Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Your Privacy Matters

Wateeno is built to give you the freedom to browse social media as it should be—private, chronological, and focused on creativity. We do not track your movements or build a behavioral profile of you.

Information We Collect

We collect only the minimum data required to make Wateeno work for you:

Account information: Username and email address (for login) and optional birthday (for age verification).
Profile details: Profile photo, bio, and social links you choose to add.
Content you create: Rings (photos and videos), Stories (photo, video, or text posts that expire after 24 hours), and comments.
Chat messages: Text, voice notes, photos, videos, and shared Rings and Stories you send in chat. All chat content is ephemeral — see the Data Retention section below for the deletion rules for each type.
Interactions: Likes, shares, follows, and Story replies and views (used to manage your social feed and to show Story owners who viewed or replied to their Stories).
Technical data: Device type and app version (used solely for technical support and stability).
Creator Insights: Anonymous watch duration and completion rates (shared with creators so they know how their content performs).

Birthday Information

Your birthday is collected solely to verify you meet our minimum age requirement of 16 years old. It is never shared or used for any other purpose.

How We Use Your Information

To provide the core Wateeno experience and social features.
To verify age requirements and ensure legal compliance.
To communicate with you about your account or security updates.
To ensure the safety and security of our platform.
To provide creators with functional Ring Insights.

Service Providers

We work with trusted third-party service providers to help deliver our services, including:

Authentication services: To securely manage your account and login
Cloud infrastructure: To store and deliver your content reliably
Push notification services: To send you timely updates
Media processing services: To optimize video and image playback quality

These providers are bound by confidentiality obligations and only process your data as instructed by us.

Push Notifications

We collect device tokens to send notifications about likes, comments, and follows
You can control notification preferences in your device and app settings
Device tokens are stored on our servers and shared with our notification delivery provider to send notifications

Public Content

All accounts on Wateeno are public by default
Your profile and rings are visible to other users
You choose whether each Story is visible to everyone or only to your followers. Anyone who can see a Story may share it to other users in chat, and other users can repost your rings as a Story (with credit to you) unless you turn this off under Settings → Privacy → Story Resharing.
Private information (email, birthday, device info) is never publicly displayed

Advertising

Current Status: Wateeno is currently 100% ad-free. We do not use your activity or data for advertising.
Future Introduction: If advertising is introduced, ads will be contextual. This means ads are based on the content you are viewing at that moment, not on your personal profile, browsing history, or private data.
Our Commitment: We will never sell your personal information. Future ads will follow our strict no-tracking, no-personalization standards.

Business Transfers

If Wateeno is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or other business transaction, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. The new owner may have different privacy practices and data collection policies. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice in the app of any change in ownership. You may be required to review and agree to the new owner's privacy policy to continue using the app. If you do not agree to the new privacy policy, you may delete your account.

Data Security

Encryption for data in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest
Two-factor authentication (authenticator app) available
Regular security practices and monitoring

No method of transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

Information retained while your account is active
Rings (videos and photos): Stored on our servers indefinitely until you choose to delete them. Deleted content is permanently removed and cannot be recovered
Stories: Stories — and any replies to them — are automatically deleted from our servers 24 hours after they are posted. When a ring is reposted as a Story, a copy of that ring's media is stored inside the Story and deleted on the same 24-hour schedule; deleting your original ring does not remove Stories that already reshared it.
Chat messages: Wateeno chats are ephemeral by design. Every message type is automatically deleted from our servers within 24 hours of being sent.
- Text messages and voice notes are deleted 24 hours after they are sent.
- Photo and video messages are deleted as soon as the recipient opens them, or within 24 hours if they are never opened — whichever happens first.
- Shared Rings and Stories sent in chat disappear from the conversation after 24 hours; the original Ring on the sender's profile, and the original Story, are unaffected.
Deletion removes the message from our database and any associated media file from our private storage. Once deleted, messages cannot be recovered.
Account deletion permanently removes all your data from our systems

Data Export

You can request a copy of your personal data at any time through the app's settings. We provide exports in JSON, HTML, and CSV formats, including your profile, rings, comments, and other account data.

Children's Privacy

Wateeno is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us to have it deleted.

Your Rights and Choices

Access, update, or delete your information through app settings
Block or restrict other users
Request a copy of your data or account deletion

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes through the app. For significant changes, you may be required to review and agree to the updated policy before continuing to use Wateeno. Your continued use after accepting changes constitutes agreement to the updated policy.

Contact Us

For privacy questions, contact us at support@wateeno.com