Privacy Notice

1. Who we are

The Globe Map is operated by Evan Faure, operating under the business name “The Globe Map”, at Schillerstraße 41, 80336 Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Evan Faure is the controller of the personal data described in this Privacy Notice when he decides why and how it is processed.

Privacy contact: theglobemap@gmail.com or the contact form. No data protection officer has been appointed. The controller is established in Germany and therefore does not require an EU representative.

This Notice applies to theglobemap.com, The Globe Map app for iPhone (the “App”), user accounts, profiles, saved places, itinerary creation and sharing, Meetups and chat, community functions, contact forms and related communications. A third-party booking provider processes a booking under its own privacy notice.

2. Data we collect

Data you provide

• Account data: email address, display name, authentication identifiers and account settings. Passwords are handled through our authentication provider and are not available to us in readable form. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive from that provider your name and email address (Apple may give a private relay address instead of your real one) and, from Google, the address of your profile picture. We do not receive your Apple or Google password.
• Profile and preference data: quiz answers, primary and secondary personas, interest scores, preferred pace, budget, traveller group, breakfast or evening preferences and similar planning choices.
• Trip data: destination, dates, itinerary content, saved places, notes, collaborators, visibility setting, join activity and the places where you say you are staying.
• Meetup data (App): your first name and Explorer avatar (visible to other members of a Meetup you join or create), the Meetups you create or join, and the messages you write in Meetup chats. Messages are visible to the members of that Meetup. Reports and blocks you make are recorded to moderate the Service.
• Public content: information you choose to include in a public itinerary or public profile element.
• Communications: name, email and message content when you contact us, report content or request support.

Data collected automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser and device type, operating system, timestamps, requested pages, referral information and diagnostic or security events.
• Identifiers and storage data: session identifiers, authentication tokens and similar technologies described in the Cookie Notice.
• Interaction data: use of features, clicks, saves, privacy changes, the number of times a public itinerary is viewed, and aggregate performance data, to the extent implemented and permitted.
• Usage measurement: to understand which parts of the Service work and where people get stuck, the Site and the App record anonymous usage events (for example: a page or screen was viewed, an itinerary was generated, saved, edited or shared, a Meetup was joined, a booking window was opened) together with the event time, the page or screen, the approximate country (derived from the request, not stored as an IP address), the type of device, the App version and a random identifier generated on your device. They never contain what you type (names, messages, searches, addresses) or your precise location. When you are signed in, the event is linked to your account so that we can understand the use of the Service by account holders; we do not build advertising profiles. See “Usage measurement” below.
• Notification data (App): if you allow notifications, a push-notification token that identifies your device to our notification provider, so that we can send Meetup reminders and new-message alerts. Reminders are also scheduled on your device. You can turn notifications off at any time in your iPhone's Settings.
• Affiliate interaction data: the fact that an affiliate link was presented or clicked and attribution parameters, if we record them. The affiliate provider may collect additional information after you follow its link.

Location data

Map views and selected places include geographic coordinates, but these do not necessarily reveal your device's location. If you choose a “use my location” feature, we request your device location only after clear, specific, prior and revocable permission. You can refuse or later revoke permission and enter or select a place manually.

In the App, location is used only while you are using the App (“When In Use”) to show spots near you and your position on the map. The ranking of nearby spots is calculated on your device; your coordinates are not sent to our servers and we do not store them. If you type an address instead, the text you type is sent to our map provider (Mapbox) to find matching places. You can change this permission at any time in your iPhone's Settings.

Data from partners and public sources

We receive or license place details, images, ratings, review excerpts, prices and activity information from sources such as Google Places, Mapbox, GetYourGuide, Viator, venues and activity providers. A review excerpt may include a generic source label or a minimised public display name where necessary. We do not display full reviewer names unless this is necessary, permitted by the applicable licence and lawful. We process third-party content only where our licence and applicable law permit.

3. Why we use data and our legal bases

The legal bases below refer to Article 6 GDPR where it applies.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we assess the necessity of the processing and its impact on users. You may object as described below.

4. Personalisation and automated processing

The Globe Map uses automated rules and scoring to adapt recommendations. For example, quiz answers may generate a primary persona and secondary personas, while direct constraints such as dates, pace, budget and traveller group are given priority when they conflict with persona tendencies. Spot relevance, opening information, travel time and feasibility may also be considered. Affiliate eligibility may help distinguish otherwise suitable bookable options but does not override explicit preferences or itinerary feasibility.

This processing is intended to help plan a trip. It does not produce a decision with legal or similarly significant effects about you. You can modify the generated itinerary, change answers, skip optional profile elements where available, or create a classic itinerary.

We do not use sensitive categories such as health, religion, political opinions or sexual orientation to create personas. Do not enter sensitive personal information in free-text fields.

5. Itinerary visibility

• Private: available to you and authorised collaborators only.
• Anyone with the link: accessible to any person who has or receives the link; not intended for public discovery or indexing.
• Public: available to anyone and eligible for community display. A public itinerary may be included in our sitemap and become search-indexable.

Before publishing, avoid including home addresses, booking references, passport information, live location, children's details or another person's travel information without permission. Changing visibility cannot retrieve copies previously saved by other people or immediately remove search-engine caches.

6. Who receives data

We disclose data only as reasonably necessary to the following categories:

GetYourGuide, Viator, Google and Mapbox may also act as independent controllers for their own processing. Their notices govern those activities.

Mapbox telemetry in the App. The Mapbox map software used in the App sends anonymised and aggregated information about map usage and, if you have allowed location, about location, to Mapbox for its own purposes (see Mapbox's privacy policy). It is not linked to your account and carries no advertising identifier. You can switch it off in the App: tap the (i) button on any map and choose to opt out.

No tracking. The App does not track you across other companies' apps and websites and does not use an advertising identifier.

Usage measurement. The Globe Map measures its own usage with a first-party system: events are sent from the Site or the App to our own server and stored in our database (hosted by Supabase). No third-party analytics or advertising service receives them, and nothing is used for advertising or sold. The Site also uses Vercel Web Analytics, a cookie-free service that reports aggregated page views. On the Site the random identifier is kept in your browser's local storage (not in a cookie), is renewed at most every 13 months and is not shared across sites; in the App it is kept on your device and removed when you delete the App. Events are kept for 12 months, then deleted. The Site does not collect usage events when your browser sends a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal. To remove the identifier, clear this site's data in your browser or delete the App; to object or ask for deletion of events linked to your account, contact us as described below. We do not use Google Analytics, advertising pixels, session-recording tools or reCAPTCHA. If we introduce any of them, we will update this Notice before using them.

We do not sell personal data for money or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

7. International transfers

Some providers or their subprocessors operate outside the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom. Where required, we use an adequacy decision, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK transfer addendum or another lawful safeguard, together with supplementary measures where appropriate. Provider participation in an applicable Data Privacy Framework may also be relevant.

Contact us to request further information about the transfer safeguard applicable to your data.

8. Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the stated purpose, including security, legal and dispute requirements.

We may retain a minimal suppression record to honour an opt-out and evidence compliance.

9. Your rights

Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to:

• obtain information and access to your personal data;
• correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• request deletion;
• restrict processing;
• receive certain data in a portable format;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests, including profiling based on those interests;
• withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier lawful processing;
• complain to a supervisory authority;
• not be subject to a solely automated decision producing legal or similarly significant effects, where applicable.

To exercise a right, use our contact form or email theglobemap@gmail.com. In the App, you can edit your first name and Explorer in Profile › My account and delete your account in the same place. We may request proportionate information to verify your identity. We normally respond within one month under the GDPR, subject to lawful extensions.

Our competent supervisory authority is the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht — BayLDA), Promenade 18, 91522 Ansbach, Germany — https://www.lda.bayern.de/. You may also contact the authority where you live or work, or where an alleged infringement occurred.

10. Cookie choices and marketing

The Site uses only strictly necessary storage and first-party anonymous usage measurement, and no advertising cookies of its own, so it does not display a cookie banner. You can delete or block cookies and local storage in your browser settings, and you can enable Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control to stop our anonymous usage measurement. Essential authentication and security storage cannot be disabled because the requested logged-in service cannot function without it.

Marketing email, if introduced, will include an unsubscribe method. Service and security messages are not marketing and may still be sent while an account remains active.

11. Security

We use measures designed to protect personal data, such as encrypted transport, access controls, least-privilege permissions, secure authentication, environment-secret separation, backups and monitoring appropriate to the risk. No online service can guarantee absolute security. Contact theglobemap@gmail.com if you suspect a vulnerability or unauthorised account access.

12. Children

The Service is not directed to people under 18 and they may not create or operate an account. Family itinerary features describe traveller groups; they do not require a child to create a profile. Do not enter a child's full name, contact details, school, live location or other unnecessary data in an itinerary. If you believe a child has provided data unlawfully, contact us so we can investigate and delete it where appropriate.

13. External sites

When you follow a link to a venue, map, GetYourGuide, Viator or another external site, that provider controls its own collection and use of data. Review its privacy and cookie information before booking or providing personal data.

14. Changes

We may update this Notice when the Service, providers or legal requirements change. We will post the updated version and date. We will provide additional notice where a change materially affects registered users or where consent must be renewed.

15. Contact

Evan Faure, operating under the business name The Globe Map
Schillerstraße 41, 80336 Munich, Bavaria, Germany
theglobemap@gmail.com
+49 160 1136952