Privacy policy
1. Who we are
Closeby operates the website closeby.life. We provide a platform where people and organisations publish information about offline meetings. This policy explains what personal data we process and why.
2. Data we collect
- Account: email address, password (stored hashed), display name or nickname, optional date of birth (for age-restricted events), optional profile photo, city preferences.
- Organisation profile (optional): organisation name, logo, description, opening hours, social links, address.
- Events you create or join: titles, descriptions, locations, dates, attendance status.
- Technical: approximate device data needed to run the site (browser language, basic logs for security). We do not sell advertising profiles.
- Location (optional): if you allow it, we use your approximate position only to show distance to events. It is processed on your device / session and is not sold.
- Messages: feedback you send through the site is delivered to the operators so we can reply.
3. Why we process data
- To create and secure your account
- To show events, cities and organisation pages
- To send transactional email you asked for (password reset, event reminders, join notifications) — you can turn reminders off in your profile
- To prevent abuse, spam and illegal content
- To improve reliability and security of the service
Legal bases (where GDPR/UK GDPR apply): contract (providing the service), legitimate interest (security, product integrity), and consent where required (e.g. optional location, marketing if we ever add it — we do not run ad tracking today).
4. Cookies and local storage
We use essential storage in your browser: login session, language choice, and small caches that make the site work offline-capable (PWA). We do not use third-party advertising cookies.
5. Third-party services
- Maps: map tiles and geocoding (e.g. OpenStreetMap / Nominatim style services) to show addresses and routes.
- Email delivery: when configured, a mail provider sends transactional messages from our domain.
- Translation helpers: optional automatic translation of user-written event text may call a translation API so the interface language can show a readable version. Original text stays as published by the author.
These providers process data only to perform their function for us.
6. Sharing
We do not sell your personal data. Profile and event information you publish is visible to other users as part of the product. We may disclose data if required by law or to protect safety and the rights of users.
7. Retention
We keep account and event data while your account is active and as needed for security and legal obligations. You may delete your personal profile and/or organisation profile from the account settings. Some residual logs may remain for a limited time for security.
8. Your rights
Depending on your country you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or export your data, and to object to certain processing. Contact us via Feedback in the footer. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.
9. Children
Closeby is not directed at children under the digital consent age in their country. Age-restricted events are labelled; organisers are responsible for enforcement offline.
10. Events offline
Closeby does not organise the meetings listed by users. How organisers handle guest lists, photos or chats outside Closeby is outside this policy — see also our Terms of use.
11. Changes
We may update this policy. The “Last updated” date at the top will change. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.
12. Contact
For privacy requests use Feedback on the website. Operators of closeby.life will respond as soon as reasonably possible.