Privacy Policy

For the Hellobruno app and the website hellobruno.org. Last updated: 3 October 2026.

This is a translation. If the two versions differ, the German version applies.

In short: we only process what the app needs to work. No ads, no analytics or tracking tools, no selling of data. Data is stored in the EU (Ireland). You can delete your account in the app at any time.

Controller
What data we process
Who sees your data in the app
Purposes and legal bases
Service providers and recipients
Transfers outside the EU
Device permissions
Retention and deletion
Your rights
This website
Minimum age
Changes

1. Controller

Controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

René Brunotte
Hernalser Hauptstraße 47
1170 Vienna, Austria
Email: [email protected]

Write to this address with any privacy question or to exercise your rights.

2. What data we process

Account and sign-in

Your email address, if you sign in with a code by email.
With “Sign in with Apple” or “Sign in with Google”: an identifier from the provider and the email address it gives us (with Apple, possibly an anonymous relay address). We never receive your password for that provider.
As a guest: a randomly generated account without an email address.
Sign-in sessions: session identifier, time, IP address and device type (user agent).

Profile

Username (required); optionally first and last name, profile picture, year of birth, home town and home airport.
Optional onboarding answers (e.g. who you travel with, how many places you visit per year, how you heard about Hellobruno). They help us understand who uses the app; the app itself doesn't show them anywhere.
Language, notification and map preferences.

Content you create in the app

Trips with destination, dates and members; itinerary entries (e.g. activities, accommodation, flights), expenses and splits, chat messages, polls, lists, tasks, documents, receipts and photos.
Wishlist, visited countries and cities, friendships and invitations.
Placeholder members you add for travellers without an account (a name only).

Reports and blocks

Whom you have blocked.
When you report something: who reported, who and what was reported (for a message its text, for a document its title and the file), the reason chosen and the time. The report is emailed to our inbox; the reported person is not told who reported them.

Please don't upload documents containing particularly sensitive data about other people unless necessary (e.g. passport copies). If you do, they are visible only to the trip's members, or only to you if saved as “Private”.

Location

Map: if you allow it, the app uses your location to show it on the map and to calculate distances. This location stays on your device and is not sent to us.
Live location (optional, off by default): only if you turn it on, and only during a running trip, the app sends your approximate location to our server, also in the background. We store only the latest position (coordinates, accuracy, time). It is visible only to the people you choose (the trip's members and/or selected friends).
Share destination (optional): if you turn it on, your friends see the destination of a running trip on the globe and map, not precise coordinates. They never see your home town.

Notifications and calendar

If you allow notifications: a push token for your device so we can send you notifications.
If you subscribe to the itinerary in your calendar: a secret link your calendar app uses to fetch the itinerary. Anyone with this link can read the itinerary; you can turn it off in the app at any time, which invalidates the link.

Technical data

When our servers and those of our service providers are accessed, technically necessary data is processed, e.g. IP address, time, app version and operating system. We use it only for operation, troubleshooting and security. The app contains no advertising, analytics or crash-reporting SDKs.

3. Who sees your data in the app

Other users can find you by your username and then see your username, name and profile picture.
Members of a trip see everything you share with everyone in that trip, plus your name and profile picture. What you save as “Private” is visible only to you.
Friends additionally see what you explicitly share with them (e.g. live location, destination).

4. Purposes and legal bases

Providing the app (account, sign-in, trips, sharing content, sync, notifications about activity in your trips): performance of the user agreement, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.
Live location, share destination, push notifications, calendar subscription: your consent, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can withdraw it at any time in the app or in your device settings; processing up to then remains lawful.
Optional onboarding answers: consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); you can skip every question.
Security, abuse prevention, troubleshooting, technical logs: our legitimate interest in a secure and stable service, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
Reports and blocks: our and our users' legitimate interest in a service free of abuse (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) and our obligations under the Digital Services Act (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).
Replying to your emails: Art. 6(1)(b) or (f) GDPR.

We make no automated decisions within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR and build no profiles for advertising.

5. Service providers and recipients

We don't pass your data on to third parties, except to the following service providers as far as needed for each purpose. Processors are bound by contracts under Art. 28 GDPR.

Convex: The app's backend, database and file storage, including sign-in (Better Auth, operated by us). Provider Convex, Inc., USA; data stored in a data centre in Ireland (EU).
Resend: Sending the emails with sign-in codes (email address, email content) and the content reports to our inbox (content of the report). Resend, Inc., USA; sent via its EU region.
Apple / Google: “Sign in with Apple” or “Sign in with Google”, if you choose that option. Push notifications are delivered via the Apple Push Notification service or Firebase Cloud Messaging. Apple Maps (iOS) or Google Maps (Android) display the map.
Expo (650 Industries, Inc.): Relaying push notifications to Apple/Google (push token, notification content) and delivering app updates (technical data such as IP address, app version). USA.
Open-Meteo: Weather at the destination and place search. It receives the place searched for or the destination's coordinates (not your location) and your IP address. Switzerland.
ExchangeRate-API: Current exchange rates (open.er-api.com). It receives only your IP address.
AeroDataBox (via RapidAPI): Flight data when you look up a flight number. Our server sends only the flight number and date, no personal data.
Cloudflare: Hosting this website and forwarding email sent to [email protected]. Cloudflare, Inc., USA.
Google (Gmail): The inbox where email to [email protected] and content reports arrive (sender, email content). Google Ireland Ltd. or Google LLC, USA.
Apple App Store / TestFlight, Google Play: Distribution of the app. Data processed there (e.g. downloads, purchases, crash reports you share via TestFlight) is subject to Apple's or Google's privacy policies.

Beyond that, we only disclose data where we are legally required to.

6. Transfers outside the EU

Some service providers are based in the USA or Switzerland. Switzerland is covered by an adequacy decision of the European Commission. Transfers to the USA are based on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified under it, and otherwise on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR).

7. Device permissions

The app only asks for a permission when you use a feature that needs it, and works without them:

Location (“while using” for the map, “always” only for live location),
Photos and camera for your profile picture, photos, documents and receipts,
Notifications for push notifications.

You can revoke any permission at any time in your device settings.

8. Retention and deletion

We keep account data and content for as long as your account exists.
You can delete your account at any time in the app under Profile → Settings → Delete account (or by email, see Delete account). Your profile and all data that belongs only to you are deleted. What you shared with others (e.g. expenses, messages) stays for them so their balances still add up, but anonymised as “Deleted user”.
For live location we keep only the latest position. It is shown only while the trip runs; if you turn sharing off or delete your account, it is deleted.
Sign-in codes expire after a short time. When you sign out on a device, we remove its push token.
Reports are deleted automatically after 12 months, even if an account involved is deleted sooner, so that we can recognise repeated abuse. Blocks last until you lift them or one of the two accounts is deleted.
Backups held by our database provider are overwritten automatically when their retention period ends.
We keep emails sent to us as long as needed to handle them, or where legal retention obligations apply.

9. Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21). You can withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future. Just write to [email protected].

If you believe we are not processing your data lawfully, you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. In Austria this is the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde), Barichgasse 40–42, 1030 Vienna, [email protected], www.dsb.gv.at.

10. This website

hellobruno.org is served by Cloudflare, which processes technically necessary data (e.g. IP address, time, page requested, browser) to deliver the site and protect it from attacks (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The website sets no cookies, loads nothing from other servers (no external fonts, maps or videos) and uses no analytics or tracking tools.

11. Minimum age

Hellobruno is intended for people aged 14 and over. Younger people may only use the app with their parents' consent.

12. Changes

If the app or the legal requirements change, we update this policy. The current version is always available here. We will inform you about significant changes.