Privacy Policy

Published: 2026-03-15

Last updated: 2026-03-30

1. Data controller

The party responsible for the processing of your personal data is:

We operate the Somali Marriage service (somalimarriage.com), a private halal matrimony platform for the Somali diaspora in the West — including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and across the EU. Because our operating company is based in the EU, we apply the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as our baseline standard for every member, wherever you live.

2. What data do we collect?

We collect the following information when you register:

• Contact details: email address, WhatsApp number
• Personal information: city, country, year of birth, gender, ethnicity, height, marital status
• Religious information: school of thought, prayer frequency, Islamic practice, scholars you follow
• Descriptions: your summary, work/education, life goals, dress style, spouse preferences
• Wali information (optional for sisters): name, phone number, relationship — provided voluntarily, not required at registration

We also collect automatically:

• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device (via Vercel Analytics — anonymized, no cookie tracking)
• Usage data: page views and navigation (anonymized statistics)

3. Legal basis for processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Consent (GDPR Article 6.1a): You give your consent by actively checking the consent box at registration.
• Contract (GDPR Article 6.1b): Processing required to provide the service.
• Legitimate interest (GDPR Article 6.1f): Anonymized analytics to improve the service.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at [email protected] or by deleting your account under Profile → Settings. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

4. Sensitive personal data

Religious affiliation and beliefs, and ethnic origin, are classed as sensitive personal data (special categories) under GDPR Article 9. We process this data on the basis of your explicit consent (Article 9.2a). You explicitly consent to this processing by checking the box at registration. Without this consent we cannot offer the matchmaking service.

5. How do we use your data?

• Create and show your profile to approved members
• Display your profile so that other members can express interest
• Enable private one-to-one conversations when there is mutual interest
• Send notifications and updates by email
• Administer, maintain and improve the service
• Anonymized statistics and analytics (no personal data is shared)

Conversations between two members are private. Messages are stored in our database so we can deliver them to the recipient and so you can read your own conversation history. For everyone's safety, an automated filter screens every message for phone numbers and off-platform contact details, and a message it flags may be reviewed by a moderator before it is delivered. We do not otherwise read your conversations, and we never sell or share message content with any third party.

6. Automated decision-making

Somali Marriage does not make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you under GDPR Article 22. To help you find a match, we do order and rank the profiles shown to you using factors such as shared preferences, how recently a member was active, and overall compatibility. This only affects the order in which suggestions appear — it never decides anything binding about you, and you always choose freely who to express interest in. If you would like to know more about how this ranking works, contact us at [email protected].

7. Data sharing and international transfers

We never share your data with third parties for marketing purposes. We use the following sub-processors:

• Supabase: Database and authentication (servers within the EU/EEA — Frankfurt, Germany)
• Vercel: Web hosting and privacy-friendly visit analytics (servers in the EU and US — US transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework)
• Resend: Transactional and notification email delivery (US — EU-US Data Privacy Framework)
• Stripe: Payment processing for optional Premium (US — EU-US Data Privacy Framework)
• PostHog: Product analytics, EU-hosted (Frankfurt) — enabled only with your cookie consent
• Microsoft Clarity: Aggregated usage analytics — enabled only with your cookie consent
• Sentry: Error monitoring, to keep the platform reliable and secure

Members are never shown publicly. Profiles are visible only to approved members inside the platform. No personal data is sold or shared with advertisers.

8. Cookies and tracking technology

Somali Marriage uses essential cookies for login and your session (Supabase Auth) — these are always required for the platform to work. We also useoptional analytics (PostHog, Microsoft Clarity and Vercel Analytics) to understand how the platform is used and improve it; these may set cookies and are enabled only with your consent. On your first visit, a cookie banner lets you accept or decline the optional analytics — declining does not affect your ability to use the site, and you can change your choice at any time.

9. Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to:

• Access (Art. 15): Request a copy of all your personal data
• Rectification (Art. 16): Correct inaccurate data
• Erasure (Art. 17): Request that all your data be deleted ("the right to be forgotten")
• Restriction (Art. 18): Restrict the processing of your data
• Data portability (Art. 20): Receive your data in a machine-readable format (JSON/CSV)
• Objection (Art. 21): Object to processing, including profiling
• Withdraw consent: At any time via email or account settings

We respond to all requests within 30 days. Contact [email protected] to exercise your rights.

10. Storage and deletion

We store your data as follows:

• Profile data: As long as you have an active account. Deleted within 30 days of a request.
• Conversation history: Deleted together with the profile.
• Email logs: Kept for a maximum of 12 months for troubleshooting.
• Anonymized statistics: May be kept indefinitely (contains no personal data).

Inactive accounts (no login for 24 months) receive a reminder before the data is automatically deleted.

11. Security

We protect your data with encrypted connections (TLS/SSL), encrypted database storage, Row Level Security (RLS) in the database, and restricted access to personal data (only authorized administrators). We carry out regular security reviews.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy. For material changes we will notify you by email. The latest version is always available on this page.

13. Supervisory authority

If you believe we process your data in breach of the GDPR you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY), the supervisory authority for our operating company:

If you live outside the EU, you may also have the right to contact your local data protection authority.

14. Contact

For questions about privacy, the GDPR, or to exercise your rights: