Legal

Who we are

Spot (spottours.co.uk and the Spot apps for iPhone and Android) is operated by Spot Tours. If you want to know what we hold about you, or want it deleted, write to hello@spottours.co.uk.

What we collect

Only what we need to run tours and the community around them:

• Account: your name, email address and how you sign in (email and password, Google or Apple), plus a profile photo if you add one.
• Bookings: the tour, date, party size, language and any notes, and whether you paid a deposit, a tip or for membership.
• Messages: what you send in booking chats, group and community chats and support conversations, including photos you attach.
• Photos and other content you post: profile photos, reviews and review photos, trip album photos, poll answers and event RSVPs. Businesses that advertise also upload ad images.
• Preferences: the languages you speak and the cities and activities you are interested in.
• Notifications: if you turn them on, a device token so we can send them.
• Location: only when you tap something that needs it, such as finding the nearest city. It is used on your device, is not stored, and is never collected in the background.
• Camera: guides use it to scan tickets at the start of a tour. Scans are read on the device; the camera image is not uploaded.
• Usage and crash data: see “Analytics and crash reports” below.

Analytics and crash reports

We use Firebase, which is run by Google, to see how Spot is used and to fix what breaks:

• Firebase Analytics (Google Analytics for Firebase) records screens viewed and actions such as starting a booking, with an app or browser instance identifier, device and browser type, operating system and app version, a coarse location that Google derives from your IP address, and your Spot account ID once you sign in. On the website it uses cookies or similar browser storage.
• On Android, Firebase Analytics also collects the device's Advertising ID. Spot does not show ads from ad networks and does not use the Advertising ID to target you. You can reset or delete it at any time in your Android settings.
• Firebase Crashlytics records crashes and errors in the app: what went wrong, device model, operating system and app version, and your Spot account ID, so we can find and fix the bug.

Why we hold it

To get you on a tour and tell you where to be: that is the contract between us. To take and refund a deposit and to handle tips and membership. To let you and your guide reach each other. To keep people safe, which is why blocks and reports are kept even after the tour has finished. And, as our legitimate interest, to understand how Spot is used and to fix crashes.

Payments

We never see or store your card details.

• Card payments (booking deposits, tips, paid listings and membership bought on the website) are processed by Stripe. Your card details go straight to Stripe. We keep the payment reference, amount and status, and for web membership your Stripe customer ID.
• Guides who receive payouts set up a Stripe Connect account directly with Stripe.
• Membership in the apps is billed by Google Play or Apple. For Google Play we store the purchase token Google Play Billing gives the app and check it with Google Play to confirm your subscription is active; for Apple we store the transaction ID. We do not see your store payment method.

Emails

Booking confirmations, invites and other service emails are sent through Cloudflare Email Sending, with Resend as a fallback. Both receive your email address and the content of the email. We keep a record of the emails we send so we can check they were delivered.

Maps

In the Android app, maps are drawn by Google Maps, which receives your device's IP address and the map area being shown; on iPhone, maps use Apple Maps. The website draws maps with OpenStreetMap tiles, and links marked as Google Maps open Google's site. We look up venues on our servers with the Google Places API; that does not involve your personal data.

How long we keep it

We keep personal data only as long as we need it, and delete it within 30 days of when we no longer need it or you ask us to, unless the law requires us to keep it longer. Chats are archived 48 hours after the tour has run and no longer appear in your inbox. Bookings and payment records are kept as financial records for as long as tax and accounting law requires. Analytics and crash data are kept for Google's standard Firebase retention periods. If you delete your account, your profile goes, upcoming bookings are cancelled, and past bookings and reviews are stripped of anything identifying rather than removed — a guide needs to know who was on a walk, and a rating that can be erased by deleting an account is worth nothing to the next traveller. Messages, photos and other content you uploaded are removed on request, within 30 days.

Your rights

You can see, correct, export or delete your data. Deleting is built into the app: Account → Delete account. For anything else, write to hello@spottours.co.uk. If you think we have handled your data badly, you can complain to your data protection authority: in the UK that is the ICO, and in Spain the AEPD.

Who else sees it

These companies process data for us, only to provide Spot:

• Google: Firebase (sign-in, database, file storage, cloud functions in the EU, push notifications, remote configuration, Analytics and Crashlytics), Google Sign-In, Google Maps on Android, the Google Places API, and Google Play Billing.
• Apple: Sign in with Apple, App Store subscriptions, Apple Maps and push notification delivery on iPhone.
• Stripe: card payments and guide payouts.
• Cloudflare: hosts this website and sends email. Resend: sends email when Cloudflare cannot.
• OpenStreetMap: map tiles on the website.

Who sees what you share

Your guide sees your name, party size and your messages to them. Other travellers see what you post in a group or community chat, your reviews and the trip album photos you share. We do not sell your data to anyone.