Privacy Policy – ConnectMe

Effective Date: 27-01-2024

Thank you for choosing ConnectMe App. We, ConnectMe App B.V. (“we”, “us”, “our”), respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard the information you provide via our mobile application ConnectMe App (the “App”), and your rights in relation to your data.

1. Scope & Controller

1.1 This policy applies to all users of the App, irrespective of location.

1.2 The data controller responsible for your personal data in respect of this App is ConnectMe App B.V., registered in the Netherlands.

1.3 If you reside in the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, or Switzerland, the applicable data protection laws (including the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)) will apply as appropriate.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal data when you use the App:

Account registration data: your full name, username, password, date of birth, email address.
Profile data: profile photo(s), bio, interests, study/university indicator (if you use University Mode), sports indicator (if you use Sports Mode).
Location & check-in data: your real-world location when you check-in (now or future), arrival time when you plan to be at a location, whether you have reached the location, map visibility status, background location sharing settings.
Usage data: time and date of your access and use of the App, features used (check-in, chat, map toggles, etc.), device type, operating system version.
Chat and interaction data: messages you send/receive through the App, timestamp, status indicators (read receipts, online/last seen) if enabled, block/archive status.
Payment and subscription data: if you subscribe to “Pro Features”, payment method details (via payment provider), billing information, subscription status.
Device and technical data: IP address, unique device IDs, mobile network information, crash/log data, analytics.
Communications data: emails or feedback you send us (for example, via info@connectme-app.com), including any attachments you provide.

3. How and Why We Use Your Data

We process your personal data for the following purposes and legal bases:

Performance of the service: to provide you with the App’s functionalities (check-ins, map display, chat, subscriptions). Legal basis: contract.
Fulfilment of subscription: to process your requests for Pro Features, billing, renewal, cancellation. Legal basis: contract.
Location-based features: to allow check-in functionality, display of nearby users or future visitors, map visibility toggles, background refresh. Legal basis: contract & legitimate interests (i.e., enabling core service).
Personalisation and user experience: to tailor content, show relevant nearby users, adjust map/heat map settings, language preferences. Legal basis: legitimate interests (provided you’ve consented to optional features).
Analytics, improvements and security: to analyse usage, optimise the App, detect fraud or abuse, ensure security and integrity. Legal basis: legitimate interests (our interest in running and improving the App).
Communications: to respond to your enquiries, send updates or notifications about your Account or the service. Legal basis: contract and/or consent (for marketing).
Legal compliance and legitimate purposes: to comply with legal obligations (e.g., payment regulations, tax), to defend legal claims, and protect rights of users and ourselves. Legal basis: legal obligation & legitimate interests.

4. Sharing and Disclosure of Your Data

We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients:

Service providers: third-party companies who provide infrastructure, payments, analytics, hosting, cloud services. They only access your data to perform services on our behalf and under our instructions.
Payment providers: for handling your subscription payments.
Affiliates or successors: if we merge with or are acquired by another company, your data may be transferred (we will notify you).
Legal authorities: if required by law or in response to lawful requests (e.g., court orders, regulatory investigations).
Other users: in the context of the App’s social functionality (e.g., when you check-in and appear on the map, your location / arrival time may be visible to other users who access that location). Note you control visibility via privacy settings (map visibility toggle, background sharing toggle).We do not sell your personal data to third parties for advertising or other purposes.

5. Background Location, Map Visibility & Check-In Features

Because the App is location-based, we process Location Data as follows:

If you enable check-in “now” or “later”, your location and arrival time are shown on the map (for up to 12 hours after arrival or planned time).
If you enable background location sharing, we may access your device’s location at intervals you set (15 min / 30 min / 1 hr) to refresh your map marker. You may turn this off any time via Settings.
You may toggle your map visibility at any time: if set to “off”, your profile will not appear on the map.
You may enable/disable read receipts and last seen status in chat settings — without these, some functionality (e.g., seeing if another user is online/has read your message) may be limited.By using these features you expressly consent to the processing described and confirm you have the right to share location information.

6. Retention of Your Data

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out above (including to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements).

For example:

Location/check-in data: removed automatically 12 hours after arrival time or location arrival (per your check-in).
Messages & chat records: retained for the period required to provide service, unless you delete them (via archive/block) or close your Account (see below).
Billing/subscription data: retained in accordance with applicable financial regulations.When you close your Account (see Section 9), we will delete or anonymise your personal data unless we are required to retain it for legal/legitimate purposes.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are in the EEA/UK/Switzerland you have certain rights in relation to your personal data. These include:

The right to access the personal data we hold about you.
The right to rectify inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
The right to erase (delete) your personal data (“right to be forgotten”) subject to certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances.
The right to object to processing of your personal data in certain cases, including for profiling or direct marketing.
The right to data portability, i.e., receive your data in a structured, commonly used machine-readable format when processing is based on consent or contract.
The right to withdraw your consent at any time (where processing is based on consent) without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
The right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority (in the Netherlands: the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

8. Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

These measures include encryption, secure storage, regular testing of systems, access controls, and staff training.

However, no system is completely secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmission or storage.

9. Deleting or Closing Your Account

You may delete your Account at any time via the App (Settings → Remove Profile / Logout).

Upon deleting your Account:

We will disable your access to the App.
We will delete or anonymise your personal data except data we are legally required to retain (e.g., payment records).If you wish us to erase additional identification or location data sooner, please contact us; we will comply unless there is a legal reason to retain it longer.

10. Services for Minors

Our App is not targeted at children under the age of 16 (or as required by local law). If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child under the age of 16 without verifiable parental consent, we will delete the data as soon as possible.

If you believe we may hold personal data of a child under age 16, please contact us.

11. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to, and processed in, countries outside the EEA/UK/Switzerland (for example our cloud hosting providers). When we do so, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place (e.g., Standard Contractual Clauses) or the country is deemed to provide adequate protection under applicable law.

12. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time (for example to reflect changes in our services or applicable law). We shall notify you of significant changes (via the App or email) and publish the effective date of the new version.

If you disagree with the changes, you may stop using the App and close your Account.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us at:

ConnectMe App B.V.

Email: info@connectme-app.com