Last updated 19 October 2026
1. The short version
We collect only what Yapuu needs to work. We never sell your data and there are no ads. You choose who sees your profile and your location, and you can download or delete your data whenever you like.
2. What we collect
Your phone number, so you can sign in and so friends can find you. Your name, photo and About line, which you choose. Your date of birth, used to check you are 18 or over; it is never shown to anyone. Your messages, calls records, photos and moments, so we can deliver them and keep your chats in sync on your devices. Your location, only while you share it with friends. Whether you have the app open right now, shown only to your mates as an "online" ring and only if you leave that switch on in Privacy (it is kept for a couple of minutes and never stored as a last seen). The posts you save and the collections you make, which are private to you. Basic technical information (device type, app version, crash and security logs) so we can fix problems and keep Yapuu safe.
3. How the app is used (Help improve Yapuu)
So we can fix what is slow or confusing, the app counts how it is used: which screens and buttons people use, and where something goes wrong (a short error code). It also reports your phone model, system and app version, language and region setting, time zone and screen size. We work out your country from your phone number's country code. We never use your messages, contacts, photos or exact location for this, and we never ask for your location permission for it. Before you sign up, a few sign-up steps are counted under a random code made on your phone. This is on by default. You can switch it off in You, Privacy, Help improve Yapuu: the app then sends nothing, and what we already hold about you is erased. We keep these records for 180 days and then delete them; only totals (for example how many people opened the app on one day) are kept. They stay on our own servers and are not shared with anyone.
4. Your contacts
If you allow it, Yapuu checks which of your contacts are on Yapuu. To do this, phone numbers are scrambled on your phone (hashed) before they are compared, and we do not read names or other details from your address book. You can turn this off at any time in your phone's settings.
5. Photos
Before a photo leaves your phone, we remove its hidden details (location, camera and time information) so you do not share them by accident.
6. Location
Location sharing is off until you turn it on, and each friend must agree too. Per friend you can share exactly, roughly, or not at all. Ghost mode hides you from everybody. Strangers can never see you, and there is no public map. Your last known position (one position, never a history) stays on the map for the friends you chose to share with, shown as last seen, until 90 days after you last used Yapuu, then it is deleted. It is removed at once when you switch on Ghost mode, turn sharing off, sign out or delete your account. Friends you hide from, and people who are not your friends, never see it.
7. Campfire
A Campfire runs directly between nearby phones and does not use the internet, so what is shared there does not pass through our servers. Memories you keep are saved on your phone.
8. How your chats are protected
Messages and calls are encrypted while they travel between your phone and our servers, and our servers are locked down. Chats are stored on our servers so they work across your devices. They are not end-to-end encrypted yet. If that changes, we will tell you.
9. Who we share data with
Only the services that make Yapuu work, and only what they need: our hosting and database provider, the service that texts your sign-in code, Apple's notification service, and the service that carries calls. They are not allowed to use your data for their own purposes. We share information with authorities only when the law requires it.
10. How long we keep it
We keep your data while your account is active. If you delete your account, your profile, messages and photos are removed from our systems within 30 days, apart from anything we must keep by law or to prevent abuse. Posts you share stay on your profile for your mates until you delete them, and story clips are removed after 7 days. Records of how the app is used (Help improve Yapuu) are deleted after 180 days.
11. Your rights
Under South Africa's POPIA, Europe's GDPR and similar laws you can ask to see your data, correct it, download it, delete it, object to how it is used, or withdraw your consent. Use You, Account, Download my data or Delete my account, or contact us from Help and feedback. You can also complain to the Information Regulator in South Africa or to your own country's data protection authority.
12. Age
Yapuu is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly keep information about anyone under 18 and will delete it if we find it.
13. Where your data lives
Our servers may be in a different country from you. When data moves between countries we use safeguards that give it the same level of protection.
14. Changes and contact
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app. Questions: open You, Help and feedback.