Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly and information collected automatically:

Information You Provide

• Username, email address, and password (stored as a secure bcrypt hash)
• Age, gender, sexual orientation, and relationship preferences
• Profile photo, bio, and location (optional)
• Messages you send to other users or in chat rooms
• Contact form submissions including name, email, and message content

Information Collected Automatically

• IP address and browser/device type when you visit the site
• Pages visited, time spent, and referring URL (server logs)
• Cookie and session data (see Section 5)

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account
• To show your profile to other members based on your preferences
• To deliver private messages and notifications
• To respond to support and contact form requests
• To enforce our Terms of Service and keep the platform safe
• To display relevant advertisements through Google AdSense (see Section 6)
• To analyse usage trends and improve the service

3. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored on secure servers hosted by our infrastructure provider. Profile photos and shared images are stored on disk. Chat images are automatically deleted after 24 hours. We use HTTPS (TLS) to encrypt data in transit. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share limited data only in these circumstances:

• Service providers — hosting and infrastructure partners who process data on our behalf under confidentiality agreements
• Advertising partners — Google AdSense (see Section 6) may receive cookie and browsing data for ad personalisation
• Legal obligations — if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of our users

5. Cookies & Sessions

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies:

• Session cookie — a first-party cookie that keeps you logged in during your visit. It is deleted when you close your browser or log out.
• Preference cookie — stores your language preference.
• Advertising cookies — third-party cookies set by Google AdSense to serve relevant advertisements (see Section 6).

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of the site.

6. Third-Party Advertising (Google AdSense)

Lanka.chat uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website and other websites on the internet.

• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to Lanka.chat and/or other sites on the internet.
• Google uses the DoubleClick DART cookie to serve ads based on your interests and previous visits.
• You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
• You may also opt out via the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page or aboutads.info.

For more information on how Google uses data collected from sites that use Google services, visit How Google uses information from sites that use our services.

Google's Privacy Policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

7. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — you may update your profile information at any time from your account settings
• Deletion — you may delete your account at any time; upon deletion, your profile and messages are permanently removed
• Opt-out of personalised ads — see Section 6 for Google AdSense opt-out options

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at lankachatofficial@gmail.com.

8. Children's Privacy

Lanka.chat is strictly for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that a minor has provided personal information, we will delete it immediately.

9. Links to Other Websites

Our service may contain links to external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes by posting a notice on the site. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at lankachatofficial@gmail.com or via our Contact page.