DormMe

DormMe Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 02/15/2025

At DormMe ("DormMe," "we," "us," or "our"), we are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy rights. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and safeguard your information when you access or use the DormMe website, mobile application, and all related services (collectively, the "Services"). By using the Services, you agree to the collection and use of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this Policy, please discontinue use of the Services immediately.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal data and other information from you in a variety of ways when you interact with our Services:

1. Information You Provide Directly

  • Account Registration: When you create an account, we may ask for information such as your name, email address, password, and other profile details.
  • Phone Number for OTP: We collect your phone number for one-time password (OTP) verification to secure your account.
  • Profile Information: If you choose to fill out roommate or housing profiles, we may collect details such as your college affiliation, gender, interests, preferred rent range, location preferences, housing availability, and other personal details you decide to share.
  • Communications: If you contact us via email, in-app messages, or other communication channels (e.g., support requests), we collect the information you provide during these exchanges.

2. Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: We may automatically collect information about your device, operating system, browser type, pages viewed, links clicked, time spent on specific pages, and the referring webpage.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, local storage, and similar technologies to collect information about your interactions with our Services. This includes information about your browsing behavior, session length, and preferences.

3. Location Information

  • Google Maps API: We integrate Google Maps to calculate the distance of housing from nearby college campuses.
  • Approximate and/or Precise Location: Depending on your device settings, we may collect either approximate or precise location information to provide location-based features (e.g., searching for housing options near your campus).

4. Notifications

  • Push Notifications: With your consent, we may send you push notifications or alerts about new messages, housing matches, or other updates. You can opt out of receiving these notifications by modifying your device or account settings.

5. Information from Third Parties

  • Social Media Login: If you choose to register or log in using a third-party social media account (e.g., Facebook, Google), we may collect your name, email address, profile photo, or other information made available through the third-party platform.
  • Service Providers and Partners: We may receive additional information about you from service providers or partners who assist us with identity verification, payment processing, or marketing.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for various purposes, including to:

1. Provide and Improve the Services

  • Facilitate your account creation, OTP verification, and access to the Services;
  • Personalize your user experience based on your preferences and settings;
  • Optimize and improve the functionality and performance of the Services.

2. Connect You with Potential Roommates and Housing

  • Allow you to create and manage roommate or housing profiles;
  • Display your profile or listings to other users based on search criteria;
  • Enable messaging and communication features between users.

3. Notifications and Communications

  • Send you updates, marketing materials, newsletters, or other information you have opted to receive;
  • Provide you with customer service, respond to your inquiries, and manage your requests.

4. Analytics and Usage Tracking

  • Monitor and analyze usage patterns, trends, and behaviors to improve the user experience;
  • Detect, prevent, and address technical issues or unauthorized access to the Services.

5. Legal Compliance and Security

  • Comply with applicable laws, regulations, or legal processes;
  • Enforce our Terms of Service and investigate potential violations;
  • Protect our rights, property, and safety, as well as those of our users or the public.

3. Legal Bases for Processing (Where Applicable)

If you are located in certain jurisdictions (e.g., the European Economic Area), we will only process your personal data when we have a valid legal basis, such as:

  • Your Consent: Where you have given consent, for example, for certain marketing communications or sharing your precise location;
  • Performance of a Contract: Where processing your information is necessary to perform a contract with you (e.g., to provide the Services you requested);
  • Legitimate Interests: Where processing is in our legitimate interests (e.g., to maintain the security of our network and Services, improve user experience), provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests;
  • Legal Obligations: Where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

4. How We Share Your Information

We may share your information in the following ways:

1. With Other Users

  • When you create a roommate or housing profile, certain information (e.g., your name, housing details, preferences) may be visible to other users in order to facilitate matches and communication.

2. With Service Providers

  • We engage third-party vendors to perform services on our behalf (e.g., payment processors, analytics providers, cloud hosting services). These vendors may have limited access to your information only as necessary to perform tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for other purposes.

3. With Third-Party APIs

  • We integrate Google Maps API and potentially other APIs. Your location information and certain other data may be shared with these third-party services to provide location-based functionalities.

4. Business Transfers

  • If DormMe is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of some or all of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that deal. We will endeavor to notify you before your personal data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Legal and Safety Reasons

  • We may disclose your information if required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to comply with legal requirements, protect our rights or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request.

5. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources that are not operated by DormMe. If you click on such links, you will be directed to the third party's site. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or practices of third-party services. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policies of every third-party site or service you visit.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Once we no longer need your personal data for business or legal reasons, we will either delete or anonymize it.

7. Your Choices and Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data when it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected.
  • Restriction: Request restriction of processing under certain circumstances.
  • Portability: Receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
  • Object: Object to our processing of your personal data, particularly for direct marketing purposes.
  • Withdraw Consent: If we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@dormme.com. We will respond to legitimate requests within the timeframe required by applicable law.

8. Security Measures

We employ administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. However, no method of data transmission or storage over the Internet is entirely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security, and any transmission of data is at your own risk.

9. International Data Transfers

Depending on your location, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in countries that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home country. We will take steps to ensure that your personal data receives an adequate level of protection in the jurisdictions where we process it, such as implementing standard contractual clauses or other appropriate transfer mechanisms.

10. Children's Privacy

DormMe is not directed to individuals under the age of 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under this age. If you believe we have collected personal data from a minor without appropriate consent, please contact us and we will take steps to delete such information.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make changes, we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of this Privacy Policy and, if the changes are significant, we may provide a more prominent notice (e.g., by email notification or a banner on the Services).

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

By using DormMe, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy, and you agree to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal data as described herein.