Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how HotZones (“we”, “us”, “the app”) collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the HotZones mobile application and related services. HotZones is operated by Matteo Fairtlough, based in Portugal. If you have questions, contact us at matteo.fairtlough@icloud.com.
Who we are
HotZones is a nightlife discovery app that shows where people are going out in Lisbon, lets you make and share plans with friends, and displays a predictive “heat map” of venues and areas. The data controller responsible for your personal data is Matteo Fairtlough, reachable at matteo.fairtlough@icloud.com.
What information we collect
Information you provide
- Account information — when you sign up, we collect your name (or display name), email address, and password (stored securely, never in plain text).
- Profile information — any profile photo, username, or details you add.
- Plans and activity — the plans you make (which venue or area, which night), and your commitments to plans.
- Social connections — your friend connections within the app, and friend requests you send or receive.
- Messages — content of messages you send to other users through the app's chat.
- Content you submit — anything you post, share, or submit within the app.
Information collected automatically
- Location data — with your permission, we collect your device location to show nearby venues and relevant hotzones. You can disable location access in your device settings; some features may not work without it.
- Usage data — how you interact with the app (screens viewed, features used, general activity), used to operate and improve the service.
- Device information — device type, operating system, and app version, for compatibility and troubleshooting.
Information we do NOT use for heat scores: third-party ratings (e.g. Google ratings) are shown for reference only and never determine a venue's heat score. Heat scores are derived from in-app activity (plans) and our own editorial baselines.
How we use your information
We use your information to: operate the app and its core features (map, plans, chat, friends); show you relevant venues and hotzones based on location; calculate and display heat scores and predictions; enable social features (friends, plans, sharing); send you notifications about plans and friend activity (you can control these); maintain safety and moderate content; and improve the app.
Legal basis for processing (EU/GDPR)
Where the EU General Data Protection Regulation applies, we process your data on these bases: performance of a contract (to provide the app's features you sign up for); consent (for location access and notifications — which you can withdraw at any time); and legitimate interests (to operate, secure, and improve the service, and to keep the community safe).
How we share information
- With other users — your display name, profile, plans, and social activity are visible to other users as part of the app's social features (e.g. friends can see your plans; people may see who is going to a venue/area). Messages are visible to their recipients.
- Service providers — we use third-party infrastructure to run the app (hosting, maps, and similar). These providers process data on our behalf under appropriate safeguards. We use Google Maps Platform for mapping and place data; your use of mapping features is also subject to Google's privacy policy.
- Legal requirements — we may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of users or the public.
- We do not sell your personal data.
Data retention
We keep your personal data for as long as your account is active, and as needed to provide the service. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we must retain certain information for legal, security, or fraud-prevention purposes.
Your rights
Depending on your location (and especially under EU/GDPR), you may have the right to: access the personal data we hold about you; correct inaccurate data; delete your data (“right to be forgotten”); object to or restrict certain processing; withdraw consent (e.g. for location); and request a copy of your data (portability). To exercise any of these, contact matteo.fairtlough@icloud.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (in Portugal, the CNPD).
Children
HotZones is not intended for users under 17. We do not knowingly collect data from children under this age.
Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including encrypted password storage and secure connections. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. We will post the new version here with an updated date, and for significant changes we will notify you in the app.
Contact
For any privacy questions or to exercise your rights: matteo.fairtlough@icloud.com.