Privacy policy

Effective 25 September 2026 · applies to the Namesake app on Android and iOS.

The short version

There is no account: no email address, phone number or password is ever asked for.
The names you swipe stay on your phone. If you link with a partner, only the names you like or love — never the ones you pass — are shared with that one person.
The app is free and shows ads from Google AdMob, which uses your device’s advertising identifier.
Anonymous usage statistics show which features help people decide; they never include the names you swipe or anything you type.
You can delete everything at any time in More → Delete my data.

What stays on your phone

Your likes, loves and passes, your shortlist, the optional last name you enter, and your settings are stored only on your device. Uninstalling the app removes them.

What the partner link stores

Linking phones is optional. When you create or join an invite, Namesake uses Google Firebase (Google LLC) to store:

a random, anonymous user identifier created by Firebase Authentication;
the first name you choose to show your partner (optional);
the list of names you liked or loved;
the six-letter invite code, which expires after 30 days.

This data is visible only to the partner you linked with and is stored on Google Cloud servers in the United States. It is kept while you stay linked. Unlinking deletes your list from the link; Delete my data also deletes your anonymous identifier.

Advertising

Namesake shows banner, interstitial and optional rewarded video ads through Google AdMob. To serve and measure ads, Google collects your device’s advertising identifier (Android Advertising ID; on iOS the identifier for vendors — Namesake does not ask for permission to track you across other companies’ apps), your IP address for approximate location, and how you interact with ads. In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland you are asked for consent before personalised ads are shown, and you can change your choice in More → Privacy choices. You can also reset or limit your advertising identifier in your phone’s settings. Google’s use of this data is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Usage statistics

Namesake uses Google Analytics for Firebase (Google LLC) to count how the app is used — for example how many people finish the first screens, link with a partner, reach their first match or open the app from a reminder. These events carry a random app-instance identifier, your device model, operating system and app version, and an approximate location (country or region) derived from your IP address. They never contain the names you like or pass, your partner’s name, your last name or anything else you type. In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland they are used only as far as you allow in the privacy message, and you can change your choice in More → Privacy choices. Google keeps this event data for a limited time (at most 14 months).

Crash reports

If the app crashes, Firebase Crashlytics sends a technical report: the error, the device model, the operating system and app versions, and a random installation identifier. Reports are used only to fix bugs and are not linked to your partner data.

Reminders and speech

The optional daily reminder is scheduled on your phone; no push notification token is collected. Hearing a name spoken uses your phone’s built-in text-to-speech.

Children

Namesake is made for adults choosing a name for a baby. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect data from children.

Your rights

You can see what the app stores for you in the app itself, and delete it with Delete my data. For any question or request — including access, correction or deletion under the GDPR or other privacy laws — write to clgmsedev@gmail.com. The legal bases we rely on are performing the service you ask for (the partner link), our legitimate interest in fixing crashes, and your consent where the law requires it for advertising and usage statistics.

Name data

Names and rankings come from public statistics: the US Social Security Administration (public domain), the Office for National Statistics and National Records of Scotland (Open Government Licence v3.0), Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CC BY 4.0), Statistics Canada (Statistics Canada Open Licence) and the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages (CC BY 4.0). Name meanings are introductions of English Wikipedia articles, shown under CC BY-SA 4.0. None of these organisations endorses Namesake.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date.