Privacy Policy for Travel Buddy
Last updated: October 2026 Effective date: October 2026
1. Introduction
Travel Buddy ("we", "our", "us") is a mobile application for collaborative trip planning. It includes Buddy, an optional AI travel assistant. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our app.
By creating an account or using Travel Buddy, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
Data controller: Travel Buddy Contact: support@travelbuddy.group
2. Data We Collect
2.1 Account Data
- Email address — required to create an account and for authentication
- Password — stored in hashed form only; we never store your plain-text password
- Display name — optional; shown to your trip collaborators if provided
2.2 User-Generated Content
- Trip names, destinations, dates, and descriptions you create
- Activity details, locations, times, and notes within trips
- Comments and votes you submit on activities
- Trip membership (which trips you are a member of)
2.3 Location Data
- Your device's GPS coordinates, accessed only while the app is open and only when you use the map feature
- We do not store your location on our servers. Location data is used in-session only to display your position on the map and to assist place searches.
2.4 Photos
- Photos you choose from your photo library as a trip cover. We only receive the photos you pick, never the rest of your library. A cover photo is stored with the trip and shown to that trip's members.
- We do not use your camera.
2.5 Buddy, the AI Assistant (optional)
Buddy is off until you turn it on from its first-run screen. If you use it, we process:
- Your messages to Buddy and its replies. Conversations are kept on your device, not on our servers.
- Voice recordings, only if you choose to talk instead of typing. The microphone records only between your tap to start and your tap to stop. The recording is turned into text, then deleted from your phone; we never store the audio. The text appears in your message box for you to check before you send it, and a copy of that text is kept in your interaction log (2.6).
- Your travel profile: the preferences you confirm or write (for example "vegetarian" or "early mornings") and the insights Buddy suggests from your trips. You can see, export and delete it at any time in Profile → Travel profile.
- Usage records for each AI request: when it was made, which AI model answered, its size and its cost. Not the content. We use them to run Buddy's monthly usage limit and to keep costs under control.
2.6 In-App Interaction Log
- What you do in the app, such as creating an activity, opening a trip, or accepting or undoing a change Buddy proposed, with the trip it relates to, your device platform and app version.
- We use it to run and improve the app and to suggest entries for your travel profile. It is not sent to AI providers.
2.7 Technical Data
- Device model and operating system version
- App version
- Error messages and stack traces, collected only when the app crashes
- Session tokens used to keep you logged in
2.8 Data We Do NOT Collect
- We do not collect advertising identifiers (IDFA, GAID)
- We do not track you across other apps or websites
- We do not collect payment card or financial information
- We do not access your contacts or your camera. We access your photo library only for the photos you pick, and your microphone only while you are recording a voice message for Buddy
- We do not collect data from children under 13
3. How We Use Your Data
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Provide the trip planning and collaboration features | Performance of contract |
| Authenticate your identity and maintain your session | Performance of contract |
| Show your location on the map (in-session only) | Consent (you open the map) |
| Store and show the trip cover photos you choose | Performance of contract |
| Buddy: answer your questions, propose changes to your trips and plan new trips | Consent (given on Buddy's first-run screen) |
| Turn your voice messages into text | Consent (you start each recording) |
| Build and use your travel profile to personalise Buddy | Consent (given on Buddy's first-run screen) |
| Keep the interaction log, to run and improve the app | Legitimate interest |
| Record AI usage, to apply the monthly usage limit and control costs | Legitimate interest |
| Diagnose and fix crashes and bugs | Legitimate interest |
| Respond to support requests | Legitimate interest |
| Comply with legal obligations | Legal obligation |
Buddy never changes your trips on its own: every change it proposes waits for you to hold to apply, and you can undo it. We make no decisions about you by automated means alone that have legal or similarly significant effects.
4. Data Sharing and Third Parties
We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with the following service providers, strictly for the purpose of operating the app:
| Provider | Purpose | Data shared | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, authentication, file storage, and the server functions that connect the app to AI providers | Account data, user content, cover photos, travel profile, interaction log, AI usage records | USA (AWS us-east-1) |
| Anthropic | Writes Buddy's replies, proposes trip changes, and tidies up the text of voice messages | Your messages and voice message text, the trip you are asking about, your travel profile | USA (the AI may run in other regions while answering; data is stored in the USA) |
| AssemblyAI | Turns voice recordings into text | Voice recordings, and the names of places and cities in your trips, used as spelling hints | EU (AssemblyAI's EU data residency) |
| Sentry | Crash reporting and error monitoring | Device model, OS, stack traces (no personal data) | EU (Germany) |
| Google Maps Platform | Map display, place search, trip cover photos, and checking the spelling of place names in voice messages | Location queries, and the place names and cities searched | Google infrastructure |
Supabase, Anthropic, AssemblyAI and Sentry process data on our behalf, under data processing agreements. Google acts as an independent controller for Google Maps Platform, under Google's Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms and its own Privacy Policy.
We do not send your email address or password to AI providers. Neither Anthropic nor AssemblyAI uses your data to train their AI models.
International data transfers: Supabase stores data in AWS us-east-1 (United States). This transfer is covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) as per Supabase's Data Processing Agreement. Anthropic stores data in the United States, and its AI models may run in other regions while answering; these transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses under Anthropic's Data Processing Addendum. AssemblyAI processes your voice recordings in the European Union, and they do not leave it. Google's transfers are covered by the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses under Google's terms. You may request a copy of these safeguards by contacting us.
We do not share your data with any other third parties, advertisers, or data brokers.
5. Data Retention
- Your account data and user content are retained for as long as your account is active
- Voice recordings are deleted from your phone as soon as they have been turned into text. If sending fails, the recording stays on your phone only until you retry or discard it. We never store recordings on our servers. At AssemblyAI, we ask for the recording and its transcript to be deleted as soon as we have the text; their deletion completes within at most 2 days
- Messages sent to Anthropic, and Buddy's replies, are deleted by Anthropic within 30 days. Anthropic may keep them for up to 2 years only if they are flagged as breaking its usage policy, or where the law requires it
- Buddy conversations stay on your device (the most recent 60 messages per trip) until you delete them with Profile → Travel profile → Delete everything, or sign in with another account on that device
- Your travel profile is kept until you delete it (Profile → Travel profile → Delete everything) or delete your account
- The interaction log and AI usage records are kept for as long as your account is active
- Crash reports are automatically deleted by Sentry after 90 days
- When you delete your account, all your personal data and user-generated content, including your travel profile, interaction log and AI usage records, is permanently deleted within 30 days
6. Your Rights
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with data protection laws, you have the following rights:
- Right to access — request a copy of your personal data
- Right to rectification — request correction of inaccurate data
- Right to erasure — request deletion of your account and all associated data
- Right to restriction — request that we limit processing of your data
- Right to data portability — request your data in a machine-readable format
- Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. For Buddy, use Profile → Travel profile → Delete everything and stop using Buddy; withdrawing does not affect processing that happened before
You can export your travel profile and interaction log yourself from Profile → Travel profile.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at: support@travelbuddy.group
We will respond within 30 days. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (in Italy: Garante per la protezione dei dati personali).
7. Account Deletion
You can request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by:
- In-app: Go to Profile → Delete Account → this opens an email to support@travelbuddy.group
- By email: Send a deletion request to support@travelbuddy.group with the subject "Delete My Account"
All personal data will be permanently deleted within 30 days of your request.
8. Children's Privacy
Travel Buddy is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@travelbuddy.group and we will delete it promptly.
9. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data:
- Passwords are hashed using industry-standard algorithms (handled by Supabase Auth)
- Session tokens are stored in your device's encrypted secure storage
- All data in transit is encrypted using TLS
- Database access is restricted by Row Level Security (RLS) policies — you can only access your own data and trips you are a member of
- The app never talks to AI providers directly: every AI request goes through our own server function, which checks who you are first
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you discover a security vulnerability, please report it to support@travelbuddy.group.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you in the app.
Continued use of Travel Buddy after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact
For any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy:
Email: support@travelbuddy.group Response time: Within 30 days
This policy was last reviewed in October 2026.