Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

WheelFriends ("we", "us", "our") operates the ridesharing platform available at wheelfriends.app. We are committed to protecting your personal data and complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable European data protection laws.

For privacy-related inquiries, contact us at: privacy@wheelfriends.app

2. Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

• →Account data: Name, email address, password (hashed), phone number, profile photo, bio
• →Ride data: Origin, destination, departure time, price, vehicle information
• →Booking data: Booking status, number of seats, ride history
• →Messages: In-app messages between drivers and passengers
• →Reviews: Ratings and written reviews you give or receive
• →Payment data: Stripe customer ID (we do not store card numbers — Stripe handles all payment data)
• →Usage data: Pages visited, features used, device type, browser, IP address

3. How We Use Your Data

• ✓To create and manage your account
• ✓To connect drivers and passengers for ride sharing
• ✓To process the optional €10 ad-free upgrade via Stripe
• ✓To send transactional emails (booking confirmations, ride updates, verification)
• ✓To display relevant advertisements to non-ad-free users via Google AdSense
• ✓To improve the platform and fix issues
• ✓To comply with legal obligations

Legal basis: Contract performance (account, rides, bookings), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention), consent (marketing communications), and legal obligations (tax, regulatory compliance).

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following trusted third-party providers:

5. Cookies

We use the following cookies:

• →Authentication cookies: Keep you logged in (session token, expires when you sign out)
• →Google AdSense cookies: Used to serve personalised or contextual ads (for non-ad-free users)

You can control cookie behavior through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect site functionality.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will remove your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law (e.g. financial records for tax purposes, retained for 7 years).

7. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under GDPR, you have the right to:

• →Access: Request a copy of your personal data
• →Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• →Erasure: Request deletion of your data ('right to be forgotten')
• →Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format
• →Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• →Restriction: Request we limit how we process your data

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@wheelfriends.app. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), hashed passwords (bcrypt), and access controls. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security but take all reasonable precautions.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a notice on the platform. Your continued use of WheelFriends after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

For any privacy questions or requests, contact us at privacy@wheelfriends.app.