Privacy policy
Last updated 6 October 2026. Written to meet Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019.
Who we are
YachadLink is a verified connection service (friendship, dating, relationships, marriage, companionship and professional) run by NextHub Holdings (“we”, “us”), the data controller for the personal data described here.
What we collect
Email address, password (stored hashed by our authentication provider), consent records with the date and version you agreed to.
First name, date of birth, gender, county and town, relationship status, children, work, faith, lifestyle, languages, Purpose Paths, values, deal-breakers, prompts and availability. Most of this is shown to members you match with.
Profile photos and an optional video intro of up to 30 seconds. Photos and videos that break our rules are removed by our team.
Front and back of your ID, plus your phone number. Your ID photos are read automatically and the ID number is checked against the national register through Smile ID, which returns your official name, date of birth and gender so we can confirm they match your profile. We keep the photos in private storage, seen only by our verification team; we do not keep your full ID number (only a scrambled code to stop the same ID opening two accounts, and its last 3 digits). None of this is ever shown to members.
If you choose to get the Photo-verified badge: your front camera checks, on your own phone, that you did 3 random movements (like turning your head or blinking). No face data leaves your phone except one still picture, which we keep privately for our safety team and delete if you delete your account.
Chats and voice notes, likes (including any comment you add), passes, matches, call records (who called whom and when — calls themselves are not recorded), meetup plans, check-ins and feedback, reports you make or receive, and circles you join.
Your safety contact's name and phone number (they must agree before we would ever text them), and one meeting point if you choose to share it when checking in at a meeting. We never track your location continuously.
Your rough area, from your device (if you allow it) or estimated from your internet connection, rounded to about 1 km. It is only used to show members an approximate distance like "~4 km away" — never a map or an address. Turn distance off any time in your profile.
Push-notification subscriptions for devices you turn alerts on for, when you were last active, and basic logs needed to keep the service running and secure.
We do not collect payment details while the service is free, and we never sell your data or share it with advertisers.
Why we use it
- To provide the service (performing our agreement with you): your profile, matching, chats, calls, Safe Meet and notifications.
- To verify you are a real adult (your consent, and our legitimate interest in keeping members safe): ID checks.
- To keep members safe (legitimate interest): reviewing reports, photo checks, blocking accounts that break the rules, warning about money requests.
- To meet legal duties (legal obligation): responding to lawful requests from Kenyan authorities.
Matching happens automatically, but no automated decision suspends an account except a single “immediate danger” report, which is then reviewed by a person.
You can withdraw consent for optional features (video intro, location on check-in, SMS check-ins, email and phone alerts, Yachad AI) at any time in the app.
Data outside Kenya
Some providers store or process data outside Kenya, mainly in the European Union and the United States. We only use providers that protect data to a standard comparable to Kenyan law, and we transfer only what each one needs.
How long we keep it
- ID images are deleted 90 days after we decide on your verification (approved or not). We keep the decision and the register result, not the photos. Every time our team opens ID images it is logged.
- The meeting point you share when checking in at a Safe Meet is deleted as soon as you confirm you're safe.
- Your profile, photos, voice and video intros, likes, chats and connections are kept while your account exists and are permanently deleted when you delete your account (Settings → Delete my account).
- Photos our team removes for breaking the rules are deleted immediately.
- Moderation records about rule-breaking may be kept after deletion where needed to stop banned people rejoining or to meet legal duties.
Your rights
Under the Data Protection Act you can ask to see the data we hold about you, correct it, delete it, object to or restrict how we use it, and receive it in a portable format. Most of this you can do yourself in the app; for anything else, contact us below. We reply within the time the law requires.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit, access to each table is restricted by database rules so members can only reach what they're allowed to, ID images sit in private storage, and only our verification team can view them. Accounts are approved automatically only when the national register confirms the ID and the details match; anything unclear is decided by a person, and you can ask for a person to review any automatic refusal. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you and the Data Commissioner as the law requires.
Adults only
YachadLink is for people aged 18 and over. Every member's age is checked against their ID. If we learn that someone under 18 has signed up, we delete the account.
Contact and complaints
Questions or requests about your data: privacy@yachadlink.co.ke.
If you're unhappy with how we handle your data, you can complain to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), Kenya, at odpc.go.ke.
See also our member terms and safety tips.