Privacy policy

QueerWeGo (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a community-driven platform that helps LGBTQ+ people discover queer-owned and queer-friendly businesses on a map, in search, and in an online directory.

This privacy policy explains what personal data we collect when you use queerwego.com (the “Service”), why we collect it, how we use it, and what rights you have. We process personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable EU data protection law.

By using the Service or creating an account, you acknowledge that you have read this policy. For terms governing your use of the Service, see our Terms of use.

QueerWeGo is operated as an independent community project based in the European Union.

For privacy-related requests, contact us at legal@queerwego.com.

We collect the following categories of data depending on how you use the Service:

• Account data — email address, password (stored securely by our auth provider; we do not store plain-text passwords), and display name when you sign up with email. If you sign in with Google, we receive profile information from Google (such as your name and email) as permitted by your Google account settings.
• Profile data — a plan tier associated with your account (today all accounts use the free tier).
• Favourites — businesses you bookmark, linked to your user account.
• Business submissions — details you provide when suggesting a place (name, category, city, address, website, Instagram handle, description, coordinates, and whether the business is online-only), plus your user ID as the submitter.
• Map preferences — cookies that remember sidebar visibility and light/dark base map choice (see our Cookie notice).
• Technical data — standard server and application logs (such as IP address, browser type, and request timestamps) used for security, debugging, and service reliability.

• Provide and operate the Service — authentication, map, search, favourites, submissions, and online directory.
• Review and moderate community submissions before listings go live.
• Maintain security, prevent abuse, and troubleshoot errors.
• Improve the Service based on aggregated, non-identifying usage patterns.
• Respond to your requests and exercise your data protection rights.

• Contract — processing necessary to provide the Service you sign up for (account, map, favourites, submissions).
• Legitimate interests — securing the Service, moderating submissions, and improving reliability, balanced against your rights.
• Consent — where required for optional features or communications; you may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation — where we must retain or disclose data to comply with applicable law.

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only as described below:

• Service providers — Supabase (authentication and database hosting), Mapbox (interactive maps), Google (OAuth sign-in), and our hosting provider process data on our behalf under appropriate agreements.
• Public directory data — business listings approved by moderators (name, location, category, description, and links you submitted) are visible to other users and the public.
• Buy Me a Coffee — if you choose to support the project via Buy Me a Coffee, you leave our site and their privacy policy applies.
• Legal requirements — we may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users and the public.

Some service providers may process data outside the European Economic Area. Where this occurs, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms approved under GDPR.

• Account and profile data — kept while your account is active; deleted or anonymised within a reasonable period after you delete your account, except where retention is required by law.
• Favourites — removed when you delete a bookmark or your account.
• Business submissions — kept for moderation and audit purposes; approved submission data may become part of public listings.
• Logs — retained for a limited period for security and troubleshooting, then deleted or aggregated.
• Map preference cookies — up to one year (see Cookie notice).

If you are in the EU/EEA (or another jurisdiction with similar rights), you may:

To exercise these rights, email legal@queerwego.com. We will respond within the timeframes required by law.

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectify inaccurate data.
• Request erasure (“right to be forgotten”) in certain circumstances.
• Restrict or object to processing in certain circumstances.
• Data portability — receive your data in a structured, commonly used format where applicable.
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting us. Some information may remain in backups for a limited period or where we must retain it for legal reasons.

We use industry-standard measures including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, and row-level security on our database. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; please use a strong, unique password and keep your credentials confidential.

The Service is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.

We do not currently operate a newsletter or collect email addresses for marketing through the Service. If we add such features in the future, we will update this policy and ask for your consent where required.

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page indicates the latest revision. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Privacy questions or data requests: legal@queerwego.com.