1. Who we are
Application: Qareeb / قريب
Developer / Operator: Avoqia
Operational country / office: Germany
Privacy & support operations: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Regional support: Jordan
Contact (privacy & support): [email protected]
Website: https://qareeb.avoqia.com/
Qareeb is an Arabic-first social/chat and discovery application that lets users communicate with a nickname instead of showing their real name to other users. This Privacy Policy explains how Avoqia collects, uses, shares, stores, and deletes personal data when you use the Qareeb mobile application and related services.
2. Who this policy applies to
This policy applies to users of the Qareeb app. Qareeb is intended for adults aged 18 and over only. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor is using the service, contact us at [email protected].
Primary audience: Arabic-speaking users, including Syrian users and Arabic-speaking communities worldwide.
3. Data we collect
Depending on how you use Qareeb, we may process the following categories of data:
3.1 Account and authentication data
- Guest session identifiers (device-based account creation)
- A hashed device identifier for session restoration
- Email address and password (hashed) if you register or link an email
- Account status, public ID, support ID, session tokens
3.2 Profile data
- Nickname (in-app display name)
- Avatar key or uploaded profile photo
- Bio (if provided)
- Country and interests (if provided)
- Language preference
3.3 Age and gender data
- Date of birth — used to enforce the 18+ age requirement; not shown on your public profile
- Gender — collected for matching and profile purposes; not shown on your public profile
3.4 Chat and messaging data
- Conversation metadata (participants, timestamps, read state)
- Message content (text)
- Images and other media you send in chat
- View-once media flags and view timestamps
3.5 Safety, moderation, and reporting data
- Reports you submit (reason, details, linked conversation/message)
- Message snapshots attached to reports
- Block lists (who you blocked / who blocked you)
- Moderation actions taken on your account or content
- Audit and safety logs (including actor, action, entity, timestamp, and in some cases IP address)
3.6 Advertising and consent data (when ads are enabled)
- Google AdMob may process advertising identifiers and consent choices via the User Messaging Platform (UMP)
- Ads and paid features may be available where enabled and are subject to consent and applicable store policies.
- When paid features or subscriptions are enabled, app stores or payment processors may process billing and purchase data under their own policies; do not send payment-card details directly to Qareeb unless a secure in-app/store flow clearly asks for them.
3.7 Technical and operational data
- App version, platform, and configuration flags
- Server logs for security, abuse prevention, and debugging
- Push notification token (if/when push is enabled) — not in production use yet
3.8 Data we do NOT collect
4. How we use your data
We use personal data to:
- Provide and operate the Qareeb service (account, chat, matching, profiles)
- Enforce the 18+ age requirement
- Enable random matching and direct chat features
- Process reports, blocks, and moderation for community safety
- Investigate abuse, fraud, and policy violations
- Maintain audit logs for security and legal compliance
- Communicate with you about support requests
- Show advertisements when enabled, subject to your consent choices (UMP)
- Improve reliability and security of the service
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell your personal data.
5. Legal bases (EEA / UK users)
Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:
- Contract — to provide the service you request
- Legitimate interests — security, fraud prevention, moderation, service improvement (balanced against your rights)
- Legal obligation — where required by law
- Consent — for advertising and optional features where consent is required (e.g. UMP)
7. International transfers
Avoqia operates from Germany with privacy and support operations in the UAE and regional support in Jordan. Data may be processed in these jurisdictions and in countries where our infrastructure providers operate. Where required, we implement appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers.
8. Security
We use technical and organizational measures to protect data, including encryption in transit and at rest where applicable, access controls for moderation systems, and audit logging. No system is 100% secure; use Qareeb with awareness of the risks of online communication.
9. Retention
We retain data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including:
- Active account data — for the life of your account
- Deleted account data — see Account Deletion
- Reports, moderation records, and audit logs — retained for safety, abuse prevention, and legal compliance for a limited period as required by applicable law
- Operational backups — may contain copies of older data until the backup retention cycle expires
- Advertising consent — managed by Google UMP on-device and per Google's policies when ads are enabled
10. Account deletion
You may delete your account in the app (Account → Danger zone → Delete account) or via the public deletion page at https://qareeb.avoqia.com/account-deletion/.
Upon deletion, we anonymize or remove profile-visible data. Some data may be retained for safety, abuse prevention, or legal reasons — see Account Deletion.
11. Your rights
Depending on your location, you may have rights to:
- Access your personal data
- Rectify inaccurate data
- Erase your data (subject to legal/safety retention)
- Restrict or object to certain processing
- Data portability
- Withdraw consent (where processing is consent-based)
- Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (e.g. a German data protection authority for EEA users)
To exercise your rights, contact [email protected]. We will respond within applicable legal timeframes.
12. Advertising and consent
When ads are enabled, Qareeb uses Google AdMob with the User Messaging Platform (UMP) to collect and manage your advertising consent. You can change your ad privacy choices in the app (Account → Legal & Policies → Ad privacy choices) when that option is available.
- Ads and paid features may be available where enabled and are subject to consent and applicable store policies.
- No personalized ads are shown before consent allows ad requests
13. Moderation and safety
Chats are protected in transit and at rest. Content may be reviewed by moderation only when there is a report, suspected violation, or safety risk. This includes view-once media, which may be reviewed for safety purposes when reported. See Safety & Reporting.
14. Children
Qareeb is for users 18+ only. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If we learn that a user is under 18, we will take steps to remove the account.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version at https://qareeb.avoqia.com/privacy/ and update the "Last updated" date. Material changes may be communicated in-app where appropriate.
16. Contact
Avoqia — Qareeb Privacy
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://qareeb.avoqia.com/