Last updated: October 2026 · GDPR-oriented
This policy explains how TravelBuddy247 handles your data. Controller contact: ashish@travelbuddy247.com. Privacy concerns or account-related complaints: complaints@travelbuddy247.com.
1. Controller
The controller responsible for processing your personal data is:
Ashish Kumar, Saarbrücken, Germany
Email: ashish@travelbuddy247.com
Full legal postal address available upon legitimate legal request.
2. Data we collect
- Account data: email address, hashed password
- Profile data: name, age, city, bio, languages, interests, profile photo (optional)
- Usage data: Discover actions, connection requests, messages (stored in our database)
- Contribution information, where the optional contribution feature is available and you choose to use it: whether you offer or would like a contribution, and any amount and currency you state. When a request is accepted, we also keep a record of what both members had stated at that moment.
- Technical data: IP address (server logs), browser type, device type
3. Purpose of processing
- To operate Discover, connection request, and chat features
- To allow other users to see your public profile information
- To improve matching quality and product safety
- To prevent abuse and ensure platform safety
- To show a contribution you have stated to the members you may arrange help with, and to keep the record made at acceptance for safety, integrity, and context if a problem is reported. We may also keep a non-exact record (the option chosen, the currency, and a broad amount range) to understand how the feature is used.
4. What we do not do
- We do not sell your data to third parties
- We do not run advertising or tracking pixels
- We do not expose your exact GPS coordinates publicly
- We do not expose private message content to other users
- We do not process, hold, or transfer payments between members, and we do not ask for or store bank, card, or payment-account details for a contribution
- We do not show a stated contribution on your public profile, in share links, or in emails. It is shown only to signed-in members who are shown your request or offer as a possible match, and to the member you arrange help with.
5. Legal basis (GDPR Art. 6)
- Art. 6(1)(b) — performance of a contract (account & matching features)
- Art. 6(1)(f) — legitimate interests (platform security, abuse prevention)
- Art. 6(1)(a) — consent (optional profile photo, optional data)
6. Cookies and analytics
We use session storage for authentication. We do not currently use tracking cookies or third-party analytics. If analytics are added later, this policy and cookie consent will be updated before doing so.
7. Data sharing
We do not sell your data. Profile information you enter (name, city, bio, interests) is visible to other registered users as part of the matching feature. We do not share personal data with third parties except where required by law.
8. Matching improvement and product research
TravelBuddy247 studies how to make matching explainable and fair (see our Research page). Matching improvement data use is optional. Only if you opt in — a toggle in your profile settings, off by default and reversible at any time — may we use your activity in a pseudonymized form to improve matching quality and product safety, and to conduct and publish research on matching, fairness, and online behaviour, including with academic partners. Withdrawing consent stops any future research use.
"Pseudonymized" means your data is identified only by a random research code rather than your real identity. Research exports never include your name, email, photos, private messages, password hashes or tokens, or direct contact details. Because the random code can in principle be linked back to an account by us, we describe this data as pseudonymized rather than fully anonymous.
Data that may be included in a pseudonymized research export:
- Profile matching signals (e.g. city, languages, interests, travel style)
- Discover actions such as save / skip / connect
- Matching scores and reasons, where applicable
- Connection outcomes and feedback (e.g. "did you meet?")
- AirportBuddy matching outcomes
- Aggregated safety signals
We study patterns across groups, not individuals. Aggregated results may be published.
9. Data retention
Account data is retained as long as your account is active. You can request deletion at any time by contacting us. We will delete your data within 30 days of a valid request.
10. Your rights (GDPR)
- Right of access (Art. 15) — request a copy of your data
- Right to rectification (Art. 16) — correct inaccurate data
- Right to erasure (Art. 17) — request deletion of your account
- Right to restriction (Art. 18) — limit how we process your data
- Right to data portability (Art. 20) — receive your data in a structured format
- Right to object (Art. 21) — object to processing based on legitimate interests
To exercise any right, contact us at ashish@travelbuddy247.com. For privacy concerns or account-related complaints, contact complaints@travelbuddy247.com.
11. Right to lodge a complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority. In Germany this is the Unabhängiges Datenschutzzentrum Saarland (UDZ).
12. Emails and notifications
We send emails for account and service functionality, not for advertising, and we do not sell your data. These may include:
- Email verification and password reset
- AirportBuddy and match-related notifications where applicable
- Unread-message reminders, if you have them enabled
Unread-message reminder emails tell you only that you have unread messages waiting — they never include private message content, names, or routes. You can turn them off at any time under Notification preferences in your profile. Critical account and security emails (such as verification or password reset) may still be sent when needed.