Our primary mission is to overcome barriers to sexual health conversations while dating. We believe mobile App technology is the best way to share verified health information (in particular Sexually Transmitted Infections, or STI, results) and present them in a concise and scientific manner. Sharing results in advance prevents potentially awkward face-face discussions, builds trust and give everyone enough time to self-educate. When everyone gets regularly tested for important STIs and share results before consensual sex, we can create a world free of new STI diagnosis. As we grow, we aim to help underserved communities globally with free medications, testing and support.

Our current focus is on HIV, Herpes, Chlamydia, Syphilis, and Gonorrhea. We welcome your feedback on adding more STIs to the list.

Yes, Our chat feature and reminders are specifically designed to help those living with STIs with better tools for care. People living with HIV can equally benefit while dating as we communicate viral suppression (or undetectable) status with past treatment information. It is scientifically shown that people who maintain undetectable status over 6 months (and adhere to treatment) live a healthy life and have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to sexual partners. We also help People living with Herpes (HSV2) in managing their treatment. We are still working on ways to foster Herpes (HSV2) communication in App.

Yes. SafeMatch only reduces your chances of catching STIs, but does not eliminate it. The most effective way to prevent STIs exposure is to get tested, know your partner results, and talk to your healthcare provider for most suitable STI preventative options. For questions related to specific STI, check out our STI FAQ page (link).

NOTE: STI preventative options (including condoms, PrEP, Dental dams, etc.) are effective only when used as prescribed. A single STI preventative option may not guarantee 100% protection from all STIs.

SafeMatch does not make a decision on whether or not you should have consensual sex with your partner. You should discuss with your partner and your healthcare provider to make the best assessment. Past results may not show the same results today and several factors must be taken into consideration. Some of these include potential false negative results due to window period of detection and partner sexual history. You always have an option to ask your partner to get re-tested. Most clinics with can send us your test results same day and we can upload it to user account within 24 hr-48 hr.

SafeMatch value is in providing you a starting point to view verified results of your partner which would otherwise may have not been possible. We show you concise summary of past STI tests that your partner has taken within 1 year and whether all came out negative (only for HIV). For those living with HIV, we show that they are adhering to their treatment and virally suppressed for over past 6 months. We strongly believe that you can better decisions when you have information at hand.

‘Official testing lab’ reporting type indicates that STI results came directly from clinic (after user consent) in official format and that we verified the sender’s email, and/or FAX from the clinic’s official website. If the results were mailed to us, we will call clinic to verify if they were indeed the sender. We also check for existence of clinic in government databases. In future, we also plan to verify clinic’s location in-person as well. ‘Partially validated’ reporting type, on the other hand, indicates that STI results came directly from user in official format. User may share these by email, fax, mail or using in-App camera feature. While we cannot talk to clinic and verify the results, we verify clinic depending on the extent of available information.

NOTE: Currently, we only match Legal name and date of birth on health record against those listed on sender’s account. People should know each other well before sharing records between each other.

When the results are shared, our App shows the reported type of each of the STIs tested most recently. If you are not comfortable with seeing ‘Partially validated’ reported source, you can always request your partner to resubmit their test to us from their official clinic. In either case of reporting type, SafeMatch should not be the only factor in deciding on whether to have consensual sex or not. You should know your partner well and talk to your healthcare provider in making best judgement before sex.

Approver is ultimately responsible for what they share to another person (similar to how people self-report their results today in-person). If there are errors in their health information, Approver must not approve any request until such errors are corrected. 

NOTE: SafeMatch does not conduct STIs testing itself and is limited in the extent of verification that is possible in typical healthcare settings. Our platform should only be used at a starting point of STI discussion rather than deciding whether or not to have consensual sex.

Once the official health records are received, we perform the verification and uploads them to user account. When user log-in from App, uploaded information is encrypted with a 256-bit key which is unique to each User account. This unique key is further encrypted with a cloud encryption service. Any data stored locally in App or on cloud server is kept encrypted at all times. 
After 7 days, we confidentially shred the official health records. User is always in full control over uploaded information and has the ability to delete it from inside the App. Please click here for more information.

No. Your personal information including your STI results are not shared with anyone unless you use our controlled sharing feature. We do not work with any third-parties for marketing or research purpose. Your information is only accessible from your App as long as you have valid access credentials. Please click here for more information.

We use your legal name and date of birth in your account to verify against those listed on official health records. Please note that user is not allowed to change these information after sign-up process is completed.

Each SafeMatch user is uniquely identified by their phone number. We send a code to verify your phone during sign-up. We also send a code to your phone to remember your new mobile device to further limit access to your account in case your password is stolen. If your phone is stolen, you should immediately notify us. Your email address is used to notify important events such as when someone requests your STI results.

There is typically a 7 day waiting period before a request is made to same phone number again. This wait period may be extended on user request.

Shared information includes summary of STI test results such as recent test type, number of test results taken in past 1 year, and HIV viral suppression status. Currently, only five STI results are shared. These STIs include HIV, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Hepatitis-C.  If you choose to, shared information may also include your partial first name and your birth month. We also share whether the results were reported to us by clinic or user themselves.

We do not charge users to use our App for managing their test results, using chat feature, or uploading their test results. However, we charge users a small fee of $1 (or less) per approved request. Please check website (link) for current pricing.

SafeMatch does not charge you for uploading test results. However, your clinic may charge you a reasonable small fee to send your health record to us.

As long as the healthcare provider (or clinic) has means to fax, email, or mail documents, they cannot deny it. HIPAA gives you right to access and manage your their health information in any way you prefer (see HIPAA rights for individuals). Your healthcare provider (or clinic) will verify your identity and ask you to sign a consent form before sharing your information with SafeMatch.

We take your data and privacy very seriously. Our data security standards in App and Cloud servers meet or exceed the standards used in healthcare setting. We do not share your information to anyone unless you decide to use our controlled sharing feature. We do not perform any marketing or research with your data. We have procedures in place to limit employee access and to notify you if any unforeseen situation arises. However, our limitations in record keeping limit us from being 100% compliance with HIPAA. Compliance with HIPAA 45 CFR Part 164.524 regulation would have required us to track closely who you share your results with and maintain a record of same for at least 6 year. We designed this platform primarily to break barriers in sexual health discussion and give the level of anonymity that our users expect. As we grow, we will perform annual HIPAA audit by independent companies and demonstrate our commitment to safeguard your health information.

NOTE: We are not a Business Associate of any Covered Entity (click here for definitions).

For commonly asked questions pertaining to specific STIs, refer our STI FAQ page (link).