Privacy Policy
We take the protection of your personal data seriously. This privacy policy explains which data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what rights you have. This privacy policy applies to the use of the Ground Hoppers App (iOS, Android, Web) and the associated website ground-hoppers.app.
Last updated: September 2026
1. Controller
The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is: groundhoppersapp - Pascal Migura c/o Online-Impressum #10293 Europaring 90 53757 Sankt Augustin Germany Email: contact@ground-hoppers.app As we currently have not appointed a data protection officer, please contact the email address above directly for any data protection inquiries.
2. Data Collected
We collect and process the following personal data: a) Account data: Email address, username, display name, password (stored in encrypted form), home country, registration date. b) Profile data: Profile picture, bio text, privacy setting (public, friends only, private). c) User content: Check-ins (matches, stadiums, competitions), uploaded photos, comments, likes, messages to other users. Content from profiles set to “public” – such as check-ins, photos and visited stadiums – may also be shown outside the app on our website. You can restrict this at any time by changing your privacy setting in the app to “friends only” or “private”. d) Location data: When using the Nearby feature, we collect your approximate location to show you matches near you. Location data is only collected with your explicit consent via your operating system's permission dialog (iOS/Android). You can withdraw location access at any time in your device settings. Alternatively, you can enter a location manually. e) Device information: Device type, operating system and version, app version, push notification token (Expo). f) Usage data: Time and frequency of app usage, features accessed, interactions (likes, comments, follows, friend requests). g) Payment data: We do not collect payment information ourselves (credit card numbers or similar). Payments for premium subscriptions are processed exclusively via the Apple App Store or Google Play. We only receive information about the subscription status via RevenueCat. Location details: Your last known location is stored on our server for the Nearby feature and overwritten with every update. If you enable "Matches nearby", the app additionally sets up local geofences around nearby grounds; this requires the "Always" (background) location permission. Geofences are evaluated only on your device; no movement data is sent to us. You can revoke location access in your device settings at any time and disable geofences in the app settings.
3. Purpose of Processing
We process your data for the following purposes: a) Provision of the service: Creation and management of your account, display of your profile, storage of your check-ins and content. b) Social features: Enabling friendships, follower relationships, messages, likes, and comments. c) Nearby feature: Displaying football matches near your location based on your location or a manually selected place. d) Notifications: Sending push notifications about new friend requests, messages, likes, comments, and other relevant activities. You can disable push notifications at any time in your device settings. e) Subscription management: Managing your premium subscription and its status. f) Improvement of the service: Analyzing usage for troubleshooting, performance improvements, and further development of the app. g) Security: Protection against misuse, spam, and unauthorized access. Notification types: Besides social notifications we send throwback reminders ("X years ago"), streak hints and matches nearby. Each type can be switched off in the app settings; all push notifications additionally in your device settings. Ground images: In the settings you can allow us to use one of your check-in photos as the image of the ground in question, including in places where your check-in does not appear. This use is voluntary and goes beyond the licence described above. We do not use photos showing recognisable people. You can withdraw the permission at any time in the settings; we then remove the ground images that came from your photos, as far as they are still in use at that point. Please only upload photos you took yourself.
4. Legal Basis
Your data is processed on the following legal bases: a) Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): For the processing of location data (Nearby feature), sending push notifications, and uploading photos. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future. b) Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): For providing app functions, managing your account, performing the user contract, and handling premium subscriptions. c) Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): For improving the app, analyzing usage for troubleshooting and optimization, and ensuring the security of the service. Our legitimate interest is the provision of a reliable and user-friendly service.
5. Data Storage and Security
Your data is stored on servers in Germany. We use IONOS SE (Montabaur, Germany) for server hosting and the database, and Cloudflare (Cloudflare, Inc., USA) for CDN and media storage (Cloudflare R2). We apply technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted transport (TLS/SSL), encrypted password storage, regular security updates and access restrictions. Data is stored as long as your account is active. After deleting your account, your personal data is permanently removed within 30 days unless statutory retention obligations apply (e.g. tax or commercial retention periods of up to 10 years for payment-related data).
6. Third Parties and Processors
We work with the following third parties that process data on our behalf or under their own responsibility: a) IONOS SE (Germany): server hosting and database. Server location: Germany. Privacy policy: https://www.ionos.com/terms-gtc/privacy-policy/ b) Cloudflare, Inc. (USA): CDN, DDoS protection and media storage (Cloudflare R2). Certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Privacy policy: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/ c) RevenueCat, Inc. (USA): management of premium subscriptions and synchronisation of subscription status. Privacy policy: https://www.revenuecat.com/privacy d) Expo (Software Mansion S.A., Poland / USA): delivery of push notifications. Expo processes push tokens and notification content. Privacy policy: https://expo.dev/privacy e) Apple Inc. (USA) / Google LLC (USA): authentication via "Sign in with Apple" / "Sign in with Google" and processing of in-app purchases and subscriptions. f) Google LLC (USA) – Google AdSense: display of advertising on our website (not in the app). See section 8. g) Geoapify GmbH (Germany): geocoding of addresses and ground names (address search in submissions, matching imported matches to grounds). Only the entered place or ground details are processed, no account data. We have concluded data processing agreements (DPA) under Art. 28 GDPR with processors acting on our behalf.
7. Transfer of Data to Third Countries
Some of our service providers are based in the USA (Cloudflare, RevenueCat, Apple, Google). The transfer of data to the USA is based on the following safeguards: a) EU-US Data Privacy Framework: Cloudflare and Google are certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF), which has been recognized by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of data protection (adequacy decision pursuant to Art. 45 GDPR). b) Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): Where no adequacy decision exists, we rely on the Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission pursuant to Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR. You can request a copy of the safeguards in place via contact@ground-hoppers.app.
8. Cookies and Tracking
a) App: The Ground Hoppers App app sets no cookies, uses no third-party tracking or analytics tools and shows no advertising. b) Website – strictly necessary cookies: The website uses technically necessary cookies required for its function (e.g. session cookies for login state). Legal basis: Section 25(2) TDDDG and Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR. c) Website – advertising with Google AdSense: On public pages of our website (e.g. fixtures, ground pages, blog) we show advertising via Google AdSense (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland; parent company Google LLC, USA). Google may set cookies and read device identifiers to deliver ads, measure reach and – only with your consent – show personalised advertising. Data such as IP address, browser and device information and pages visited are transmitted to Google. Google is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. On your first visit from the European Economic Area we ask via a consent banner (Google consent management under the IAB TCF) whether you allow personalised advertising. Without consent, only non-personalised advertising without advertising cookies is shown. The legal basis for personalised advertising is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Section 25(1) TDDDG); you can withdraw or change it at any time via the "Privacy settings" link in the footer. More information: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads and https://adssettings.google.com.
9. Minors
Our service is not intended for persons under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from persons under 16 years of age. During registration, the minimum age is confirmed by the user. If we become aware that a user is under 16 years old, we will immediately delete the account and the associated data. If you are a parent or guardian and learn that your child has created an account, please contact us at contact@ground-hoppers.app.
10. Your Rights
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights: a) Right of access (Art. 15 GDPR): You may request information about the personal data we process. b) Right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR): You may request the correction of inaccurate data. c) Right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR): You may request the deletion of your data, unless statutory retention obligations prevent this. d) Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR): You may request the restriction of processing of your data. e) Right to data portability (Art. 20 GDPR): You may request to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. f) Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR): You may object at any time to the processing of your data based on legitimate interests. g) Right to withdraw consent (Art. 7(3) GDPR): You may withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future. For location data, you can withdraw consent via your device settings. For other consents, please contact contact@ground-hoppers.app. h) Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR): You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. The supervisory authority responsible for us is: The State Commissioner for Data Protection of Lower Saxony, Prinzenstraße 5, 30159 Hanover, Telephone: +49 511 120-4500, Email: poststelle@lfd.niedersachsen.de, Website: https://www.lfd.niedersachsen.de. You may also contact the supervisory authority at your usual place of residence. To exercise your rights, contact: contact@ground-hoppers.app. We will respond to your request within one month.
11. Account Deletion
You can delete your account at any time in the app settings. After deletion, the following data will be permanently removed: Your profile and all profile information, your check-ins and uploaded photos, your friendships, follower relationships and messages, your push token and device settings. Deletion will take place within 30 days. Data that we must retain due to statutory retention obligations will be deleted after the respective retention period expires. By deleting your account, all licenses you granted for your content also expire.
12. Team submissions
When you submit a team via the “Submit a team” form, we process the following data: a) Submission data: team name, country, sport, category, age group, home ground and optionally an uploaded club crest. After review and approval, this data is published in the app. b) Email address: used to inform you about the status of your submission (Art. 6(1)(b) / (f) GDPR). c) IP address: stored for 30 days to prevent abuse and spam, then deleted automatically. Legal basis is our legitimate interest in the security and integrity of our service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). d) Newsletter: only if you actively opt in do we also use your email address for product news. Consent is voluntary and can be withdrawn at any time (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). By uploading a crest you confirm that you are entitled to use it. Rejected submissions, including uploaded images, are deleted after six months.
13. Ground submissions
When you submit a stadium via the “Submit a ground” form, we process: a) Ground data: name, country, sport, city, address, capacity, geocoordinates and optionally an uploaded photo. After review and approval, this data is published in the app. b) Email address: to inform you about the status of your submission (Art. 6(1)(b) / (f) GDPR). c) IP address: stored for 30 days to prevent abuse and spam, then deleted automatically (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). d) Address search: while you type an address, we send your input to our provider Geoapify GmbH (Germany) to show matching address suggestions with coordinates. Legal basis is our legitimate interest in correct location mapping (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Geoapify processes the requests as a processor within the EU. e) Newsletter: only with active consent do we also use your email for product news. Voluntary, withdrawable anytime (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). By uploading a photo you confirm you are entitled to use it. Rejected submissions, including uploaded images, are deleted after six months.
14. Account verification
You can apply for verification (blue check) in the app settings. We store your request with its timestamp, the decision (approved/rejected) and the time of the decision. Legal basis is the user agreement (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). The verification status is shown publicly in the app and on the website. We do not share reasons for decisions; after a rejection a new request is possible after 90 days.
15. Import of match data
You can import your match history from other apps or files into Ground Hoppers App. Imported data (date, teams, ground, score, optionally comment, photo and drink) is assigned to your account and treated like your other check-ins, including visibility according to your privacy setting. To match imported grounds and matches to our database we use geocoding (Geoapify, see section 6) and publicly available reference data (e.g. Wikidata); only place and club details are processed, no account data. The original file is not stored permanently after import. Legal basis is the user agreement (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
16. Ground images from check-in photos
If you switch on the permission in the app settings, one of your check-in photos may be used as the image of the ground in question, including in places in the app and on the website where your check-in itself does not appear. For this we store a copy of the photo with Cloudflare R2 together with the information whose photo it is, so that we can remove it again if you withdraw your permission. We do not use photos showing recognisable people; every adoption is reviewed by us beforehand. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw it at any time with effect for the future in the settings. After withdrawal we remove the ground images concerned. If another image has replaced your photo in the meantime, that image stays in place.
17. Reports, blocking and moderation
You can report content, matches and users and block other users. We store reports with the reported content, the reporting person, the stated reason and the processing status in order to review abuse and keep the service safe (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Blocks are stored to prevent content and contact between the persons involved. The reported person does not learn who reported them. Reports are kept for at most twelve months after review.
18. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will inform you of material changes via push notification or email. The current version is always available on our website and in the app.
19. Contact
For data protection inquiries, access requests, or complaints, please contact: Pascal Migura Email: contact@ground-hoppers.app We aim to respond to your inquiry within one month.