Privacy policy

As of November 2026 · Translation of the German Datenschutzerklärung. In case of doubt, the German version applies.

1. Controller

2. Overview

Protecting your data matters to me. This policy describes which data is processed when you visit this website and use the “Sehenswert” app. In short:

• The website uses no cookies and loads no third-party content (e.g. no external fonts). For anonymous visitor statistics I use the self-hosted tool Matomo – without cookies, with shortened IP addresses and without passing data to third parties. The website is hosted in Germany.
• The app needs no user account. Ticked places, favourites, trips and photos are stored on your device – only trips you explicitly share are also stored on the server.
• For searches, details and AI features, requests are sent to the services listed below.

3. Website

Hosting

This website is hosted by ALL-INKL.COM – Neue Medien Münnich, owner René Münnich, Hauptstraße 68, 02742 Friedersdorf, Germany. The servers are located in data centres in Dresden (Germany). A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR has been concluded with ALL-INKL.COM. More information: ALL-INKL.COM privacy information.

Server log files

When you visit the website, the web server automatically processes information transmitted by your browser (server log files): IP address, date and time of access, page requested, amount of data transferred, referrer URL and browser and operating system details. This data is technically necessary to deliver the website and keep it secure. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in secure and functional operation). IP addresses are stored in shortened form; log files are deleted after seven days at the latest unless they are needed in an individual case to investigate an attack.

SSL/TLS encryption

For security reasons, this website uses SSL/TLS encryption (recognisable by “https://” and the padlock symbol in your browser). Data you send to this website – for example via the contact form – cannot be read by third parties.

Contact form

If you send me a message via the contact form, your details (name, email address, subject and message) are sent to me by email and stored there in order to handle your enquiry. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR where your enquiry relates to a contract or pre-contractual measures, and otherwise Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in answering enquiries). To prevent spam, an invisible check field and the time the form was opened are evaluated; no cookies or external services are used for this. Your details are deleted once your enquiry has been dealt with, unless statutory retention obligations apply.

Visitor statistics (Matomo)

To understand how the website is used, I use the open-source software Matomo. Matomo runs on my own web space at ALL-INKL.COM in Germany; the data is not passed on to third parties, in particular not to the maker of Matomo. No cookies are set and no information is stored on your device.

Processed are: your IP address shortened by two bytes (e.g. 192.168.xxx.xxx), pages viewed and time, the page you came from (referrer), browser, operating system, device type, screen resolution and language setting. This does not allow you to be identified. Raw data is deleted after six months at the latest; only aggregated statistics remain after that.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in anonymously analysing website use to improve the service). You can object to this at any time:

Contact by email

If you email me, I process your email address and the content of your message in order to reply (Art. 6 (1) (b) or (f) GDPR). The data is deleted once it is no longer needed for this purpose and no statutory retention obligations apply.

4. The “Sehenswert” app

Data on your device

Your trips, ticked places, favourites, day plans, questions asked and photos taken or selected, together with their explanations, are stored locally on your device. They are not sent to me – except for trips you explicitly share (see “Shared trips”) or back up with an optional account (see “Account and backup”). Deleting the app removes this data.

Location

Only if you choose “Current location”, plan a route or have a photo analysed does the app determine your location – after you have allowed this in your device settings. It is used only for the respective request (e.g. to find sights nearby) and is neither stored by me nor used for any other purpose. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time in your device settings.

Intermediate server (Vercel)

The app's requests go through an intermediate server operated by Vercel Inc. (440 N Barranca Ave #4133, Covina, CA 91723, USA). Technically necessary data such as IP address, time and the content of the request (e.g. search term, location coordinates, question or photo) is processed and forwarded to the services named below. The content of requests is not stored permanently on the intermediate server – except for shared trips and the optional account (see below). The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (providing the features you request).

Shared trips

If you share a trip (“Share trip”), the intermediate server stores the following in a database operated by Upstash, Inc. (USA, data centre in Frankfurt am Main, Germany), provided via Vercel: the title of the trip, the place and radius of the search, the Google IDs of the places it contains, which places have been ticked off (with time) as well as a random link, a short code and a hash of your management key. So the app can show how many people a trip is shared with, it creates a random app ID once (not a device or advertising ID); only a hash of it is stored per shared trip, from which the ID cannot be recovered. Names, email addresses or device identifiers are not stored; there is no user account. Anyone who knows the link or code can view the trip and tick places off – so only share it with people you trust. While a shared trip is open, the app regularly checks for new ticks. The data is deleted as soon as you choose “Stop sharing”, and at the latest 12 months after it was last used. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (providing the feature you request). More information: Upstash privacy policy.

Account and backup (optional)

You can optionally sign in to the app with Apple (“Sign in with Apple”) or Google (“Sign in with Google”) to back up your trips and sync them across devices. There is no password with us: Apple or Google confirm your sign-in to the app, and the intermediate server checks this confirmation.

The following is stored in the database of Upstash, Inc. (USA, data centre in Frankfurt am Main, see “Shared trips”): your name and email address (as provided by Apple or Google; with Apple you can hide your address, in which case we receive a relay address), an identifier of your Apple or Google account, the time you signed up, and your trips (title, place and radius of the search, Google IDs of the places, sharing details), ticked places and favourites (each with a timestamp) and your choices for “Is this right for us?”. Details that suggest health information (“wheelchair”, “little walking”) are not backed up and stay on your device only. When you sign in with Apple we also store a token that we use to revoke the sign-in with Apple when you delete your account. Content from Google (names, ratings, photos) is not backed up – each device loads it itself.

The purpose is backing up and syncing your trips; the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (providing the feature you request). We only use your email address for messages about your account; we only send newsletters or advertising with your separate consent. “Delete account” in the app (ⓘ → Account) deletes all this data immediately; the trips on your device are kept. Without use your sign-in expires after 180 days; the account remains until you delete it or ask us to delete it (hallo@sehenswert-app.de).

The privacy policies of Apple and Google also apply to signing in.

Place search, sights, restaurants, photos and routes (Google)

For place suggestions, sights, nearby restaurants, ratings, photos, opening hours and routes, the app uses the Google Maps Platform of Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). Your search term or coordinates are sent to Google; the request is made by the intermediate server, so your IP address is not passed on to Google. When photos are displayed, the app loads them directly from Google servers, which transmits your IP address to Google. More information: Google privacy policy.

Reporting AI answers

Below every AI answer you can use “Report” to tell us that it is wrong or inappropriate. The reason, the text of the answer, your question if any, the place ID and the language are sent to the intermediate server and stored in the database (Upstash, see “Shared trips”) – without a device identifier and without a photo. Reports are used to improve the answers and prevent misuse; they are deleted after 180 days at the latest. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in reliable and appropriate content).

Use of the introduction

On first launch the app offers a short introduction. To help us improve it, the app only tells the intermediate server what happens (e.g. “introduction started”, “skipped at step 3”, “finished”). Only daily counters (date, event, number) are stored in the database (Upstash, see “Shared trips”) – without a device identifier, without an account and without an IP address; they cannot be traced back to you. The counters are deleted after 400 days. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in an easy-to-understand app).

AI features (Anthropic)

For the features “Good to know”, “Ask the place”, “Is this right for us?”, “Tell me about it” and “What is this?”, the app uses the AI model Claude by Anthropic PBC (548 Market Street, PMB 90375, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA). Transmitted are the public reviews of the respective place and its Google information, your question or selected photo, for “Is this right for us?” your choice (e.g. “With kids”, “Wheelchair”, “With a dog”) and – for “What is this?” – your approximate location and the names of nearby sights. Questions, choices and photos are only sent after your explicit consent in the app (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR; where your choice allows conclusions about health, e.g. “Wheelchair”, Art. 9 (2) (a) GDPR). Your choice is sent without any link to you; the intermediate server stores the result for up to 30 days only together with the place ID and the choice, so the same assessment does not have to be created again. You can withdraw consent at any time under “ⓘ” → “Withdraw AI consents”. According to Anthropic, data submitted via the API is not used to train its models. Please avoid photographing people or private documents. More information: Anthropic privacy policy.

Read-aloud voice (Google)

The stories in “Tell me about it” are converted to speech with Google Cloud Text-to-Speech by Google Ireland Limited (Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland). Only the AI-written text of the story is transmitted – no information about you or your device. The audio file is stored at Vercel (see “Intermediate server”) and reused for everyone who opens the same place; when you play it, the app loads it from there. Legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in an easy-to-understand read-aloud feature).

Weather in the day planner (MET Norway)

For the weather forecast in the day planner, the intermediate server requests the forecast for the approximate centre of the planned places (rounded to about one kilometre) from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET Norway, Henrik Mohns plass 1, 0313 Oslo, Norway). Only these coordinates are transmitted – no information about you or your device; the request comes from the intermediate server, not from your iPhone. The forecast is cached for one hour. Legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (providing the feature you request). Weather data: MET Norway, licence CC BY 4.0.

App updates (Expo)

When the app starts, it checks whether a new version is available and downloads it via the Expo service of 650 Industries, Inc. (USA). Technical data such as IP address, app version and device type is processed. More information: Expo privacy policy.

Test phase (Apple TestFlight)

During the test phase, the app is distributed via Apple TestFlight. Apple may provide crash reports and usage data if you have agreed to this in your device settings.

Transfers to third countries

Some of the providers named are based in the USA. Transfers take place on the basis of an adequacy decision of the EU Commission (EU-US Data Privacy Framework) where the provider is certified, or on the basis of standard contractual clauses (Art. 46 GDPR).

5. Your rights

You have the right at any time to:

• access your stored data (Art. 15 GDPR),
• rectification (Art. 16 GDPR) and erasure (Art. 17 GDPR),
• restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR) and data portability (Art. 20 GDPR),
• object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21 GDPR),
• withdraw consent with effect for the future (Art. 7 (3) GDPR).

Simply contact hallo@sehenswert-app.de. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, e.g. the Thuringian State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (TLfDI), Häßlerstraße 8, 99096 Erfurt, Germany, www.tlfdi.de.

6. Changes

This privacy policy will be updated when the app or legal requirements change. The version published here applies.