Effective date: 1 June 2026 · Last updated: 1 June 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how Apex Crypto VOF, trading as Bivvy ("we", "us", "our"), collects, uses, shares, and protects personal data when you use the Bivvy mobile application and any related services (together, the "Service"). We have written this policy in plain language. Where you see a term in bold it has the meaning given in the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 ("GDPR"), the UK Data Protection Act 2018 ("UK GDPR"), or, where it applies to you, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended ("CCPA/CPRA"). If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Service.
The controller for personal data processed through Bivvy, within the meaning of Article 4(7) GDPR, is:
Apex Crypto VOF, trading as Bivvy
Katwijkerbroek 75, 2223 XN Katwijk, the Netherlands
KvK no.: 96603577
VAT (BTW) no.: NL867679542B01
Email: support@bivvy-app.com
Apex Crypto VOF is a vennootschap onder firma organised under the laws of the Netherlands. Bivvy is registered as a handelsnaam of Apex Crypto VOF. We are established in the Netherlands and are not required to appoint a representative under Article 27 GDPR. We are not currently required to appoint a Data Protection Officer under Article 37 GDPR; if that changes, contact details will be published here. If you are in the United Kingdom and we are required to appoint a UK representative under Article 27 UK GDPR, the details will be added here.
| Category | Examples | Collected |
|---|---|---|
| Account information | Email address, chosen username, password (stored only as a one-way bcrypt hash) | When you register or update your profile |
| Social-login identifier | Apple / Google subject ID and (if shared) verified email | When you sign in with Apple or Google |
| Profile activity | Spots, reviews, ratings, photos, check-ins, saved spots, collections, follows, blocks, reports | When you use the feature |
| Communications | Messages you post in public per-spot chat; messages to support; appeals | When you write them |
| Location data | Lat/lon of (a) spots you submit, (b) check-ins, and (c) the GPS reading used to verify you are within 250 m | Only on user action — never in the background |
| Builder Programme enrolment | Opt-in timestamp and count of approved contributions | When you enrol |
We do not collect your real name, phone number, postal address, gender, date of birth, or any government identifier. Your username is the only identifier displayed publicly.
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Device / technical data | OS version, app version, device model class, preferred language, time zone | Compatibility, debugging |
| Diagnostic data | Crash logs, stack traces, request IDs | Detecting and fixing bugs |
| Network metadata | IP address (kept in server access logs for up to 30 days), HTTP request paths, status, latency | Security, abuse prevention, telemetry |
| Product-analytics events | Anonymised event names tied to your username as distinct identifier on our self-hosted PostHog instance; no IP, fingerprint, or ad ID | Understanding which features are used |
| Push notification token | The Firebase Cloud Messaging device token | Delivering the notifications you have opted in to |
We do not use cookies, advertising identifiers, web beacons, fingerprinting, or any form of cross-app or cross-website tracking.
When you open the map, your device makes direct HTTP requests to load tiles. Those requests necessarily disclose your IP address and the map coordinates of the area you are viewing to:
These providers act as independent controllers for the tile data they receive; their privacy policies are linked in §6.
We do not buy personal data from data brokers or social networks. When you sign in with Apple or Google we receive the data in §3.1. When you use "Sign in with Apple — Hide my Email", Apple sends us a relay address (*@privaterelay.appleid.com); if no email is shared at all, we generate a non-deliverable placeholder so the account remains valid. Because outbound email to either of these addresses is unreliable or undeliverable, we will reach you only through in-app channels for any communication that would otherwise have gone by email.
| Purpose | Examples | Legal basis (Art. 6 GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Operating the Service | Account creation, authentication, map rendering, check-ins, chat delivery, thumbnails, CDN | Performance of a contract — Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Keeping the Service secure | Rate limiting, abuse detection, access logs, webhook verification, content moderation | Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) — preventing fraud, abuse, harm to other users |
| Push notifications | "Your spot was approved", "X started following you", "A new spot is near you" | Consent — Art. 6(1)(a), withdrawable at any time |
| Crash diagnostics & improving the app | Aggregated stack traces, anonymous feature-usage events | Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) |
| In-app purchases | Verifying Bivvy Pro subscription via RevenueCat webhooks | Performance of a contract — Art. 6(1)(b) |
| Legal obligations | Retaining payment records for 7 years under Dutch tax law; responding to lawful authority requests | Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c) |
| Defending or pursuing legal claims | Preserving evidence for an actual or anticipated claim | Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) |
| DSA moderation | Reviewing reports, applying restrictions, transparency reporting, statements of reasons | Legal obligation — Art. 6(1)(c) + Legitimate interests — Art. 6(1)(f) |
You can object to processing based on legitimate interests at any time by emailing support@bivvy-app.com. We will stop unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests. We do not carry out automated decision-making within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
The following is public by design and visible to anyone using the Service, including users who are not logged in:
Messages in public per-spot chat threads are visible to every signed-in user for the 24 hours they remain. They are not visible to logged-out users.
The following is never displayed publicly: your email address, your password hash, your saved spots, the underlying follower / following lists, your blocks, your content reports, your payment status, or your IP address.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data.
| Provider | What they process | Where | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner Online GmbH | Application servers, PostgreSQL hosting | Germany (EU) | link |
| Cloudflare, Inc. | DNS, TLS, edge caching, photo CDN, R2 storage (photos + encrypted DB backups) | EU region with global CDN edges | link |
| Google LLC (Firebase Cloud Messaging) | Push-notification delivery | Global Google infrastructure — SCCs + EU-US DPF | link |
| Functional Software, Inc. (Sentry) | Crash and error diagnostics — EU ingestion endpoint | EU region | link |
| PostHog, Inc. — self-hosted | Anonymous product analytics identified by username | EU (on our Hetzner servers) | link |
| RevenueCat, Inc. | Subscription management, receipt validation, webhooks — Pro / IAP users only | United States; SCCs | link |
| Party | What they receive | Privacy policy |
|---|---|---|
| CARTO / OpenStreetMap | Your IP and map area being viewed, every time tiles are loaded | CARTO · OSM |
| Stadia Maps, Inc. (Pro users only) | Your IP and viewport when satellite / terrain overlays are loaded | link |
| Apple Inc. / Google LLC (App Stores) | App distribution and IAP processing | Apple · Google |
| Apple Inc. (Sign in with Apple) | Subject ID and, optionally, an email relay | link |
| Google LLC (Sign in with Google) | Subject ID, email, display name | link |
We may disclose personal data when legally required — for example, in response to a valid court order, subpoena, or law-enforcement request from a competent authority. Where we can do so lawfully, we will notify you and will challenge requests we consider overbroad. We publish an annual transparency report under Article 24 of the Digital Services Act.
If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your personal data may be transferred. We will notify you in the app and (if your email is deliverable) by email before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
We aim to keep your personal data within the European Economic Area. Where a recipient may process data outside the EEA — principally Google (FCM), Apple (App Store, Sign in with Apple), and RevenueCat — the transfer is protected by the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (2021/914) and, where applicable, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. You may request a summary of the safeguards in place by emailing support@bivvy-app.com.
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account record (email, username, password hash) | Until you delete your account; PII is wiped on deletion. Anonymised row retained so foreign keys to your content remain valid. |
| Spot submissions | Kept indefinitely after account deletion, attributed to "deleted". |
| Reviews, chat messages | Kept indefinitely attributed to "deleted". Chat additionally expires automatically 24 hours after posting. |
| Check-ins, saved spots, follows, blocks, content reports, device tokens | Deleted on account deletion. |
| IP address in access logs | Maximum 30 days. |
| Encrypted database backups | Rolling 35 days; older backups removed automatically. |
| Tax records of payments | 7 years from the financial year of the transaction (Art. 52 AWR). |
| Webhook event log (RevenueCat) | 90 days, then purged. |
| Moderation records (statements of reasons, appeals) | 5 years from the date of the decision. |
| Records of legal requests | As required by law. |
If you delete your account, residual copies may remain in backups for up to 35 days until the relevant snapshot rotates out.
| Right | What it means | How to exercise it |
|---|---|---|
| Access (Art. 15) | A copy of the personal data we hold about you | Email support@bivvy-app.com |
| Rectification (Art. 16) | Correction of inaccurate personal data | Edit your profile in the app or email us |
| Erasure (Art. 17) | Deletion of your personal data | Settings → Delete account, or email us. See §8. |
| Restriction (Art. 18) | Pausing our processing while a dispute is resolved | Email us |
| Portability (Art. 20) | Machine-readable export of the data you provided | Email us |
| Objection (Art. 21) | Object to processing based on legitimate interests | Email us |
| Withdraw consent (Art. 7) | Withdraw consent (e.g. notifications) | Toggle in Settings or system settings |
| Complain to a regulator (Art. 77) | Lodge a complaint with your local DPA | NL: Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens; other EU: EDPB members; UK: ICO |
We respond within 30 days, extendable by up to two further months for complex requests. We do not charge a fee unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive. We may ask you to confirm a request from the email address associated with your account, or — for Apple Hide-My-Email accounts — from another channel that proves account ownership.
Bivvy is intended for users aged:
We do not knowingly collect personal data from children below those ages. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact support@bivvy-app.com and we will delete the account. Wild camping involves real-world physical risks; the Service is not designed for use by minors without adult supervision and we do not market it to children.
No system is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a personal-data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens within 72 hours under Article 33 GDPR and notify affected users without undue delay under Article 34 GDPR.
| Data type | Collected | Linked to you | Tracking | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email address | Yes | Yes | No | App functionality |
| User ID (username) | Yes | Yes | No | App functionality |
| Coarse location | Yes | Yes | No | App functionality |
| Photos | Yes | Yes | No | App functionality |
| User-generated content | Yes | Yes | No | App functionality |
| Crash data | Yes | No | No | App functionality, analytics |
| Product interaction | Yes | Yes | No | Analytics (identified by username) |
We do not track you across apps or websites owned by other companies. Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt therefore does not appear in this app.
If you are a California resident you have the following rights:
To exercise any of these rights, email support@bivvy-app.com. We respond within 45 days. We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding 12 months and have no plans to do so.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make a material change we will (a) update the date at the top, (b) notify you in the app and, where significant and your email is deliverable, by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect, and (c) where required by law, ask for your renewed consent. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
Apex Crypto VOF, trading as Bivvy
Katwijkerbroek 75, 2223 XN Katwijk, the Netherlands
KvK no.: 96603577
VAT (BTW) no.: NL867679542B01
Email: support@bivvy-app.com
If you are not satisfied with our response you may lodge a complaint with the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens or your local supervisory authority (see §9).