Terms & Conditions

1. Important safety notice

2. Who may register

To register, you must:

• be at least 18 years old and able to enter into this agreement;
• be genuinely seeking marriage;
• provide truthful, accurate and reasonably complete information;
• keep important information up to date; and
• use the service personally unless an authorised representative arrangement has been approved.

You may not impersonate another person or knowingly provide false or misleading information. Linking Hearts may review, decline, pause or end an application where there is a legitimate eligibility, operational, safety or legal reason.

3. What Linking Hearts provides

Linking Hearts provides a structured matrimonial service that may include registration and onboarding, anonymous matrimonial profiles, system-assisted and staff-assisted matching, expressions of interest, member-requested searches, masked identity-document verification, controlled contact exchange, follow-ups and service communications.

Registration, onboarding and system matching are free.

Linking Hearts assists members in finding possible matches, but it does not choose a spouse for anyone and does not guarantee a match, response, introduction, engagement or marriage. Members remain responsible for their own decisions.

4. Profiles and privacy

Linking Hearts normally shares matrimonial profiles using an LH reference number rather than the member’s full name or direct contact details.

Only profile information considered appropriate for matrimonial matching should be shared with possible matches. Full names and private contact details are released only through the authorised contact-exchange process.

Personal information, including religious and health information, is processed in accordance with the Linking Hearts POPIA Privacy Policy.

Members must not publish, circulate, forward, copy or distribute another member’s profile or private information outside the authorised Linking Hearts process.

5. Masked identity-document verification

Identity verification uses a masked ID or driver’s licence uploaded through the App. Only the photograph, full name and date of birth should remain visible; all other details must be covered before uploading. Verification may be used to confirm limited information such as a person’s identity, appearance or date of birth.

A successful verification does not mean that every statement made by the member has been independently checked or guaranteed. Linking Hearts may ask for more information where verification is incomplete, unclear or inconsistent.

6. Matching and contact exchange

Linking Hearts may use member preferences, profile information, service rules and staff review to suggest possible matches. A member may accept, decline or request clarification and is never required to accept a match.

Contact details may be exchanged only when:

• both members have agreed to the introduction;
• required verification has been completed;
• any applicable payment requirement has been cleared; and
• the introduction complies with the current service rules.

Linking Hearts may pause or close a request where a deadline has passed, a member becomes unavailable or the introduction cannot proceed safely or properly.

7. Member conduct and confidentiality

Members must communicate respectfully and use Linking Hearts only for genuine matrimonial purposes. Members may not:

• harass, threaten, pressure or abuse another person;
• send inappropriate, sexually explicit, fraudulent or unlawful content;
• use the service for casual dating or entertainment;
• request or send money as part of a proposed match;
• misuse or publicly circulate another member’s profile or contact information;
• attempt to access another person’s account;
• interfere with the operation or security of the service; or
• use information obtained through Linking Hearts for marketing, solicitation or an unrelated purpose.

Serious concerns should be reported to Linking Hearts promptly.

8. Accounts and security

Members are responsible for keeping their username, password and device access secure. You must notify Linking Hearts promptly if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.

Linking Hearts may temporarily restrict an account while a security concern is investigated.

9. Membership fees and search tokens

Current pricing is:

• Registration, onboarding and system matching: Free
• Standard gentlemen: R100 per month
• Standard ladies: R100 per month
• Polygamy gentlemen: R350 per month
• Polygamy ladies: R100 per month
• Standard extra searches: R50 for 2 search tokens
• Polygamy extra searches: R100 for 2 search tokens

A lady who genuinely cannot afford the monthly fee may request a private arrangement. The request and decision are handled privately.

Search tokens are separate from monthly membership. Purchasing them adds the stated number of member-requested searches and does not extend the membership period. System matching remains free.

The complete price, payment method and service being purchased will be shown before payment. Payments may be made through an authorised secure payment provider or another payment method made available by Linking Hearts, including EFT.

Unless the payment screen states otherwise, by completing payment you ask Linking Hearts to start the purchased service as soon as the payment is confirmed.

10. Payment clearance

Where membership payment is required, private contact details will not be released until payment has been cleared.

Payment is treated as cleared when there is a confirmed online payment, an EFT payment confirmed by an administrator, an advance payment covering the current period or an approved private arrangement for a lady.

Uploading proof of payment does not itself confirm payment. Linking Hearts must first check and approve it.

11. Monthly payments, cancellations and refunds

Membership is provided month to month. Payment will not recur automatically unless recurring billing has been properly introduced, clearly shown and specifically authorised by the member.

A member may stop purchasing future membership months at any time. A paid membership normally remains available until its displayed paid-until date. If recurring billing is later enabled, members will be able to cancel future recurring payments through the method provided.

All cooling-off, cancellation and refund rights provided by South African law remain available. A statutory cooling-off right may not apply where a service has already begun with the member’s consent, to the extent permitted by law.

Linking Hearts will consider refund requests fairly and will refund where required by law, including where applicable for duplicate payments, incorrect charges or a paid service that was not supplied. Use of an already supplied membership period or search tokens may be taken into account only as permitted by law.

12. Messages, notifications and surveys

Linking Hearts may send operational messages about registration, onboarding, verification, matching, contact exchange, payments, account security, service changes and support.

These messages are part of the service and are not direct marketing. Push notifications may be used where the member has enabled them. Participation in an optional survey or question is voluntary unless information is reasonably required to complete a specific process.

Any direct marketing will be handled separately and only as permitted by law.

13. Suspending or ending membership

Linking Hearts may pause, suspend or close an account where reasonably necessary because of false information, inappropriate or unsafe conduct, misuse of private information, suspected fraud, a serious breach of these Terms, an unresolved verification concern, the member’s request or a legal obligation.

Where appropriate, Linking Hearts will explain the concern and allow a reasonable opportunity to respond. Immediate action may be taken where necessary to protect members, information or the service.

Closing an account does not require Linking Hearts to delete records that must lawfully be retained.

14. Service availability and providers

Linking Hearts aims to keep its services available, but temporary interruptions may occur because of maintenance, technical problems, service-provider outages, security work or events beyond reasonable control.

Authorised providers may be used for hosting, communications, notifications, verification and payments. These providers may process limited information needed to perform their services.

15. Responsibility and fair limitation

Linking Hearts will take reasonable care in operating the service, handling payments and protecting personal information.

Linking Hearts does not control the private conduct, decisions or statements of individual members and cannot guarantee that a member will remain interested, respond, proceed with an introduction or enter into a marriage.

To the extent permitted by law, Linking Hearts is responsible for reasonably foreseeable direct loss caused by its own breach of these Terms or failure to exercise legally required care. It is not responsible for indirect loss or events genuinely outside its reasonable control.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits a consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded, rights under POPIA, liability for fraud, intentional misconduct or gross negligence, or any other responsibility that South African law does not permit Linking Hearts to exclude.

16. Complaints

Members should first contact Linking Hearts so that a concern can be investigated and, where possible, resolved. Privacy complaints are handled as explained in the POPIA Privacy Policy.

Nothing prevents a member from using any complaint or legal remedy available under South African law.

17. Changes to these Terms

Linking Hearts may update these Terms when its service, the law or operational requirements change. The latest version and effective date will be displayed.

Members will be notified of material changes and asked to accept a new version where fresh acceptance is reasonably required. Changes will not remove rights that have already arisen under applicable law.

18. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute will be dealt with through an appropriate South African complaint process, regulator, ombud, tribunal or court with jurisdiction.

19. Legal operator and contact information