Gathery
EN

Privacy Policy

1. The essentials in brief

Gathery is an app for sharing photos at events. This page explains which data is involved, what we need it for and what rights you have. In short:

  • We only process what Gathery needs to work. No tracking, no advertising, no selling of data.
  • Guests take photos without an account. The camera signs them in anonymously with a random user ID.
  • Gathery may only be used from the age of 18, by hosts and guests alike.
  • Only the host of an event sees its photos. They are deleted 14 days after the event ends.
  • Gathery runs on Google Firebase. Google processes the data on our behalf.
  • Send questions and requests about your data to support@gathery.de.

2. Controller

The controller responsible for processing your data is:

Jan-Philipp Hansen
Kaiserstraße 41
76131 Karlsruhe
Germany

Phone: +49 15734729778
Email: contact@gathery.de

We do not have a data protection officer because the law does not require one for us.

3. What this policy covers

This policy applies to:

  • the website gathery.de,
  • the camera for guests, which guests open in their browser through the link or QR code of an event,
  • the web app at web.gathery.de,
  • the Gathery app for Android and iOS.

What of this is stored in your browser or on your device is listed item by item in the information about cookies.

4. Website

Hosting

The website is hosted on Firebase Hosting, a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Google delivers the pages through a worldwide network of servers (content delivery network) so that they load quickly and reliably.

When you open a page, Google necessarily processes for technical reasons:

  • your IP address,
  • the date and time of the request,
  • the page requested and the page you came from,
  • your browser and operating system.

We use this data only to deliver the pages and to protect them against attacks. We do not analyse it and do not combine it with other data. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a secure and fast website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Cookie notice

The website sets no cookies and embeds no third-party services, except in the contact form after your consent (see below). It only remembers in your browser's local storage that you closed the cookie notice. This is necessary for the page (Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG).

Contact by email

If you send us an email, we process your address, your name if you give it, and your message in order to reply. The legal basis is the user agreement if it concerns your account (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), otherwise our legitimate interest in answering enquiries (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Our mailbox is hosted by mailbox.org, a service of Heinlein Hosting GmbH, Schwedter Straße 8/9a, 10119 Berlin, Germany, on servers in Germany. Heinlein Hosting processes the emails as our processor and only on our instructions; we have concluded a data processing agreement with it for this (Art. 28 GDPR). We delete the messages once your matter is settled and no legal obligation to keep them applies.

Contact form

With the contact form on the website and in the app, you write to us without opening your email program. We process the topic, your email address, your name if you give it, and your message in order to reply, as well as the language, whether the message comes from the website or the app, in the app the platform (Android, iOS or web), and the user ID of your sign-in; on the website, the random user ID of the anonymous sign-in. The legal basis and the storage period are the same as for an email. A Cloud Function sends the message as an email to our mailbox through Resend, a service of Plus Five Five, Inc., San Francisco, USA. Resend processes it as our processor and only on our instructions; Resend's data processing agreement applies to this (Art. 28 GDPR). We do not store the message in our database.

So that nobody misuses the form for spam, we count per user ID how many messages arrive in a day. The counter only holds the user ID, the date and the number and is deleted after three days at most. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in protection against abuse (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). On the website, the form only loads Firebase and Google reCAPTCHA when you send it, and only if you have consented beforehand; it then signs you in anonymously like the camera (see “Protection against abuse”). You withdraw your consent by deleting the site data of gathery.de in your browser; more on this in the information about cookies.

5. App, web app and camera

Google Firebase

The app, the web app and the camera use Google Firebase from Google Ireland Limited (address above). We use Firebase Authentication (sign-in), Cloud Firestore (database), Cloud Storage for Firebase (photos), Cloud Functions (processing on the server, region europe-west1 in Belgium) and Firebase App Check (protection against abuse), and in the app for Android and iOS also Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Performance Monitoring. Google processes the data as our processor and only on our instructions; Google's data processing terms apply to this (Art. 28 GDPR). We store the database and the photos in data centres in the EU.

Your account

You only need an account as a host. You sign in with an email address and password, with your Google account or, on iPhone and iPad, with your Apple Account. We store:

  • your email address and, if you sign in with Google, the name and the link to the profile picture of your Google account and, if you sign in with Apple, the name you share with us through Apple,
  • your profile: first and last name, a user name derived from your email address and your language,
  • your events: name, description, time period and photo limit,
  • your task sets and your settings, for example design, language and hidden feed entries.

Firebase Authentication stores your password only as a hash; we never see it. If you forget it, Firebase Authentication sends you an email with a reset link on request. The legal basis is the user agreement you conclude when you register (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). You are not legally required to give us any data. Without an email address, Google account or Apple Account, however, we cannot create an account for you, and without an account you cannot host events.

If you sign in with Apple, Apple Distribution International Ltd., Hollyhill Industrial Estate, Hollyhill, Cork, Ireland, confirms your identity as a separate controller; Apple's privacy policy applies: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/. If you choose “Hide My Email”, we only receive a forwarding address from Apple. If you delete your account, the app also revokes the sign-in with Apple.

Sets with AI

You can have an AI write a task set for you. For this, a Cloud Function sends your description of the event, the chosen style, the number of tasks and your language to Gemini, an AI model by Google, through Vertex AI by Google Cloud. The request is processed in data centers in the EU. Google processes the data as our processor only to write the tasks and does not use it to train its models; Google's data processing terms apply (Art. 28 GDPR). We store the finished set like your other task sets; we do not store the description. We count how many sets you have created with the AI, because every user gets a limited number for free. The legal basis is the user agreement (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Please only write in the description what the tasks need, and nothing about other people that they would not share.

Camera for guests

Guests open the camera in their browser through the link or QR code of an event; hosts take photos with it as well. Before the camera loads services from Google, it asks for your consent. Without your consent you cannot use the camera: without Firebase it cannot store photos, and without the protection of App Check and reCAPTCHA automated programs could upload masses of photos to other people's events. We cannot offer a camera without this protection safely. It then signs you in anonymously with a random user ID; you do not need a name or email address. To take pictures, your browser asks for access to your device's camera; an image only leaves your device when you take a photo. You manage the permission for the camera in your browser and can revoke it there at any time.

Each photo is uploaded to Cloud Storage, and a Cloud Function creates a preview from it. For each photo we store the event, your random user ID and the time. The photo is created directly in the browser from the camera image and therefore contains no metadata such as location (GPS), device model or camera settings (EXIF). Only the host of the event can see and download the photos.

The legal basis for uploading and storing the photos and making them available to the host is the contract of use that you enter into under our Terms of Use by taking photos (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). That the camera loads services from Google and stores data in your browser is based on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG). You can withdraw it at any time with “Withdraw consent” at the bottom of the camera page; more on this in the information about cookies.

People in the photos

The photos may also show people who do not use the camera themselves. We store these photos only to make them available to the host. We do not analyse them, do not recognise faces and do not link the people shown to a name or an account. The legal basis is the legitimate interest of the host and their guests in collecting memories of the event, and our interest in making this possible for them (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

If children can be seen, we give their interests particular weight. That is why in Gathery only the host sees the photos, none of them are public, and all of them are deleted no later than 14 days after the end of the event.

We do not know the people shown and therefore cannot inform them individually; that would only be possible if we analysed faces. Instead, we inform them through this policy (Art. 14(5)(b) GDPR). In our terms of use, we ask hosts to tell their guests about the camera beforehand.

Under our Terms of Use, photos of people who do not agree to them may not be uploaded. If you appear in a photo and do not want to, ask the host to delete it or write to us at support@gathery.de. You have all the rights described in section 7, in particular the right to object. In any case, all photos are deleted 14 days after the event ends.

Role of the host

We are responsible for the camera and for storing the photos in Gathery. The host creates the event, invites the guests and receives their photos. What the host does with photos they have downloaded is their own decision and responsibility; under our Terms of Use they may only use them privately. Gathery is only meant for private parties, not for events of companies, clubs or other organisations. For purely private parties, the GDPR generally does not apply to this (Art. 2(2)(c) GDPR).

Reported photos

The host can delete a photo of their event and report it to us, for example because it violates our Terms of Use. We then store a copy of the photo and a report with the event, the reason, the host's optional comment, the random user ID of the guest who uploaded the photo, and the time. Only we have access to them. The copy and the report are kept until we have reviewed them, even if the event, its photos or the host's account are deleted before then, but no longer than 30 days after the report; then we delete them automatically. If there are signs of a crime, we may pass them on to the competent authorities; if people's life or safety is at risk, we do so. If the authorities need the data, we keep it for as long as they require. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in removing illegal content and preventing abuse (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). If the host reports a photo as sexual content involving minors, we do not look at it. We report it to the police right away, together with the data of the upload, including the IP address from the server logs, and keep the copy, the report and this data until the authorities release them. The legal basis is then also our duty to report such crimes to the authorities (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR with Art. 18 of the Digital Services Act).

Protection against abuse

So that only the real app, the real web app, the real camera page and the real contact form use Firebase, Firebase App Check verifies every request. In the app for Android and iOS this is done through Google Play Integrity (Android) or Apple App Attest and DeviceCheck (iOS); the legal basis is our legitimate interest in protection against abuse and spam (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). In the browser, App Check uses Google reCAPTCHA v3, but only in the guest camera, in the contact form of the website and in the web app, and only after you have given your consent. The other pages of gathery.de do not load reCAPTCHA. reCAPTCHA evaluates, among other things, your IP address, browser and device information and your behaviour on the page, and sends them to Google. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG), which you can withdraw at any time; how to do so is described in the information about cookies. More in Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Web app

The web app at web.gathery.de only loads Firebase and reCAPTCHA after you have agreed in the notice the first time you open it (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG). It remembers your consent in your browser's local storage. You can withdraw it at any time in the settings under “Withdraw consent”; the web app then deletes your sign-in and the data of Firebase in your browser and asks again the next time you open it. The web app keeps the data of your events only in memory. If the web app lacks characters, for example for emoji or non-Latin scripts, it loads matching fonts from Google Fonts; Google receives your IP address in the process. This, too, only happens after your consent.

Google Play

You download the Android app from Google Play, a service of Google Ireland Limited (address above). For this, Google processes data such as your Google account, device data and the time of the download as a separate controller. We have no influence on this; Google's privacy policy applies: https://policies.google.com/privacy. From Google we only receive aggregated statistics that do not relate to individual people.

App Store

You download the iOS app from the App Store, a service of Apple Distribution International Ltd. (address above). For this, Apple processes data such as your Apple Account, device data and the time of the download as a separate controller. We have no influence on this; Apple's privacy policy applies: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/. From Apple we only receive aggregated statistics that do not relate to individual people.

Server logs

Each time our server functions are called, Google logs, for technical reasons, the date and time, the function called, your IP address and information about your browser or app. Our functions also write error and event messages to these logs, which may contain user, event or photo IDs. We only use the logs to find errors and fend off abuse, and Google deletes them automatically after 30 days. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a secure and working service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Crash reports and performance data

In the app for Android and iOS we use Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Performance Monitoring. Crashlytics reports crashes and errors to us, Performance Monitoring measures how fast the app starts and how long operations such as uploading a photo take. This involves technical data: device model, operating system and its version, app version, time and course of the error or the measured duration, approximate country (from the IP address) and a random installation ID. Photos, names and event texts are not included. We use the data only to fix errors and make the app faster. Both only run if you agreed to “Send crash reports?” after signing in; before that and without your consent they are off. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG). You can withdraw it at any time in the settings under “Crash reports”; the app then deletes reports that have not been sent yet. Crashlytics keeps crash reports for 90 days.

On your device

The app stores previews and an offline copy of the database on your device so that it loads quickly (Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG). It removes both when you sign out and when you delete your account. If you save photos to your device's photo gallery as a host, they are outside Gathery and we do not delete them.

Storage period

  • Photos and previews: until 14 days after the event ends; deletion runs once a day. The host can delete individual photos or the whole event earlier.
  • Profile, events without photos, task sets, settings and the counter of sets with AI: until you delete them or your account.
  • Anonymous accounts of the camera and the contact form: they only hold the random user ID and the times of creation and last sign-in, and are deleted automatically 30 days after they were created.
  • Reported photos: until we have reviewed them, no longer than 30 days after the report, unless the authorities need them longer; photos reported as sexual content involving minors until the authorities release them.
  • Crash reports: 90 days.
  • Server logs: 30 days.
  • Emails: until your matter is settled.
  • Messages from the contact form: in our mailbox until your matter is settled; at Resend 30 days. The counter against spam: three days at most.

You can delete your account in the app settings. We then delete your profile, your events with all photos, your task sets, feed entries and settings, and your login account. How to have your account deleted without the app and what is still kept afterwards is described under Delete account.

What we do not do

We use no analysis or advertising services, create no profiles and sell no data. We make no automated decisions, including profiling (Art. 22 GDPR), and use no facial recognition.

6. Recipients and transfers to third countries

Your data only goes to those who need it for Gathery:

  • Google as our processor for hosting, database, storage, server functions, sets with AI, abuse protection and crash reports,
  • Google as the provider of Google Fonts when the web app loads fonts,
  • Heinlein Hosting GmbH (mailbox.org) as our processor for our mailbox when you write to us,
  • Plus Five Five, Inc. (Resend), San Francisco, USA, as our processor for sending the messages from the contact form,
  • the host of an event, who receives the photos of their guests,
  • the competent authorities if there are signs of a crime.

Google may also process data in the USA. Google LLC is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, for which the European Commission has adopted an adequacy decision (Art. 45 GDPR); the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission apply in addition (Art. 46 GDPR): https://cloud.google.com/terms/eu-model-contract-clause.

Resend stores the messages from the contact form in the USA. The transfer is based on the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission in the data processing agreement with Resend (Art. 46 GDPR).

7. Your rights

You have the right to:

  • information about the data stored about you (Art. 15 GDPR),
  • correction of incorrect data (Art. 16 GDPR),
  • erasure of your data (Art. 17 GDPR),
  • restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR),
  • data portability (Art. 20 GDPR),
  • withdraw your consent with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR).

Just write to us at support@gathery.de.

Right to object

Where we process data on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), you can object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation (Art. 21 GDPR). We will then no longer process the data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Complaints

You can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR), for example with the one responsible for us: Der Landesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information), Lautenschlagerstraße 20, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany, https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.datenschutz.de.

8. Security

All connections to Gathery are encrypted with TLS; you can tell by “https://” instead of “http://” in your browser's address bar. The app, the web app and the camera access the data in Firebase only through security rules that define who may read and write what. For example, only the host of an event can retrieve its photos.

9. Changes

If Gathery or the law changes, we will update this policy. The version published here applies.

Last updated: October 2026