Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to IndLokal("we", "our", or "us"). We are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect information when you use our website at https://indlokal.com (the "Service").

2. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your personal data is:

IndLokal
Germany
Email: privacy@indlokal.com

3. Data We Collect

3.1 Information you provide

• Account data: When sign-in is available (currently in the mobile app and for organizer/admin access on web), we process your name and email address.
• Community submissions: Name, description, contact details, and other information you submit about communities.
• Business Connect enquiries (JITO Stuttgart pilot): If you submit a business enquiry, we process the company and contact details you provide (including business description, what you are looking for and offering, contact name, email, and any optional website, LinkedIn, phone/WhatsApp, or referral details) to review your enquiry and, with your consent, to make a curated introduction.
• Contact forms: Any information you provide when contacting us.

3.2 Automatically collected data

• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent, and interactions - collected via privacy-friendly analytics (Plausible Analytics). No cookies are used for analytics, and no personal data is collected.
• Technical data: Browser type, device type, and IP address (anonymized) for security and performance purposes.

4. How We Use Your Data

We process your data for the following purposes:

• Providing and maintaining the Service
• Authenticating user accounts
• Processing community submissions and claims
• Using submitted email addresses to follow up on submissions and claims (for example, verification, approval status, or required clarifications)
• Sending essential service communications, including organizer/admin magic-link login emails and security-related account notifications
• Communicating with you about the Service
• Improving the Service through aggregated, anonymized analytics
• Complying with legal obligations

5. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the GDPR, we process your data based on:

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): When you voluntarily sign in or submit information.
• Contractual necessity (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): To provide the Service you requested.
• Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): To improve and secure our Service.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with:

• Hosting providers: Our infrastructure is hosted on secure servers within the EU.
• Authentication providers: Social sign-in providers such as Google (where enabled) and our email delivery provider for magic-link sign-in.
• Legal authorities: If required by law or to protect our rights.
• Curated Business Connect introductions (JITO Stuttgart pilot): Selected information from a business enquiry is shared with a relevant matched party only after manual review, and only where you have given the separate optional consent for sharing. Enquiries are never publicly listed, sold, or used for automated matching.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined above. Account data is retained while your account is active. You may request deletion at any time.

8. Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Rectify inaccurate data
• Eraseyour data ("right to be forgotten")
• Restrict processing of your data
• Data portability - receive your data in a structured format
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Withdraw consent at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@indlokal.com.

9. Cookies

We use only essential cookies required for the Service to function (e.g., session cookies for authentication). We do not use tracking cookies or third-party advertising cookies. Our analytics solution (Plausible) is cookie-free.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on our website. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact

For privacy-related inquiries, contact us at: privacy@indlokal.com

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the EU member state of your habitual residence.