Privacy Policy
1. Who we are
Pilsmaatje is a personal project developed and operated in the Netherlands.
- Contact: info@pilsmaatje.nl
- Website: pilsmaatje.nl
For any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us at the email address above. This is also the contact point for all privacy-related requests.
2. What this policy covers
This Privacy Policy explains what personal data Pilsmaatje collects, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what rights you have. It applies to the Pilsmaatje mobile application (iOS and Android) and the Pilsmaatje web application.
3. Personal data we collect
3.1 Account data
When you register, we collect:
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Email address | Account creation, authentication, and account recovery. |
| Display name | Identifying you to your friends within the app. |
| Username (@handle) | A unique handle you choose so friends can find you by searching. Only users who claim a handle are findable. |
| Profile picture (avatar) | An optional photo you choose to represent yourself, taken with the camera or imported from your photo library. It is shown to other users wherever you appear in the app (see section 6). |
| Terms acceptance | A record of which version of the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy you accepted, and when, so we can demonstrate consent and re-prompt you when they change materially. |
3.2 Check-in data
When you create a check-in, we may collect:
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Item selection | Recording what you are having (e.g. beer, pizza). |
| Photo | An optional photo you choose to attach. Stored as a JPEG image. |
| Location (GPS) | Optional location attached to the check-in, only collected with your explicit permission through the operating system's permission prompt. |
| Location label | A human-readable place name derived from your coordinates (reverse geocoding). |
| Timestamp | When the check-in was created. |
A check-in is marked as active for approximately 1 hour. After that it is no longer shown as an active (live) check-in — for example on the map — but the check-in itself remains stored and visible in activity history until you delete it or delete your account.
3.3 Social and friendship data
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Friend connections | We store which users are friends to show relevant check-ins. |
| Friend requests | When you search for and add another user, we store the pending request until it is accepted, declined, or cancelled. |
| Reactions | The reactions you send on a check-in (e.g. “Proost!”, “Eet smakelijk!”, “Ik kom eraan!”) so the recipient — and anyone who can see that check-in — can see them. |
| Comments | The short text comments (up to 150 characters) you leave on a check-in, stored together with your display name and profile picture so they can be shown to anyone who can see that check-in. |
| Invite tokens | Temporary tokens created when you invite someone. These expire after 7 days and are deleted after use. |
3.4 Game data
When you play a drinking game (e.g. Mexen, Bussen) with friends, we collect:
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Game session state | The live state of a game (players, turns, dice, cards, wheel spins, scores) shared between participants while the game is running. |
| Game history & stats | A record of finished games and lifetime totals (games played, won, sips, favourite game) shown on your profile. |
These statistics reflect in-game scoring only (such as the number of in-game "sips" or "drinks" a game assigns) and are not a measurement or record of how much alcohol you actually consume.
3.5 Event invitations ("Borrels")
When you plan a borrel (a drinks/party invitation) or are invited to one, we collect:
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Event details | The title, optional description, and start date/time the host enters, so invitees know what is planned. |
| Event location | The map position the host picks for the event (by searching an address or tapping the map; it defaults to the host's current location) and an optional place name. Shown to invitees on the event's detail screen. |
| Invitees & RSVPs | Who is invited and each invitee's response (going / maybe / not going), stored with their display name, profile picture, and username so attendees can see who is coming. |
Only the host's existing friends can be invited. A borrel is visible only to its host and invitees. Invitees who responded "maybe" or have not responded receive a reminder notification a few hours before the event starts. The event's location is a place the host chooses for the event — it is not tracked from anyone's device.
3.6 Badges
We track aggregate statistics about your check-ins (such as totals, distinct countries, and distinct items) in order to award achievement badges. These badges are shown on your profile and to your friends.
3.7 Push notification data
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Device push token | A technical identifier provided by Apple (APNs) or Google (FCM) to deliver push notifications to your device. |
| Platform type | Whether you use iOS, Android, or web (to send the notification through the correct service). |
You can disable push notifications at any time through your device settings or browser settings.
3.8 Custom items
You can create custom food/drink labels for your check-ins. These labels are stored in your personal account.
3.9 Data we do NOT collect
- We do not collect your phone number, date of birth, or government ID.
- We do not access your contacts or address book.
- We do not use advertising identifiers or tracking pixels.
- We do not run analytics or tracking software.
- We do not sell or share your data with advertisers.
- We do not perform profiling or automated decision-making.
- We do not track your location in the background; location is only accessed at the moment you create a check-in or pick a default location for a borrel you are planning, and only if you grant permission.
4. Legal bases for processing (GDPR Article 6)
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), we process your personal data on the following legal bases:
| Legal basis | Applies to |
|---|---|
| Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) | Account creation, check-ins, friendships, invites — the core features you signed up to use. |
| Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) | Location access, camera access, photo library access, and push notifications. You grant these through operating system permission prompts and can revoke them at any time. |
| Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) | Security measures, preventing abuse, and ensuring the app functions correctly. |
5. How we use your data
We use your personal data exclusively to:
- Provide the app's core features — create and display check-ins, manage friendships, deliver invite flows, run game sessions.
- Organise borrels — deliver event invitations, RSVPs, host updates or cancellations, and reminders to the invitees.
- Send push notifications — notify your friends when you check in, and notify you about friends' check-ins, reactions, comments, friend requests, game invites, and borrel invitations.
- Display location on the map — show check-in locations and borrel locations to the people who may see them (only when you share a location).
- Maintain and improve the service — ensure technical stability and security.
We do not use your data for advertising, marketing emails, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to the app's functionality.
6. Who has access to your data
6.1 Within the app
- Your friends can see your check-ins (item, photo, location, and display name) — both active ones and those in your activity history — as well as your profile picture, the reactions and comments you leave, the badges on your profile, and your game history when you play together.
- Any registered user can find you by searching your @username, which returns only your username, display name, profile picture, and friendship status (your email is never shared).
- Reactions and comments are visible to everyone who can see that check-in. When you react to or comment on a check-in, your display name and profile picture are shown to anyone who can see that check-in. Because a check-in is visible to all of its owner's friends, this can include people you are not yet friends with (other friends of the same person). From these reaction and comment lists, users can send each other a friend request.
- Your profile picture is visible to any signed-in user — for example in username search and on the check-ins you react to or comment on. Your underlying full profile, and your own check-in details and location, remain visible to your friends only.
- Invitees of the same borrel can see each other. When you are invited to a borrel, the host and the other invitees can see your RSVP status, display name, profile picture, and username. Other invitees may include friends of the host who are not (yet) your friends; your full profile remains visible to your friends only.
- Only your friends can see your check-in details and location.
6.2 Third-party service providers (data processors)
We use the following third-party services to operate Pilsmaatje. These parties process data on our behalf and are contractually bound to protect your data:
| Provider | Service | Data processed | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google LLC (Firebase) | Authentication, database, file storage, cloud functions, push messaging | Account data, check-ins, photos, push tokens | EU (europe-west1) |
| Google LLC (Google Maps) | Map display | Map tile requests (IP address) | EU/global |
| Apple Inc. (APNs) | Push notification delivery (iOS) | Device push token, notification content | USA |
| Google LLC (FCM) | Push notification delivery (Android/web) | Device push token, notification content | EU/global |
| Expo / EAS (820 Inc.) | App build and update infrastructure | App bundle metadata (no user data) | USA |
6.3 International data transfers
Our primary data storage is in the EU (Firebase region europe-west1). Some sub-processors (Apple, Google, Expo) may process limited data in the United States. These transfers are safeguarded by:
- EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) adopted by these providers.
- The EU–US Data Privacy Framework where applicable.
6.4 No other sharing
We do not sell, rent, or otherwise share your personal data with any other third parties.
7. Data retention
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account data | Retained until you delete your account. |
| Check-ins | The active (live) status expires approximately 1 hour after creation; the check-in itself remains stored and visible in activity history until you delete it or delete your account. Photos are stripped from very old check-ins. |
| Photos | Stored as long as the associated check-in exists. |
| Profile picture | Stored until you change or remove it, or delete your account. |
| Reactions | Tied to a check-in and removed when that check-in is deleted. |
| Comments | Tied to a check-in and removed when that check-in is deleted, when you delete the comment, or when you delete your account. |
| Friend requests | Retained until accepted, declined, or cancelled; purged when either account is deleted. |
| Invite tokens | Expire after 7 days and are deleted upon use. |
| Push tokens | Updated on each login; old tokens are overwritten. |
| Friendship data | Retained until either party removes the friendship or deletes their account. |
| Custom items | Retained until you delete them or delete your account. |
| Game history & stats, badges | Retained until you delete your account. Live game sessions are cleared when the game ends. |
| Borrels (event invitations) | A borrel, including all its invitations and RSVPs, is automatically deleted approximately 24 hours after its start time. Note that deleting your account does not immediately delete borrels you hosted; they remain visible to their invitees until this automatic cleanup removes them. |
8. Your rights under the GDPR
As a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights:
| Right | Description |
|---|---|
| Access (Art. 15) | Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. |
| Rectification (Art. 16) | Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data. |
| Erasure (Art. 17) | Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten"). |
| Restriction (Art. 18) | Request that we limit how we process your data. |
| Data portability (Art. 20) | Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format. |
| Objection (Art. 21) | Object to processing based on legitimate interest. |
| Withdraw consent (Art. 7(3)) | Withdraw previously given consent at any time (e.g. revoke location or notification permissions). |
How to exercise your rights
- Account deletion: You can delete your account directly within the app via Settings > Delete Account. This removes your account data, username, check-ins, friendships, friend requests, stored photos, your profile picture, the comments you posted, game history and stats. Borrels you hosted are not removed immediately but are deleted by the automatic cleanup approximately 24 hours after their start time (see section 7). See the step-by-step instructions.
- Other requests: Email info@pilsmaatje.nl. We will respond within 30 days.
- Complaints: If you believe we have not handled your request properly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch Data Protection Authority) at autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl.
9. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including:
- All data in transit is encrypted using TLS/HTTPS.
- Data at rest in Firebase is encrypted by default.
- Authentication is handled by Firebase Auth with secure password hashing.
- Firestore Security Rules restrict data access (e.g. only friends can view your check-ins).
- Push notification tokens are stored per-user and not shared.
No system is 100% secure. If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to info@pilsmaatje.nl.
10. Children's privacy
Pilsmaatje is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete that data promptly.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify you through the app or by other appropriate means. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.
We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
12. Contact
For any questions, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data:
Email: info@pilsmaatje.nl
Website: pilsmaatje.nl