Privacy Policy

Last updated: 27 July 2026

1. Who we are

Ridlme is operated by Ridlme Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 16711070), whose registered office is at 23 Woodland Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7BJ, United Kingdom.

Ridlme Ltd is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. Contact us at privacy@ridlme.com for anything about your data or this policy, or help@ridlme.com for general support.

This policy covers the Ridlme website and the Ridlme apps for iOS and Android. “Ridlme”, “we” and “us” mean Ridlme Ltd; “you” means anyone who uses Ridlme.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us when you sign up

• Name — the display name you choose. We don't separate it into first and last name, and it doesn't have to be your legal name.
• Email address — used to sign you in, recover your account, and send you service messages.
• Country and language — taken from your device or browser settings so we can show the right language, currency and date formats.
• Profile details — if you set up a responder profile to receive paid messages, your chosen handle, profile picture and description are public: anyone can see them and they may be indexed by search engines. If you only send messages, you have no public profile — your name is visible only to the people you message. Your email address is never shown publicly.

Content you create

• Messages — the text of the messages you send and receive.
• Media — photos, videos and voice recordings you attach to messages.

Everything sent on Ridlme is screened by our automated moderation systems at the moment it is sent, so prohibited content can be detected without anyone reading your conversations. Our staff do not read your messages. A person sees message content only if a participant reports it, or if the law requires us to preserve or disclose it. Message content is stored encrypted, media is stored securely with restricted access, and conversations are private between the people in them.

Payment information

Payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number — Stripe collects it directly. We keep a record of each transaction: amount, currency, status, date, our fee, and Stripe's reference for the payment.

If you sign up to be paid for replying, you also create a Stripe account. Stripe collects the identity and bank details it needs to pay you and to meet financial-crime rules, and handles that information as its own data controller under its privacy policy at stripe.com/privacy. We receive only the status of your account and the transaction records described above.

Device and technical information

• Device registration — when you enable notifications we store an installation identifier, the notification token issued by Apple or Google, your platform (iOS, Android or web), and the app version.
• Technical logs — IP address, request times, error and performance diagnostics, and general device or browser type. We use these to operate, secure and debug the service.
• Crash reports — if the app crashes we may collect a diagnostic report containing the device model, operating system version, app version and the technical stack trace. These do not contain message content.

Cookies and analytics

On the website we use first-party cookies to sign you in and keep you signed in. These are essential and can't be switched off. We also use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used; those analytics cookies are set only if you accept them in the cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time using the cookie settings below.

The Ridlme apps contain no advertising software, and we do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

What we don't collect

We don't collect your precise location, your contacts, your calendar or any health information. Camera, microphone and photo-library access are requested only at the moment you choose to attach a photo, video or voice message, and are used for nothing else.

3. How we use your information, and why we're allowed to

4. Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers.

To run Ridlme we use a small number of service providers who process data only on our instructions: cloud hosting and storage, payment processing (Stripe), email delivery, push-notification delivery (Apple and Google — a notification may show the sender's name and a short message preview, which you can turn off in your device settings), website analytics (Google Analytics, only where you have consented) and crash diagnostics. You can request the current list of providers at privacy@ridlme.com.

Other people see what you'd expect them to see: the person you're messaging receives the content you send them, and if you have a responder profile it is visible to anyone.

We may also disclose information where the law requires it, to enforce our Terms, or to protect the rights, property or safety of Ridlme, our users or the public.

5. Sending information outside the UK

We are based in the United Kingdom and store data in the UK and the European Economic Area. Some of our providers process data in the United States or elsewhere. Where information leaves the UK or EEA, we rely on safeguards approved for that purpose — the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or an adequacy decision where one applies. Email privacy@ridlme.com for a copy of the safeguards we use.

6. How long we keep it

7. Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time:

• in the app — Settings → Account → Delete Account;
• on the web — ridlme.com/settings;
• or by email — write to privacy@ridlme.com from your registered address and we'll do it for you.

When you delete your account:

• your profile picture is deleted, and your display name and email address are replaced with anonymised values, so the account can no longer be identified or signed into;
• your profile stops being publicly visible on Ridlme, although copies may persist in search engine caches for a time we don't control;
• messages you have already sent stay in the other person's conversation, attributed to “[deleted]”;
• payment and transaction records are kept for as long as tax and accounting law requires;
• any Stripe account created to receive payouts is closed automatically as part of deletion. Stripe retains what its own legal obligations require, as described in its privacy policy.

8. Your rights

You have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you, and get a copy;
• correct anything inaccurate;
• delete your information (see section 7);
• restrict or object to how we use it, including any use we base on our legitimate interests;
• receive your information in a portable format, or have it sent to another provider where technically feasible;
• withdraw consent at any time, where we rely on it.

To exercise any of these, email privacy@ridlme.com. We'll respond within one month. You won't be charged, and we won't treat you differently for asking.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113). If you live in the EEA you can complain to your local data protection authority instead.

9. Keeping your information secure

We protect your information with encryption in transit, encrypt stored message content, restrict access to systems and data to those who need it, and review our safeguards as the service grows.

No service can promise perfect security. Keep your sign-in details confidential, and tell us at help@ridlme.com straight away if you think someone else has access to your account.

10. Children

Ridlme is for adults. You must be 18 or over to create an account. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, and if we find that we have, we delete the account and its data. If you believe a child is using Ridlme, tell us at privacy@ridlme.com.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. When we do, we'll change the “Last updated” date at the top, and for significant changes we'll tell you by email or with a prominent notice in the app or on the website. Continuing to use Ridlme after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.