Privacy Policy

1. What Personal Information Do We Collect?

Personal information you disclose to us

In Short: We collect Personal Information that you provide to us.

• Registration Information. We collect Personal Information that you voluntarily provide when you register an account, such as your name and email address. If you sign up using a third-party service (e.g., Apple or Google), we will receive information from that service, such as your name and email address.
• User-Generated Content. We collect data you create within the App, including travel "Spots" you save, "Groups" you create, notes, statuses (e.g., "To Try," "Experienced"), and YouTube video URLs you submit for analysis.
• Communications Information. We collect Personal Information when you contact us for support or provide feedback.
• AI Feature Data. Our Services allow you to submit text to AI-powered features ("Prompts"), which generate responses ("Outputs"). We collect your Prompts and the resulting Outputs. For on-device models, this data is processed locally and is not transmitted to our servers.

Information we collect automatically

In Short: Some Personal Information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or device characteristics — is collected automatically when you use our Services.

• Log and Usage Information. This includes service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect. This may include your IP address, device information, operating system, app version, feature usage, and crash reports.
• Device Information. We collect information about your mobile device, such as the hardware model and operating system version. We use on-device security features like App Attest to verify the integrity of your device and our App.
• Location Information. With your explicit permission, we may collect your device's location to provide location-based services, such as displaying your position on the map or identifying nearby spots. You can disable this at any time in your device settings.

2. How Do We Use Your Personal Information?

In Short: We may use your Personal Information for various purposes.

• To Provide and Maintain our Services. We use your information to facilitate account creation, manage your travel spots and groups, sync data, and troubleshoot technical issues.
• To Enhance and Personalize Your Experience. We use your data to power AI chat features, provide personalized recommendations, and optimize map interactions.
• To Manage Subscriptions. We use subscription information to process payments through Apple, enforce tier limits, and provide access to premium features.
• To Protect our Services. We use information as part of our efforts to keep our Services safe and secure (for example, for fraud monitoring and prevention using App Attest).
• To Respond to Legal Requests and Prevent Harm. If we receive a subpoena or other legal request, we may need to inspect the data we hold to determine how to respond.
• To Send You Administrative and Marketing Communications. We may use your information to send you details about new features, changes to our terms, or promotional content, which you can opt-out of at any time.

3. Legal Bases for Processing Personal Information

If you are located in a region with applicable data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), we only process your Personal Information when we have a valid "legal basis."

• Consent. You have consented to the use of your Personal Information (e.g., for location services).
• Contractual Necessity. We need your Personal Information to provide you with our Services as described in our Terms of Service.
• Compliance with a Legal Obligation. We have a legal obligation to use your Personal Information (e.g., to comply with tax laws).
• Legitimate Interests. We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information for product development, internal analytics, and to improve the safety and security of our Services.

4. Will Your Personal Information Be Disclosed to Anyone?

In Short: We only disclose Personal Information with your consent, to comply with laws, to provide you with services, to protect your rights, or to fulfill business obligations.

• Business Transfers. We may disclose or transfer your information in connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition.
• Vendors, Consultants and Other Third-Party Service Providers. We may disclose your information to third-party vendors who perform services for us, such as cloud hosting and authentication.
• As Required By Law and Similar Disclosures. We may disclose your information if required to comply with law enforcement requests, court orders, or subpoenas.
• Consent. We may disclose your Personal Information for any other purpose with your consent.

5. To Whom Will Your Personal Information Be Disclosed?

In Short: We only disclose Personal Information to the following categories of third parties.

• Cloud Computing & Backend Services (Google Cloud, Firebase). Used for authentication, database management, and backend infrastructure.
• Payment Processors (Apple StoreKit). Used to handle in-app purchases and subscriptions. We do not receive your payment card details.
• Map and Location Services (Google Maps Platform). Used to display maps and provide location-based information.
• API Services (YouTube Data API). Used to retrieve metadata from videos you provide.

Google Privacy Policy: Your use of Google services through our App is subject to Google's privacy practices. For more information about how Google handles your personal information, please review the Google Privacy Policy available at http://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

Fair Use and YouTube Content

Our Service utilizes the YouTube Data API to access publicly available information from YouTube videos, such as titles and thumbnails, for the transformative purpose of helping you catalog travel spots mentioned within the content. This usage is intended to fall under the principles of Fair Use. We do not download, store, or redistribute the video content itself. Our function is to provide a reference and link back to the original content on YouTube, thereby respecting the creator's work.

YouTube Terms of Service: By using our Service, you agree that your use of any YouTube-related features is subject to and governed by the YouTube Terms of Service available at https://www.youtube.com/t/terms. Please review these terms before using any YouTube-integrated features.

6. Is Your Personal Information Transferred Internationally?

In Short: We may transfer, store, and process your Personal Information in countries other than your own.

Our servers are located in the United States. If you are accessing our Services from outside the United States, please be aware that your Personal Information may be transferred to, stored, and processed by us in our facilities in the United States and other countries.

7. How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information?

In Short: We keep your Personal Information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your Personal Information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. When you request account deletion, we will either delete or anonymize your information in accordance with our data deletion policy.

8. How Do We Keep Your Personal Information Safe?

In Short: We aim to protect your Personal Information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures, including HTTPS encryption, Firebase Security Rules, and Apple's App Attest service, to protect the security of any Personal Information we process. However, no electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

9. Do We Collect Personal Information From Minors?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 13 years of age.

Our Services are not directed to children under 13. If you become aware of any Personal Information we have collected from a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@varedelo.com.

10. What Are Your Privacy Rights?

In Short: In some regions, such as the United States (under laws like the CCPA), you have rights that allow you greater access to and control over your Personal Information.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• Request access to and obtain a copy of your Personal Information.
• Request correction of inaccurate Personal Information.
• Request deletion of your Personal Information.
• Opt out of the "sale" of your Personal Information (Note: We do not sell your data).

To exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@varedelo.com.

11. Do We Make Updates to This Notice?

In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy frequently.

12. How Can You Contact Us About This Notice?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at privacy@varedelo.com or by post to: