told, and only at city level. There is never a map pin or a distance.
- You can turn alerts off for anyone at any time. They aren't notified.
- Other signed-in users can see your handle and display name. Your profile photo is visible only to people you've DéVu’d with.
- If you block someone, you stop seeing each other anywhere in DéVu and can't DéVu again. They aren't told.
- Reports are seen only by us. The person you report isn't told who reported them.
How we protect your information
- The most sensitive parts never reach us: your photos, exact locations and times of day stay on your phone.
- Everything the app sends us is encrypted on the way. Our database host, Supabase, encrypts it where it's stored and is independently audited (SOC 2 Type 2).
- Rules on our server, not only in the app, decide what each account can read. No other account can read your place history, and only you and the people you've DéVu’d with can see your profile photo.
- Only the people who run DéVu can reach the database, and only to run and support it, for example to act on a report.
- No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your information, we'll tell you as the law requires.
Service providers
| Provider | What they do |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Hosts our database, sign-in and profile photos, on servers in the United States. |
| Apple | Sign in with Apple. Also turns an approximate location into a city and country name on your phone, under Apple's privacy policy. |
| Email delivery provider | Sends sign-in emails if you use email sign-in, and sends us an email when someone files a report (the reason, the note and the two handles, never a location). |
How long we keep it
- Current city-sized area: deleted automatically after 48 hours.
- Account, place-days and connections: until you delete them.
- Bluetooth tokens: deleted within an hour.
- Blocks: until you unblock or delete your account.
- Reports: up to two years, or longer if the law requires it. If you delete your account, reports you filed are kept without your name.
- Waitlist email: until you get your invite or ask us to remove it.
- Deleted data may remain in encrypted backups for a limited time before it is overwritten.
Your choices and controls
- Delete my history (Settings) removes your place-days and current area. Crossings you've already found with someone stay, because they belong to both of you.
- Delete account (Settings) permanently deletes your account, place-days and connections. Connections you shared with others disappear for them too. If you signed in with Apple, we also revoke DéVu's access to your Apple ID.
- You can change or remove photo and location access at any time in iPhone Settings.
- You can ask us for a copy of your data, or to correct it, by emailing us.
Depending on where you live (for example the EU, UK or California), you may have additional rights, including to access, correct, delete or port your data, and to object to or restrict how it is used. We process your data to provide the service you asked for, and you can withdraw permission for photos and location at any time. Contact us to use any of these rights. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Age
DéVu is for people 18 and older (see our Terms of Use). Right after you sign in, the app checks that you're 18 or over. Where the law requires apps to check age with Apple (for example Texas and Utah), it asks Apple for your age range instead, and Apple only tells DéVu whether you're 18 or over, never your age or birthday. Everywhere else, the app asks for your birthday. It's checked on your phone and never saved or sent to us. For adults, your account records only when you confirmed you're 18 or over (so you aren't asked again on a new phone), never your birthday. If the birthday is under 18, the account is deleted right away, we keep nothing about it, and the app stays locked on that phone until the person turns 18 (that date is remembered on the phone only). We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has an account, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change affects how your data is used, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Questions or requests: support@letsdevu.com, or by mail to Art is Dangerous LLC, 5900 Balcones Dr, Ste 100, Austin, TX 78731.