Law Enforcement & Legal Requests

1. About These Guidelines

GradeDate is a dating application that helps users build and understand their dating profile and connect with geographically relevant matches. GradeDate is operated from Payson, Utah, United States.

These Guidelines explain how law enforcement agencies may request user information from GradeDate, what data may be available, and how GradeDate responds to legal process, preservation requests, and emergency requests. These Guidelines are for law enforcement and government agencies; users should refer to our Privacy Policy and Data Rights pages.

GradeDate responds to valid legal process in accordance with applicable U.S. federal and state law. Nothing in these Guidelines obligates GradeDate to disclose information in response to requests that are not supported by valid legal process, and GradeDate may seek to narrow, object to, or move to quash overly broad or legally deficient requests.

2. Types of Data GradeDate May Have

2.1 Information that may be available

2.2 Information GradeDate does NOT have

• Payment card numbers or full payment details — held by Stripe.
• Government ID images or selfies submitted for age verification — held by Stripe Identity.
• Plaintext passwords — passwords are stored only as salted hashes and are not disclosed.
• Message content after account deletion — messages are hard-deleted immediately upon account deletion.
• Data beyond applicable retention windows (see section 7).

3. How to Submit a Request

Law enforcement agencies should submit all legal requests (subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, preservation requests, and emergency requests) to:

legal@gradedate.app

Please include:

1. Agency and requester identification — agency name, requester name, badge/ID number, and a work email address and phone number for follow-up.
2. Case reference — case number and a brief description of the investigation.
3. User identifiers — the specific GradeDate user identifier(s): registered email address and/or numeric user ID. (Note: GradeDate cannot search by name alone; a name is not a unique identifier.)
4. Specific data requested — the precise records or categories of records sought and the relevant time period.
5. Legal process — a copy of the subpoena, court order, search warrant, or other legal process authorizing the request, or a statement of the statutory basis for the request.

Requests that do not include valid legal process or sufficient identifiers may be returned or held pending clarification.

4. Preservation Requests

GradeDate will honor reasonable requests to preserve user data pending legal process.

• How to submit: Email legal@gradedate.app with the subject “PRESERVATION REQUEST”, the agency and requester identification, the user identifier(s), and the scope of data to be preserved.
• What happens: GradeDate will place a preservation hold on the identified account’s available data as soon as practicable. Preservation holds are honored for 90 days and are renewable upon a further preservation request. A preservation request does not, by itself, authorize disclosure of the preserved data; valid legal process is still required for disclosure.
• Acknowledgment: GradeDate will acknowledge receipt of a preservation request within 2 business days.

5. Emergency Disclosure Requests

GradeDate may disclose information to law enforcement without prior notice to the user when there is an emergency involving imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to any person, or in circumstances involving the safety of a child.

• How to submit: Email legal@gradedate.app with the subject line beginning “EMERGENCY — ”, and include: the nature of the emergency, the specific user identifier(s), the specific data needed, and the name and contact details of the requesting officer and their supervisor.
• Response: Emergency requests are prioritized for immediate review and are evaluated as promptly as possible — typically within hours, and in any event we use reasonable best efforts to respond within 24 hours. If the request appears deficient, we will request the missing information.
• Child safety: If the emergency involves suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM), a solicitation of a minor, or similar child-safety concerns, GradeDate will, consistent with our Acceptable Use Policy, immediately hide the affected content, lock the account pending review, preserve evidence, and report the matter to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required by 18 U.S.C. § 2258A, and may refer the matter to law enforcement.
• Human trafficking: For suspected human trafficking or exploitation, GradeDate will preserve evidence and refer users and law enforcement to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 and may report to law enforcement.

6. Standard Disclosure Process and Response Timelines

1. Receipt and review. GradeDate reviews each request to confirm it is supported by valid legal process and is sufficiently specific.
2. Acknowledgment. GradeDate acknowledges receipt of a valid request within 2 business days.
3. Response. GradeDate uses reasonable best efforts to produce responsive, non-privileged data within 10 business days of receiving valid legal process. If the request is deficient or needs clarification, GradeDate will notify the requesting agency within that window.
4. Narrowing. GradeDate will not provide access to more data than is reasonably necessary to satisfy the request and may seek to narrow overbroad requests.

User notice: Unless prohibited by law or by a valid court order, GradeDate will make reasonable efforts to notify affected users before disclosing their data. Gag orders and delayed-notice provisions will be honored where legally required.

Non-U.S. requests: Requests from law enforcement outside the United States should be made through applicable international legal channels (such as a mutual legal assistance treaty or other lawful mechanism) and directed to legal@gradedate.app for coordination.

7. Data Retention and Legal Holds

GradeDate’s retention practices are described in our Privacy Policy. Key points relevant to law enforcement:

• Account data is retained while the account is active and is deleted when the account is deleted (messages are hard-deleted immediately upon account deletion).
• Safety reports are retained for 12 months after resolution; privileged administrative audit records are retained for a minimum of 24 months; quarantined photo review cases are retained per our moderation retention schedule (default 30 days).
• If an account is subject to a pending legal request, GradeDate may retain data beyond normal retention windows until the request is resolved, as permitted by applicable law. Legal-hold evidence is never purged early.

8. Contact Summary