OluOlu lets you talk one-on-one with people in other countries, with each message translated as you go. This page explains, in plain words, what we keep about you and why. The short version: we keep what the chat needs to work and to stay safe, we don't sell anything, and there are no advertising trackers in the app.
Who is responsible
Olu (oluchat.com, "we") is responsible for your personal data. Questions about privacy, or requests to see, correct or delete your data, go to help@oluchat.com.
What we collect
When you join
- The first name you choose, shown to the people you chat with.
- Email address. You confirm it with a 6-digit code. We use it only to send you sign-in codes and important messages about your account (for example about a ban or an appeal). It is never shown to other people and never used for marketing.
- Gender (woman, man or other) and birth year. We use them to match people and to keep Olu adults-only. Neither is shown on your profile.
- Your country, worked out from your network location or your device's settings, and your language.
- How you found us (an invite or pass link, or the page you arrived from).
When you chat
- The messages you send and their translations. Messages our filters stop are kept too, marked as blocked, because they may be needed for a safety decision.
- Who you chatted with and when, friends you add, blocks and reports you make, and the miles and badges you earn.
- Your questions and answers in Ask the World, and any exchange cards you agree to.
Only if you choose to
- A profile photo. We re-encode it, which removes location and camera data (EXIF), crop it to a small square, and have it checked for nudity and minors before anyone sees it.
- A short about text (up to 140 characters).
- An email and time zone for flight reminders when you book a seat on a scheduled flight, or an email to hear when a route opens.
- Push notifications: your browser gives us a subscription address run by its vendor's push service.
Device and network
We do not store your IP address. To stop people coming back after a ban or faking reports, we keep a one-way hash of your network block and a random device id kept in your browser. The one exception: when someone opens or redeems a pass link, we keep the first three parts of their IP address (the network, not the device) with that pass, to stop one person farming links.
Usage events
We count things like "started a chat" or "shared a card" in our own database to see what works. There is no third-party analytics or advertising code, and our fonts are served from our own domain.
Cookies and browser storage
We use no advertising or tracking cookies. What we do store is needed for the app to work:
| Name | What it is for | How long |
|---|---|---|
fc_s (cookie) | Keeps you signed in on this browser. It is HttpOnly, so page scripts can't read it. | 1 year, or until you delete your account |
fc_u18 (cookie) | Remembers that this browser said it was under 18, so it can't simply try again. | 30 days |
fc_token, fc_dev (local storage) | Your session and the random device id. | Until you clear them |
fc_filters, fc_invite, fc_remembered, fc_ref | Your chat filters, a pending invite, and where you came from. | Until you clear them |
Why we use it (legal bases)
- To run the service you asked for (contract): matching, translating, delivering messages, friends, flights, email sign-in codes.
- To keep people safe (legitimate interests and, where it applies, legal obligation): filtering messages, checking photos, handling reports, pauses and bans, and stopping banned people from returning.
- To improve Olu (legitimate interests): our own usage counts.
- Your consent: photos, push notifications, reminder emails, and making an Ask the World answer or exchange card public. You can withdraw it at any time.
Who sees what
- People you chat with see your first name, country and flag, miles, and your photo and about text if you added them. They read your messages in their language.
- Public pages. Your invite link shows your first name, country and miles to anyone who opens it. A boarding pass you share shows your first name, flag and seat. Ask the World answers become public only when both people agree, and never with names. An exchange card is public only when both people agree, and shows both first names and flags.
- Our team reads a conversation only when it is reported, when our filters flag it, or when you appeal a decision.
Service providers
These companies process data for us, only to provide their service:
- DeepInfra runs the AI models that translate messages, check messages and reports for abuse, check profile photos, and write the replies of AI locals (always labelled as AI). Your messages and photos are sent to it for that purpose.
- Resend delivers our emails: sign-in codes, account messages and flight reminders.
- Your browser's push service (for example Google, Mozilla or Apple) if you turn on notifications.
- Our hosting provider runs our servers, database and uploaded photos.
Some of these providers are outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses or an equivalent safeguard. We never sell your data or share it with advertisers.
How long we keep it
- Your account, messages and friends stay until you delete your account. Old trips drop out of your list after 30 days but are not erased before then.
- When you delete your account, chats with AI locals are erased whole. Chats with people keep the other person's messages for them; yours are erased.
- What we keep after you delete: if you were banned, the ban record (its reason and the quoted message) and your birth year; moderation cases and reports that other people made about you; and reports you made about others. These stay on an anonymous record with no name, email or photo, so that deleting can't be used to escape a ban and so we can keep protecting other users.
- Usage counts lose their link to you. Any copy left in a server backup is overwritten as backups roll over.
Your rights
Depending on where you live you can ask to see, correct, download or delete your data, object to or restrict how we use it, and withdraw consent. In the app:
- Download: Profile → Download the messages you wrote. This works even if your account is banned.
- Delete: Profile → Delete my account. It takes effect at once and signs you out everywhere.
- Change your name, photo and about text in your profile.
For anything else, email help@oluchat.com. We answer within 30 days. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Adults only
Olu is for people aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone younger, and accounts that turn out to belong to a minor are closed. See our safety page.
Security
Connections are encrypted (HTTPS). Sessions use random tokens, the chat connection uses single-use tickets, and network details are hashed before storage. No system is perfect; if something goes wrong we will tell affected users and regulators as the law requires.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will say so in the app before it takes effect. The date at the top shows the latest version. See also our terms.