Privacy Policy
Effective Date: June 22, 2026
Company: HEKOM – Gjorgje DOOEL ("HEKOM DOOEL") (Skopje, North Macedonia)
Contact Email: winksi.app@gmail.com
This Privacy Policy explains how Winksi collects, uses, and protects information. Winksi is a micro-location social network (and is not a dating application) that allows users to connect with others who share a Point of Interest (POI).
1. Information We Collect
We collect only the information necessary to operate Winksi. The categories below are described in further detail in Sections 3 through 9.
- Account Information: Email address, authentication credentials handled securely by our authentication provider, and date of birth. Date of birth is a one-time entry used to determine age eligibility and age-group assignment. Date of birth cannot be changed; an incorrect entry requires account deletion and re-registration.
- Verification Signals: We utilize platform-provided age signals (e.g., Apple Declared Age Range and Google Play Age Signals, where available and supported) strictly to confirm age groups, not for tracking.
- Profile Content: Display name, bio, and profile photograph that you choose to provide. See Section 3.
- Precise Location: Your device's precise location, accessed only while the app is in use, to identify nearby Points of Interest and enable location-based discovery. See Section 6.
- Messages: Message content in transit until delivery, and reported conversation snapshots submitted by a user for moderation. See Section 4.
- Technical and Device Data: IP addresses, device models, crash logs, and push notification (FCM) tokens, processed for security, diagnostics, and message delivery. See Sections 4 and 7.
- Advertising Identifiers: Device advertising identifiers processed by Google AdMob for ad delivery. See Section 7.
2. Age Groups and Safety Restrictions
Winksi strictly separates users into two age groups: 16–17 and 18+.
- Users from different age groups cannot interact, message, or view each other's profiles.
- If a user's age group changes, profiles from their former age group become invisible, and existing connections are permanently removed.
- Users under 16 are rejected at signup. If discovered, their accounts are immediately deleted.
Self-Declared Age: Age and date of birth are self-declared by users at registration. Where supported by the platform, Winksi uses age signals (such as Apple Declared Age Range or Google Play Age Signals) as an additional cross-check, but these signals are not available for all users. Winksi does not otherwise independently verify a user's actual age or identity, and cannot guarantee that every user has accurately reported their age. Users are responsible for providing accurate age information.
3. User Content and Visibility
Winksi does not host a public feed. User content is not publicly available, not viewable by non-users, and not indexed by search engines. The only information visible to others is limited profile information (thumbnail, display name, bio, and age group).
This is visible only to users in the same age group under these conditions:
- Current POI Visibility: You may appear to same-age-group users who are currently pinned to the same POI.
- Active Pin Duration: When you pin to a POI, you remain visible to same-age-group users at that POI until you unpin or your pin expires (up to approximately 6 hours), even if you have physically left the location. To stop appearing, unpin from the POI.
- History Visibility: If you enable "visible in history," you may appear in that POI's history or pinned-history lists to same-age-group users who have access to that POI history, even if they are not currently pinned to that POI and even if you are no longer there.
- Different age groups never see each other in current POI lists, history lists, pinned-history lists, or profile views.
Winksi may moderate profile images, bios, and reported content to enforce platform rules.
4. Private Messaging & Moderation
Messaging is restricted to mutually-connected users within the same age group.
- No E2E Encryption: Messages are not end-to-end encrypted.
- Routing: Messages are temporarily retained on our servers until delivery confirmation (or up to 10 days). Delivered messages are stored on the recipient's device and auto-delete after 30 days.
- Moderation & Snapshots: Winksi does not retain delivered private message content on its servers in the ordinary course. However, when a user reports a conversation, a snapshot of the reported messages is captured from the reporting user's device and stored on our servers. Reported message snapshots are retained for up to 45 days, and report metadata for up to 1 year, strictly for moderation and legal compliance.
5. Communications
Transactional Emails: Winksi may send service and transactional emails (e.g., account verification, security notices, report responses, and policy updates). We do not send marketing emails without your explicit consent.
6. Location Data
Location Data: Winksi accesses your device's precise location only while the app is in use to identify nearby Points of Interest and enable location-based discovery. Winksi does not access location in the background and does not display your exact GPS coordinates to other users. To reduce repeated POI lookups, a rounded search-center coordinate and the associated POI results may be retained as a shared service cache for up to approximately 180 days. This cache is used to provide nearby POI results and is not intended to track a user's movements.
Because the app lets eligible users discover others connected to the same POI or POI history, it may enable users to infer that another user is or was near a location.
Self-Reported Location: Location and POI pins are self-reported from your device. Winksi relies on the location data provided by your device and does not independently verify that a user is physically present at a pinned Point of Interest. A user may appear at a POI without being physically present, including through inaccurate, mock, or falsified location data. You should not treat a pin as confirmation of any person's actual physical location.
7. Technical Data & Advertising
- Technical Logs: IP addresses, device models, and crash logs are processed strictly for security and diagnostics.
- Advertising: Winksi uses Google AdMob. Ad personalization is managed by Google. Users in the 16–17 age group are served only non-personalized ads globally. Winksi does not link advertising identifiers with your identity and does not sell your data.
8. Data We Do Not Collect
Winksi does not collect:
- Contact lists.
- Financial, health, or biometric data.
- Message content after delivery, except reported conversation snapshots submitted by a user for moderation.
9. Data Retention Summary
| Data Type | Retention Period |
|---|
| Account Data / FCM Tokens | Until account deletion |
| Messages (Ordinary) | Temporarily until delivery or up to 10 days max |
| Reported Message Snapshots | Up to 45 days |
| Report Metadata | Up to 1 year |
| Notification Metadata | Deleted shortly after successful delivery |
| IP Logs | As long as necessary for security and diagnostics |
| Location Data (POI search cache) | Rounded search-center coordinates and associated POI results retained as a shared service cache for up to approximately 180 days; not used to track individual movements |
10. Safety and User Interactions
Winksi is a tool for discovering and connecting with other people. Winksi does not conduct background checks on users, does not verify identities, and does not verify physical presence at any location. You are solely responsible for your own safety and decisions when interacting or communicating with other users, and when choosing whether to meet anyone in person. Winksi is not responsible for the conduct of any user, whether online or offline.
11. Your Rights & International Privacy Compliance
You may delete your account at any time via the app, which removes all profile data from live systems.
- GDPR (EEA): The contact email provided below serves as the official Data Protection Contact. (Note: Official EU and UK Representative details will be added to this section prior to Winksi's launch in those regions.)
- CCPA / CPRA: Winksi does not sell or share personal information.
12. Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data rights, contact:
Company: HEKOM – Gjorgje DOOEL ("HEKOM DOOEL")
Location: Skopje, North Macedonia
Email: winksi.app@gmail.com