Last updated: 2026-07-20
Beshert ("Beshert," "we," "us," or "our") is a dating app for the Jewish community, operated by Sean Arenson, based in South Africa. This policy explains what personal information we collect through the Beshert app, how we use it, and the choices you have.
Contact for privacy questions: privacy@beshert.co.za
Account information — Email address and password (used only for authentication; passwords are never stored in plain text — this is handled by our infrastructure provider, Supabase).
Profile information — Display name, date of birth (we require you to be 18 or older, enforced when you enter it and at the database level), gender, a short bio, and profile photos. Jewish background information: denomination, level of religious observance, kosher-keeping preference, and synagogue attendance frequency. Preferences: the age range, gender(s), maximum distance, and Jewish-background criteria you're looking for in a match. Your approximate location (used to show you nearby matches — you can also set this manually instead of using GPS).
Some of what we collect is legally treated as "special category" or "sensitive" personal information under privacy laws like South Africa's POPIA and the EU's GDPR, specifically:
We only collect this because it is the core purpose of the app — matching people within the Jewish community by compatibility — and only with your explicit consent when you create a profile. We do not use it for any purpose beyond running the matching and filtering features you can see in the app, and we do not sell or share it with advertisers.
If you choose to verify your profile, we collect a live selfie photo. This is stored separately from your public profile photos, in a private, access-restricted location that only you and our verification reviewers can see — it is never shown publicly or to other users, and is never given a permanent public link.
Messages you send within the app (one-to-one chats, group "pod" chats, and gathering group chats) are stored so the conversation history is available to you and the people you're chatting with.
Your swipes, matches, and likes; a device push-notification token, if you enable notifications; and basic technical information needed to operate the app.
If you subscribe to Beshert Pro, your payment is handled entirely by the Apple App Store or Google Play Store — we never see or store your card details. We receive only your subscription status (active/expired, tier) from our subscription management provider, RevenueCat.
We use your information to create and run your profile and show you compatible matches; operate core features (swiping, matching, messaging, group "pod" double dates, and premium gatherings); send you push notifications and emails about matches, messages, and account activity; review photo verification requests; provide and manage premium subscription features; maintain the safety and integrity of the platform; and improve the app based on aggregate, non-identifying usage patterns.
We do not use your information for targeted advertising, and we do not currently use any third-party analytics or tracking tools in the app.
With other users: your profile information (name, age, bio, photos, Jewish-background fields you choose to show, and — if you opt in — your Premium badge) is visible to other users as part of normal app functionality. Your exact location is never shown to other users, only an approximate distance. Your verification selfie is never shown to other users.
With service providers who help us run the app (each only receives what they need to perform their function, and is contractually restricted from using it for anything else):
| Provider | What they process |
|---|---|
| Supabase | Our database, authentication, and file storage — effectively all app data passes through here. |
| RevenueCat | Subscription status (not payment card details). |
| Apple / Google | Subscription payment processing, if you subscribe via their app stores. |
| Expo | Delivery of push notifications to your device. |
| Our email provider (mail.beshert.co.za) | Sending account and transactional emails (e.g. password reset). |
| OpenStreetMap | Map tile images when you use the location picker — receives only anonymous map-tile requests, not your account information. |
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with data brokers or advertisers.
Legal requirements: we may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the safety of our users or the public.
We keep your information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account (see Section 11), we delete your profile, photos, messages, and preference data, except where we're required to retain certain records for legal or safety purposes.
Beshert is not intended for anyone under 18. We enforce a minimum age of 18 when you create your profile. If we become aware that someone under 18 has created an account, we will delete it.
We use industry-standard security practices, including encrypted connections and access controls that restrict who can see your data. No system is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.
Our service providers may process data outside of South Africa. Where this happens, we rely on our providers' own compliance safeguards.
We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll notify you in the app or by email before they take effect.
Questions about this policy or your data: privacy@beshert.co.za