📜 Privacy Policy for Zi
Effective Date: August 25, 2025
Zi Social Inc. ("Zi," "we," "our," or "us") values your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application (the "App").
👀 TL;DR — User-Friendly Summary
- You must be 16 or older to use Zi.
- We collect info like your email/phone, location, device ID, usage, and chats.
- We use your face data only for filters and ID verification if you cash out.
- You can report/block users and content.
- Your videos are yours, but we can use them to promote Zi.
- We use tools like NSFW video moderation by Ziggeo and ID verification by Veriff to help with moderation and ID.
1. Information We Collect
| Data Category | Data Type | Purpose | Data Retention | 3rd Party Sharing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. Non-personal identifier | Unique user ID | Necessary unique backend identifier for users | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | Yes – Firebase (e.g., push notifications) |
| b. Personal identifiers | Name (optional) | Personalization of UX | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC |
| Email address | Sign up / registration OTP verification (optional); Necessary app updates; Provision of collected data upon request | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC | |
| Phone number | Sign up / registration OTP verification (optional); Necessary app updates | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC | |
| Date of birth | Hard gating of app use for anyone younger than 16 | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC | |
| Gender (optional) | Necessary information for same-gender-only challenges (in pipeline for future releases) | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC | |
| Username | Necessary information for UX (e.g., profile access, interaction with other users) | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | Yes – Firebase for push processing | |
| Profile bio (optional: self-reported) | Personalization of UX | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC | |
| Profile picture (optional) | Personalization of UX | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) - TBC | No - TBC | |
| c. Device & Technical information | Device ID | Community safety, moderation and issue reporting (i.e., bug fixes) - TBC | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) – TBC | Yes – Banuba (TBC); Yes – Ziggeo (TBC) |
| Operating system | Analytics and issue reporting (i.e., bug fixes) - TBC | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) – TBC | Yes – Banuba (TBC); Yes – Ziggeo (TBC) | |
| Browser type | Analytics and issue reporting (i.e., bug fixes) – TBC | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) – TBC | No - TBC | |
| IP address | Analytics, community safety, moderation and issue reporting (i.e., bug fixes) - TBC | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) – TBC | No - TBC | |
| App usage logs | Analytics, community safety, moderation and issue reporting (i.e., bug fixes) - TBC | Until account deletion (e.g., requested by user) – TBC | Yes – Banuba (TBC); Yes – Ziggeo (TBC) | |
| d. Location data | Approximate location from device IP or location services | Used for moderation and analytics | Stored only for 6 months - TBC | No - TBC |
| e. User Generated Content (UGC) | Videos you upload / record | Necessary UX, community safety & moderation | Until deleted by user (e.g., account deletion requested by user) | Yes – Ziggeo for processing; Yes – Banuba for processing |
| Your public comments on private or public content | Necessary UX, community safety & moderation | Until deleted by user (e.g., account deletion requested by user) | Yes – Verisoul for moderation | |
| Your other micro-engagement (e.g., like, share) on private or public post | Necessary UX, community safety & moderation | Until deleted by user (e.g., account deletion requested by user) | Yes – Verisoul for moderation | |
| Messages sent in-app (chat) | Necessary UX, community safety & moderation | Stored for 24 hours | Yes – Verisoul for moderation | |
| f. Biometric data | Face data from filters (processed-on-device) | Instant image processing (i.e., application of filters) | Immediate deletion post completed processing | No – face data is processed-on-device; processing is provided by Banuba SDK |
| Facial biometrics for identity verification | Instant image processing (i.e., verification of identity) | Immediate deletion post completed processing | Yes – Veriff for processing | |
| Facial biometrics for age estimation | Instant image processing (i.e., estimation of age) | Immediate deletion post completed processing | Yes – Yoti for processing |
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected data to:
- Provide and operate the Zi platform.
- Deliver push notifications and challenges.
- Enforce our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
- Detect and address spam, abuse, or fraud.
- Analyze usage trends to improve the app.
- Verify identity for payout eligibility.
3. Sharing of Information
We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:
- Service Providers (e.g., hosting, analytics, moderation).
- Verification providers like Veriff (only for payout verification).
- Legal authorities where required by law.
We also do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. For the full overview of data sharing by data category, please see Article 1 (“Information we Collect”).
4. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on your location (e.g., California), you may have the right to:
- Delete your account and data (via in-app request).
- Request collected data (via in-app request for collected data access).
- Access collected data in a readily usable, portable format (e.g., CSV file to be provided via email upon request) within 1 month.
- Opt-out of data sharing (e.g., location) via in-app request.
- Limit use of sensitive data (e.g., biometric info) via in-app request.
- Request correction of inaccurate information (via email to privacy@zi.social).
We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before processing your request. California residents may designate an authorized agent.
If we deny any request, you may appeal by contacting us at privacy@zi.social. We will respond to appeals within 45 days. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights.
5. Children’s Privacy
Zi is not intended for users under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal data from users below that age. If we become aware, we will delete such accounts.
6. Data Security & Retention
We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including encryption and role-based access. Data is retained only as long as necessary for operational purposes unless a longer retention period is required by law.
For the full overview of data retention by data category, please see Article 1 (“Information we Collect”).
7. Third-Party Services
Zi uses third-party services including but not limited to:
- Ziggeo (automated moderation)
- Veriff (ID verification)
- Banuba (video processing such as AR filters)
- Verisoul (bot / spam protection)
- Yoti (facial biometric-based age estimation)
- Firebase (push notification processing)
Each has its own privacy practices.
8. Notice of Financial Incentives
Zi may offer cash payouts to a limited number of top-performing users each cycle ("Incentive Program"). Participation is voluntary.
💰 Eligibility and Incentive Value
- The Incentive Program is available only to the top-performing users determined by Zi’s engagement scoring system (at minimum the top 5 participants per cycle).
- Each eligible user may receive a payout of $1,000.
🗂️ Categories of Personal Information Collected and Used
To operate the Incentive Program, we collect and use:
- Personal Identifiers: email address, phone number, payment details (e.g., PayPal account), identity verification information.
- User-Generated Content: videos and related engagement metrics.
- Micro-Interaction Data: likes, comments, shares, and other in-app activities.
- Technical/Usage Data: device ID, app logs, and activity triggers.
💵 Value of Personal Information
We estimate that the $1,000 payout is reasonably related to the value of the personal information collected. The calculation is based on the operational costs and the engagement metrics required, not the independent market value of individual user data.
✅ Opt-In and Withdrawal
- By continuing to use Zi, you are deemed to have affirmatively opted in to the Incentive Program.
- If selected, participation requires completing identity verification and providing valid payment information.
- You may opt out at any time by not completing verification or by contacting us. Declining these steps makes a user ineligible for the incentive but does not affect their ability to use Zi.
🚫 Non-Discrimination
We do not discriminate against users for exercising their privacy rights. However, declining to provide information necessary for payout (such as ID verification) will make a user ineligible for the Incentive Program.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy. If we make significant changes, we will notify you via the app or email. Your continued use of Zi after updates constitutes acceptance.
10. Contact Us
For privacy-related questions:
Zi Social Inc. Email: privacy@zi.social