Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

When you create an account and use Vela, we collect:

• Account information: email address, password (hashed), and authentication tokens
• Profile information: display name, age range, date of birth, and reasons for using the Service
• Onboarding responses: your answers to our personalization questions, including:
  • A short summary of how your week has been
  • Your preferred support style
  • What topics you typically don't share with others
  • When you usually want to chat
• Companion preferences: your selected AI companion (Vela, Luna, Aria, Liam, Rowan, or Kai), customizations, and voice preferences
• Conversation content: messages you send to your AI companion, including text, generated images, and voice interactions
• Memory data: information your AI companion remembers about you across conversations (categorized as personal, preferences, emotions, goals, relationships, work, or other)
• Payment information: billing details (processed exclusively through Whop — we do not store credit card numbers on our servers)

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Service, we automatically collect:

• Usage data: number of messages sent, voice generations used, and selfies generated per day
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, operating system
• Session data: login timestamps, session duration, and interactions with the interface
• Cookies and similar technologies: essential cookies for authentication and preferences

1.3 Sensitive Information

Because Vela is a companion app, your conversations may include sensitive personal information about your mental health, emotions, relationships, or other private topics. We treat this information with the highest level of protection. You retain full ownership of your conversation data at all times.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Generate personalized AI responses through Anthropic's Claude API
• Generate voice messages through ElevenLabs
• Generate images and selfies through Leonardo.ai
• Maintain your conversation history and long-term memory
• Process payments and manage subscriptions through Whop
• Send transactional emails (account confirmation, password reset, billing receipts)
• Detect and prevent abuse, fraud, or violations of our Terms of Service
• Comply with applicable legal obligations
• Conduct anonymized analytics to improve the Service

We do NOT use your conversation content to train AI models. Your conversations remain private and are not used to train Claude, ElevenLabs, Leonardo, or any other third-party AI system.

3. Third-Party Service Providers

To deliver the Service, we share limited information with the following providers:

Each provider operates under its own privacy policy. We have selected providers with strong privacy and security commitments, but we encourage you to review their policies for full details.

4. Data Retention

• Account data: retained as long as your account is active
• Conversation history: retained as long as your account is active, or until you delete specific conversations
• Memory data: retained as long as your account is active, or until you manually delete specific memories
• Usage analytics: retained for up to 24 months in aggregated, anonymized form
• Payment records: retained for 7 years to comply with tax and accounting regulations

When you delete your account, all your personal data is permanently deleted within 30 days, except for information we are legally required to retain.

5. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

Universal rights (available to all users)

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: request that we correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: request that we delete your account and all associated data
• Withdraw consent: stop using the Service at any time

EU/EEA users (GDPR rights)

• Data portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Restriction of processing: request that we limit how we process your data
• Object: object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Lodge a complaint: file a complaint with your national data protection authority

California users (CCPA rights)

• Right to know: what personal information we collect, sell, or share
• Right to delete: request deletion of your personal information
• Right to opt-out: opt-out of the sale of personal information (note: we do NOT sell personal information)
• Right to non-discrimination: not be discriminated against for exercising your rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@meetvela.app. We will respond within 30 days.

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

• All data is encrypted at rest and in transit (TLS 1.3)
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt before storage
• Database access is restricted by Row-Level Security (RLS) policies
• Sensitive operations require multi-factor authentication
• Regular security audits of our infrastructure providers

However, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work continuously to maintain industry best practices.

7. Children's Privacy

Vela AI is strictly intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 years of age.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at support@meetvela.app so we can delete the account and associated data.

We comply with the California SB 243 requirements regarding AI companions and minors, including age verification at signup and protocols for protecting young users.

8. International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed and stored in countries outside your country of residence, including the United States and the European Union. We ensure that any international transfers comply with applicable data protection laws and that appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) are in place.

9. AI-Specific Disclosures

Vela AI is an artificial intelligence service. You should be aware that:

• Vela is not a human and not a licensed mental health professional
• Vela's responses are generated by AI and may contain errors or inaccuracies
• Vela is not a substitute for professional medical, legal, financial, or psychological advice
• If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please contact emergency services or a crisis hotline (988 in the US, see meetvela.app/safety for international resources)
• Your conversations with Vela are stored to provide continuity, but they are not monitored in real-time by humans

10. Cookies

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: required for authentication and core functionality (cannot be disabled)
• Preference cookies: remember your settings and choices
• Analytics cookies: help us understand how the Service is used (anonymized)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may prevent you from using the Service.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page
• Notify you by email or in-app notification
• For significant changes affecting your rights, request your renewed consent

We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices:

Email: support@meetvela.app

Website: https://meetvela.app

We will respond to all inquiries within 30 days.