Kesem

Draft — not legal advice — version 0.1, 22/09/2026

Kesem — Biometric Data Policy

This policy covers how Kesem collects, uses, keeps and destroys biometric data. It adds to the Privacy Policy. Kesem is operated by Yosef Haim Davidovitz, Israel (131 Lachish Boulevard, Kiryat Gat, Southern District 8204857, Israel). Privacy contact: [email protected].

BIO-1 · What we scan and what we keep

During registration, and whenever we ask you to verify again, the app runs a live face scan (a "liveness check"). From it we keep:

We do not collect fingerprints, voiceprints, iris or retina scans, or hand geometry. Your ordinary profile photos are not biometric data in themselves, but they are compared with your face template (see BIO-2).

BIO-2 · Why (the only three purposes)

  1. To confirm that every account belongs to a real, live person (against fake accounts and bots).
  2. To check that the photos on your profile show you. If a photo has a face, it must match your scan. Your first photo must clearly show your face.
  3. To stop people we have permanently banned for serious violations from registering again.

We do not use biometric data for advertising, profiling, emotion recognition or any other purpose. We do not sell, lease or trade it, or otherwise profit from it.

BIO-3 · Why the scan is required

The face scan is a condition of using Kesem. Verifying that each member is a real person, and that the photos are theirs, is the core safety promise of the service. It protects members from impersonation, catfishing and romance scams. We could not offer that promise without it. We have documented this assessment in our data protection impact assessment. You can withdraw your consent at any time (BIO-7). If you refuse the scan at registration, registration stops, and you can come back later.

BIO-4 · Who processes it and who can see it

BIO-5 · How long we keep it

We permanently destroy biometric data at the earliest of these events:

EventDestruction
You leave registration unfinished after the scan7 days after the scan
You withdraw your biometric consentAt once (a backup deletion job makes sure it is gone within 30 days)
You delete your account30 days after the request (the restoration window)
Two years pass since the scan2 years after the scan (we may ask you to scan again)
In any caseNo later than 3 years after your last activity on Kesem

Permanently banned accounts. To stop a banned person from registering again, the face template of a permanently banned account is kept in a separate, restricted list for 3 years from the ban, and then destroyed. A match with this list is always reviewed by a person. It never leads to an automatic ban.

BIO-6 · How we destroy it

We delete it from the database, from the AWS face collection and from encrypted storage. Every access, comparison and deletion is logged, without the biometric data itself. The logs are kept for 3 years. Encrypted backups roll over within 30 days.

BIO-7 · Withdrawing consent

Go to Settings → Privacy → "Withdraw face scan consent". Then:

BIO-8 · Places where we collect no new biometric data

We do not accept new registrations from Illinois, Texas or Washington (USA). We check this at the location step, before any consent or scan. In that check we save no location and no biometric data. If an existing account is located in one of these states, no new face scan and no new photo upload takes place there. If a new verification is needed, the profile is hidden from discovery until the account leaves the state, and chats and matches continue. Existing data is not deleted because of this. Kesem is also not offered in the EU, the EEA or the United Kingdom.

BIO-9 · Security

We protect biometric data at least as carefully as our most sensitive data. It is encrypted in transit and at rest, with a separate encryption key. Only named roles have access. Every access is logged.

BIO-10 · Contact

Questions or requests: [email protected], or the in-app support form (category "Privacy and data").

Sources

No third-party template text was used.