Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated 10 November 2026 · Terms of Use

In short

This policy covers the Bindung app and this website, bindung.app.
We collect what the app needs to work: your account, your page, your friends.
No ads, no tracking, no analytics, and we never sell your data. If the app crashes, it sends us an anonymous crash report so we can fix it.
If you switch it on, friends can get gift ideas from your page. They're written by Claude, an AI by Anthropic, which gets your answers and scales without your name, including what you wrote about allergies or your health.
Your email and phone number are never shown on your page. We never ask for your year of birth.
You can delete your account in the app at any time, and it's gone straight away.
The website has no ads, tracking or analytics either. It sets a single cookie, and only if you open the password-protected Bindery.

Who is responsible

Bindung is run by an individual, who is the controller of your data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

Nils Christopher Garny, Netherlands
Email: hello@bindung.app

What we collect

Your account

Your email address, a password (in hashed form) and your username. When you sign up you confirm that you're at least 16; we store only that confirmation and when you gave it, never your date of birth.

Your page

Whatever you choose to add: first and last name, favourite colours, answers to questions, where you sit on scales, links to your profiles on other apps, and your favourite place (its name, address and map position, picked through Apple Maps).

Some answers can be about your health, such as “I'm allergic to”. Health information is a special category of data under the GDPR. We store it and show it to your friends only because you chose to add it, and you can change or remove it at any time. The app says so under that question while you write it.

Your phone number (optional)

If you add a phone number, it's stored privately with your account. If you also switch on “Let friends find me by phone number”, we store a one-way code (a SHA-256 hash) of it, so people who already have your number can find you. Switch it off and you can't be found that way.

Your contacts (only if you allow it)

If you give the app access to your contacts, it reads their phone numbers on your device, turns each into the same one-way code and checks whether that code belongs to someone who has chosen to be findable. Names and other contact details are never read. Raw phone numbers never leave your phone, and we don't store the codes we check. Please note that a phone-number hash is a protective measure, not full anonymisation.

Activities (only if you use them)

To suggest meeting up (“Who is down to grab a coffee?”) and to see friends' suggestions, you pick your city once, and up to two more if you like, and choose which of them you're active in. We store each city's name and its rough position with your account, and which ones you've chosen, never where you are exactly, and the app never asks for your location. A suggestion stores its text, a short description if you add one, the day it's for (today or one of the next six days), the rough time (now, soon or later; morning, afternoon or evening on a later day) and the cities you send it to, and is shown only to friends who have chosen a city within about 30 km of one of them (or, if you choose, only to the friends among them in the Chapters you pick). When a friend taps “I'm down!”, you can see it, and so can the others the suggestion was shown to: they see the names of those who are also their friends, and only a count of everyone else. Suggestions and replies are hidden at the end of the day they're for and deleted from our servers shortly after, usually within a day.

Activities with friends of friends (only if you switch it on)

When you suggest an activity, you can also send it to friends of your friends. It then also goes to people who are friends with at least one of your friends, have chosen a city within about 30 km of one you send it to and have switched on “Friends of friends” themselves: at most 50 of them, those with the most friends in common with you first. People with a declined friend request or a block between you are left out. They see your name, username and colours, your suggestion, and which of their friends are also your friends: one or two by first name, otherwise one name and how many more. So they can learn that a friend of theirs is also a friend of yours. They don't see who else your suggestion went to, they see only how many people are down until they tap “I'm down!” themselves, and they can't see your page unless you become friends. For each of them we store a copy of your suggestion with the friends you have in common and how many are down; it's deleted with the suggestion. If you switch on “Friends of friends” to get these suggestions, we store that choice with your account, and suggestions sent to friends of friends before that which are still on are added for you, without a notification. Switching it off removes them again, apart from those you've said “I'm down!” to.

Activity chats (only if you use them)

You can message a friend about their suggestion. Whoever suggested an activity can message each friend it went to, and start a group chat with everyone who said “I'm down!”. Whoever says “I'm down!” later joins the group chat, and whoever takes it back leaves it; the chat shows a short line about it. In a group chat, people can suggest another time or place, which shows as a card that everyone in the chat can vote “Yay!” or “Nay!” on; we store each vote with who cast it, and the people in the chat can see the votes. We store each message's text, who wrote it, when, and which message it replies to, as well as who is in the chat and whether you've muted it. Everyone in a chat can read all of its messages, including those written before they joined. In a group chat, people see each other's first name and colours, also people who aren't their friends, and can send them a friend request. Messages aren't end-to-end encrypted: they're stored on our servers like the rest of your data. Chats are hidden at 6 a.m. the morning after the activity's day, or the morning after it's cancelled, and deleted from our servers shortly after, usually within a day. Which messages you've read is kept only on your device.

Gift inspiration (only if you switch it on)

If you switch on “Let friends get gift inspiration from my page”, we store that choice with your page, and your friends can ask for gift ideas for you, on their own or in a gift group. With your account, we also store a record of your choice: whether it's on, when you made it, where in the app (your page, the steps after sign-up or What's new) and which version of the wording you saw. To find ideas, our servers send Claude, an AI by Anthropic, the parts of your page that help: your answers (for a favourite place, its name and address), including what you wrote about allergies or your health, so the ideas steer clear of it, where you sit on scales with your notes, your favourite colours as rough colour names such as “dark blue”, the month of your birthday if you've added it, and which of Strava, Goodreads, Letterboxd and Polarsteps you link to. Your name, username, email address, phone number and the links themselves are never sent; the app adds your first name to the ideas once they're back. With your page go the friend's budget, what they'd like to include or leave out, their city from Activities if they've picked one (so ideas for a particular place are ones they can reach), the ideas they got for you before (so they aren't repeated), and their user ID with the request's ID, so we can match the answer to it. Requests are sent to Claude together in batches, and the answer usually arrives within an hour: one gift from our own list of tried and tested gifts and up to three ideas of Claude's own, each with a short reason that says what on your page it comes from. The app marks them as written by an AI. Before they're shown, we check your page again: if you've switched gift inspiration off or you're no longer friends, nothing is shown. The friend who asked sees the ideas; you don't, and you aren't told who asked. We store each request with the account of the friend who asked: who it's for, the budget, the wishes, the ideas with their reasons, and their rating of the ideas if they give one. It's deleted 90 days after they asked, or sooner if they delete it. Switching gift inspiration off stops new requests; ideas friends already got stay with them until then.

Gift groups (only if you use them)

Friends can start a gift group to find and give someone a gift together. The person the gift is for is never in the group and isn't told about it. Whoever starts a group adds their own friends, and everyone in it can add theirs, up to 12 people, so the people in a group needn't be friends with each other or with the person the gift is for. Nobody with a block between them and that person can be added. We store who's in the group and who started it, who the gift is for and their first name, a short description, the budget, the gift that's chosen, whether the group is closed and whether you've muted it. Everyone in the group can write messages, notes on what to include or leave out, and gift ideas (what, why, a price and a link), and vote “Yay!” or “Nay!” on gift ideas; we store each with who wrote or cast it, and everyone in the group can see them, including what was written before they joined. People in a group see each other's first name, and the first name and colours of the person the gift is for. If everyone chips in, what each person gives is visible only to them; the group sees the total and how many have said. If the person the gift is for has switched on gift inspiration, Bindung looks for ideas for the group, up to three times: Claude gets their page as described above, with the budget or the total, the description, everyone's notes without who wrote them, the group's gift ideas with their prices and how many Yays and Nays they have (not who voted), and the city from Activities of whoever runs the group. Messages aren't sent to Claude. Bindung's ideas then show in the group, with reasons drawn from that person's page, for everyone in it to see, also people who aren't their friends. Messages aren't end-to-end encrypted. If you leave a group, what you chip in is taken off the total and your messages stay. A group is deleted 30 days after its last message, or 30 days after it's closed, and when its last member leaves.

Search by name (only if you switch it on)

If you switch on “Let people find me by name”, we add search words made from your first and last name to your profile card, so other users can find you by typing your name. Switch it off and the search words are removed straight away; people can then only find you by your username.

Friend suggestions (unless you switch them off)

To suggest people you might know, our servers look at who your friends are friends with. Someone is suggested to you when at least 30% of your friends (and at least two), or at least five of them, are friends with them. A suggestion shows only their name, username and colours, and how many friends you have in common, never who those friends are. People you're already friends with, have a request with or have blocked aren't suggested. Nothing extra is stored for this. Switch off “Suggest me to friends of my friends” and you're no longer suggested to anyone; you still see suggestions yourself.

Notifications (only if you allow it)

If you allow notifications, your phone gets a push token: a random code that lets us send notifications to it. We store this token with your account, together with your phone's time zone, so that birthday reminders arrive in the morning where you are. You choose in the app which notifications you get (friend requests, birthdays, friends' activities, friends of friends' activities, messages, gift inspiration), and we store those choices too, as well as which chats you've muted. Notifications are delivered through Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging) and Apple (Apple Push Notification service), and contain only a short message, such as “Léa accepted your friend request”. You can turn notifications off in the app or in your iPhone's settings at any time. When you sign out, the token is removed from your account.

Chapters (only if you make them)

If you sort your friends into Chapters, we store each Chapter's title and which of your friends are in it. Only you can see your Chapters; your friends are not told which Chapters they're in.

Friends, blocks and reports

Who you've sent requests to, who you're bound to, and who you've blocked. If you report someone, we store your user ID, their user ID, the reason, your optional note and a copy of their page as it was at that moment, or of the chat message you reported. The person you report is not told who reported them.

Suggestions you send us

If you use “Suggest a feature”, we store your message together with your user ID, your username and when you sent it, and forward the message and your username to us through Telegram so we read it quickly.

Technical data

When the app talks to our servers, our hosting provider processes technical data such as your IP address, device and app version, and timestamps. This is used to run the service securely and to fix problems. To stop fake apps and scripts from misusing our servers, each request also carries a token confirming that it comes from the genuine Bindung app on a real device (Firebase App Check, using Apple's App Attest). Your choice of light or dark appearance stays on your device.

Crash reports

If the app crashes, it sends a crash report so we can find and fix the problem: where in the app it crashed, your device model, your iOS and app version, whether the app was in the foreground, and a random ID for this installation. Crash reports don't contain your name, email address, page or contacts, and they aren't linked to your account. They're kept for 90 days.

The website

Visiting bindung.app

The website is hosted by Cloudflare. To deliver pages and protect the site against attacks, Cloudflare processes technical data such as your IP address, your browser, the page you asked for and the time. We don't run analytics, ads or tracking on the website, and it loads no fonts, scripts or images from other companies.

Light or dark

If you pick light or dark in the menu at the top, your browser remembers that choice on your device (in local storage). It's never sent to us.

Messages from the form

If you use “Suggest a feature” on the website, we receive your message, the kind of message you picked and, only if you enter it, your email address. The message reaches us through Telegram and is not stored on the website. We use your email address only to answer you.

The Bindery

The Bindery is a password-protected part of the website, meant for employers. When you enter the password, we set one cookie, called “bindery”, so you don't have to enter it again for 30 days. It holds no personal data, only a signed note that the password was entered, and we don't record who opens the Bindery.

Emails

If you write to hello@bindung.app, we receive your email address and message and use them only to answer you. Emails to this address are forwarded to our inbox through Cloudflare Email Routing.

Who can see what

Other Bindung users can find you by username, and by name if you've switched that on, and see your name, username and colours: in search, on a friend request, in their phonebook matches if you've made yourself findable, and among their friend suggestions if you share several friends, unless you've switched that off.
Friends — the people you're bound to — see your whole page. Our servers enforce this, not just the app.
Friends near your cities see your activity suggestions until the end of the day they're for. Who replied “I'm down!” is visible to you; others who see the suggestion see their own friends among them by name, and only a count of the rest.
Friends of your friends who have switched it on see your activity suggestions if you send them to friends of friends, together with which of their friends are also yours.
People in a chat see its messages, including those written before they joined. In a group chat they also see each other's first name and colours, whether or not they're friends.
People in a gift group see its messages, notes, gift ideas and votes, each other's first name, and the total everyone chips in, but not what each person gives.
Friends who ask for gift inspiration see ideas for you with short reasons drawn from your page, if you've switched it on. You don't see who asked.
People in a gift group for you see your first name and colours, also those who aren't your friends, and, if you've switched on gift inspiration, Bindung's ideas for you with short reasons drawn from your page. You're never in the group and aren't told about it.
Nobody but you sees your Chapters, your email address, your phone number, the gift inspiration you've asked for or what you chip in to a gift group. Your birthday is optional, is the day and month only, and is shown to friends only if you add it.

When you remove a friend or block someone, they can no longer see your page.

Why we process it

To provide the app - your account, page, friendships, search, activities, the gift inspiration you ask for and gift groups (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, performance of our agreement with you).
Phone-number matching, contact matching, search by name, notifications and showing your birthday — only because you switched them on (Art. 6(1)(a), consent). You can switch them off at any time.
Health information on your page — such as your answer to “I'm allergic to”, shown to your friends only because you chose to add it (Art. 9(2)(a), explicit consent). You can change or remove it at any time.
Gift inspiration from your page — sending your answers and scales to Claude for your friends, only because you switched it on (Art. 6(1)(a), consent, and for what you wrote about your health, Art. 9(2)(a), explicit consent). You can switch it off at any time; that stops new requests, but doesn't undo those already answered.
Gift groups for you — your first name and colours in a group your friends start to give you a gift, without telling you (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in letting friends plan a surprise).
Friend suggestions — helping you find people you probably know (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in helping friends find each other). You can object at any time by switching them off.
Friends in common on activities from friends of friends — so people know how they're connected before they meet up (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in people meeting safely).
Keeping people safe — the age check, blocking, reports, moderation and security logs (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in a safe service, and Art. 6(1)(c) where the law requires it).
Keeping the app working — crash reports and App Check (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in a stable app that can't be misused).
Improving the app — reading the suggestions you send us (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in making Bindung better).
Running the website — delivering and protecting it, the Bindery cookie and answering messages and emails (Art. 6(1)(f), our legitimate interest in a secure, working website and in hearing from you). The Bindery cookie is strictly necessary for the area you asked to open.

Who helps us

Google (Firebase)

Login, database, server functions, notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging), crash reports (Firebase Crashlytics) and App Check run on Google Firebase, provided by Google Ireland Limited. Our database and server functions are located in Belgium (europe-west1). Firebase Authentication may process data outside the EU, including in the USA. Such transfers are covered by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, as part of Google's data processing terms.

Apple

When you search for a favourite place, your search is sent to Apple Maps, and opening a place shows Apple's map details. Apple handles that data under its own privacy policy. Apple also distributes the app through the App Store, and notifications reach your phone through the Apple Push Notification service.

Cloudflare

The website, its form and our email address run on Cloudflare, provided by Cloudflare, Inc. Cloudflare may process data outside the EU, including in the USA. Such transfers are covered by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, as part of Cloudflare's data processing terms. Cloudflare handles that data under its own privacy policy.

Anthropic

Gift inspiration is written by Claude, an AI provided by Anthropic Ireland, Limited, which processes what we send it only on our behalf, under Anthropic's data processing terms. Only pages whose owners have switched on gift inspiration are sent, without their name. Anthropic may process the data outside the EU, including in the USA. Such transfers are covered by the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, as part of Anthropic's data processing terms. Anthropic doesn't use it to train its models, and deletes it within 30 days, unless it must keep it longer to enforce its usage policy or to comply with the law.

Suggestions you send us in the app (your message and username) and messages from the website's form reach us through Telegram, provided by Telegram FZ-LLC, which may process them outside the EU. When someone files a report, we also get a short Telegram alert that contains only the reason, no names or page content. Telegram handles that data under its own privacy policy.

Links to other apps on someone's page take you to those services, whose own privacy policies apply.

How long we keep it

We keep your data for as long as you have an account. When you delete your account in the app, we immediately delete your page, your private details, your friendships and requests, your blocks, your username, your phone-number code, your cities and activity suggestions with their chats, the copies of friends of friends' suggestions you received, the chat and gift group messages you wrote, the gift inspiration you asked for and the gift inspiration friends got from your page, the gift groups for you, your place in other gift groups and what you chip in there, your Chapters, your notification settings and push tokens, and your login. Copies may remain in our provider's backups and logs for a short period until they are overwritten.

Gift inspiration is deleted 90 days after it was asked for. A gift group is deleted 30 days after its last message, or 30 days after it's closed.

Reports are kept after an account is deleted, as a record of moderation, for as long as needed to keep the community safe and to meet legal obligations.

Suggestions you've sent us are kept after an account is deleted too, so we can keep track of ideas. Write to hello@bindung.app if you'd like yours removed.

Messages from the website's form and emails stay with us for as long as we need them to answer you or to keep track of ideas; ask us and we'll delete yours. We don't keep logs of website visits ourselves. The Bindery cookie expires after 30 days, and you can delete it in your browser at any time.

Your rights

You have the right to access your data, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to its processing, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting what happened before. Most of this you can do in the app; for anything else, write to hello@bindung.app.

You also have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the EU country where you live.

Children

Bindung is for people aged 16 and over. Sign-up is refused for anyone younger. If you believe someone under 16 has an account, please tell us and we'll delete it.

People aged 16 and 17 can use all of Bindung, including gift inspiration. Gift inspiration is a fixed form, not a chat: nobody chats with the AI, the ideas are marked as AI-generated, and our servers check every answer before it's shown (it must fit the budget and come from the page). We comply with the GDPR, the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act (UAVG) and the child-safety and data protection laws that apply to Bindung, and follow Anthropic's guidelines for services used by people under 18.

Changes

If we change how we handle your data, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll tell you in the app.