Last updated: July 2026
Howie is a platform built on trust. That extends to how we handle your personal information. We collect only what we need, protect it seriously, and will never sell it.
When you join the waitlist, we collect your email address. When you create an account, we collect your name, phone number, date of birth, and the photos you upload to your profile. We also collect information about the introductions you make and receive on the platform. With your permission, we read your phone contacts to help you find people you already know on Howie and to power the trusted-network introductions the app is built around.
Your email is used to notify you about your waitlist status and important updates. Your profile information is used to help your network introduce you to compatible people. Your phone number is used only for account verification via OTP — we do not use it for marketing. When you allow contact access, phone numbers are hashed on your device before we ever see them; we receive the hash and the contact’s saved name so we can match you with people you already know who are also on Howie — never for advertising, and never shared with other users.
Sensitive information — including your phone number and date of birth — is encrypted at the application level before it is stored. Photos are stored on secure cloud infrastructure with private access controls. We do not store passwords.
Your profile is only visible to people within your trusted network on Howie — people who are connected to you through at least one mutual contact. We do not surface your profile to strangers or to anyone outside your network.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use your data to train AI models without explicit consent. We do not share your contact details with other users — all communication on Howie happens through the platform.
Every photo you upload is automatically checked for safety before it becomes visible to anyone. To do this, the image is sent to NVIDIA’s content-safety service, which scans it for unsafe content and returns an approve or reject decision. Photos are used only for this moderation check and are not used to train AI models. An image that fails moderation is deleted and never appears on your profile.
We use MSG91 for phone OTP delivery, email infrastructure for email OTP delivery, Cloudflare R2 for photo storage, and NVIDIA’s content-safety API to moderate uploaded photos. These services process data only to the extent necessary to provide their function. We do not sell or share your profile data for advertising.
If you delete your account, your profile is removed from active discovery immediately and remaining account data is deleted or anonymised within 30 days unless a longer retention period is legally required. You can delete from the app or request deletion by email.
You can request a copy of the data we hold about you, ask us to correct inaccurate information, or request deletion of your account and associated data at any time. Email us at the address below.
If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you via the app or by email before the changes take effect. Continued use of Howie after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Questions about your data? Email us at howiee2026@gmail.com and we will respond within 48 hours.