Privacy

Note: This English version is a courtesy translation. In case of discrepancies, the German version is legally binding.

Controller

Last updated: 30 October 2026

Purposes and legal bases

We process accounts, profiles, reviews, comments, friendships and community features you explicitly request in order to perform the user contract under Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Abuse prevention, App Check, IT security and the handling of reports are based on our legitimate interest in a secure and lawful service under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Processing required by law is based on Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

Optional push notifications and location features are only activated after you select them. You can withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future in the app or in the iOS or Android settings.

Account and community content

We process the Firebase user ID, username, sign-in provider, creation time and voluntary profile details. The provider name and provider photo are only published after separate selection. When registering with a username, Firebase Auth creates a technical, non-reachable identifier in email format; a real email address is not required.

A contact email address provided voluntarily remains private. For accounts with username and password, it may be used for a requested password reset link. For delivery we transmit the address to Brevo. The address is stored until it is removed or the account is deleted.

Username, voluntary display name, profile photo, reviews, comments and community contributions are public and visible without an account. Content may be passed on technically by these services.

Photos and location

Reviews may contain the café location and coordinates, rating, price, note, time, photos and voluntary details. Location access only occurs while using the app for place search, suggestions and on-site verification; there is no background location tracking.

Photos are re-created as JPEG before upload, which generally removes the original EXIF and GPS metadata. Opening-hours photos are only uploaded after selection. Text is first recognised locally; if no usable times are detected locally, PaddleOCR on Google Cloud Run may process the photo on the server.

Café management and sharing

For a café request we process name, business contact details, role and submitted evidence for manual review. Only authorised administrators see these details. Contact details, evidence and internal review notes are scheduled for automatic deletion 30 days after completion. The status and assignment to the café remain stored for management purposes; if the account is deleted, the private requests are deleted as well.

Confirmed operators may publish official details and their own photos. A separate release allows others to use the official photo for café recommendations. Personal share images are created on your device. Only when you use the sharing dialog you chose do you pass the image and public café link to the selected service.

Providers and recipients

• Google Firebase: authentication, Firestore, Storage, Cloud Functions, Cloud Messaging and App Check.
• Apple: Sign in with Apple, App Attest, push delivery, MapKit, place search and operating-system permissions.
• Android: Google Maps SDK for the map, Google Play Services for location, Credential Manager for sign-in, Firebase App Check with Play Integrity for abuse prevention and ML Kit for local text recognition. In particular the IP address, app and device information and integrity information, as well as location information when the location feature is enabled, may be transmitted to Google. The Maps SDK also processes its own pseudonymous SDK identifier, map interactions and SDK crash and diagnostic data to provide and improve Google services. There is no background location tracking and there are no advertising SDKs.
• Google Sign-In: optional sign-in and shared account data.
• Brevo: delivery of password reset links to the voluntarily provided contact email address.
• PaddleOCR on Google Cloud Run: server-side recognition of selected opening-hours photos.
• OpenStreetMap services: Android place search via Overpass and, where required, Nominatim.

Website and map

When you visit the website, your browser loads the page content from ratepresso.com. On the map page, map tiles are loaded from OpenStreetMap; your IP address is transmitted to the OpenStreetMap Foundation. Review photos are loaded from Firebase Storage (Google), which also transmits your IP address to Google. No analytics or advertising services are used on the website.

For language selection the website sets a functional cookie (rp_lang, lifetime one year). It only stores the selected language (German or English) and is not used for analytics or advertising. You can delete it at any time in your browser settings.

Third-country transfers

For Google, Apple and their sub-processors, processing outside the EEA, in particular in the USA, cannot be excluded. Where no adequacy decision including an applicable EU-US Data Privacy Framework certification applies, appropriate safeguards such as EU standard contractual clauses are used. You can request information about the safeguards via the data protection contact.

Retention

We store account data and published content until deletion or until it is no longer required for the service. When an account is deleted, contributions, photos and personal references are removed from active systems. Unconfirmed OCR previews are deleted within 24 hours. Push tokens are removed upon deactivation, sign-out or account deletion. Local caches can be deleted in the app or in the device settings; limited image caches are overwritten when storage is needed.

Completed reports and moderation evidence are generally stored for up to twelve months, unless longer retention is required for specific legal claims or statutory obligations. Technically unavoidable copies are overwritten according to the documented backup cycles of the processors.

Deleting your account and data

Deletion can be requested in the app under Profile → Account → Delete account or independently of the app via Delete account and data. That page describes the contact, the required details and remaining retention reasons.

Your rights

Under the GDPR you have the right to information, rectification, erasure, restriction, data portability and objection to processing based on legitimate interests. You can withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future.

Send requests to contact@ratepresso.com. We may require reasonable proof of identity. You may also lodge a complaint with the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of Baden-Württemberg or another competent supervisory authority.

Required details and automated decisions

User ID and username are required for an account. Profile photo, display name, location access, photos, friendships and push notifications are optional. Without location access, manual place search remains available.

There is no advertising, no cross-app tracking and no automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effect. Automatic abuse and quota checks may limit individual actions; a review can be requested via the contact address.