← Back to Policies

GDPR Consent

Ensuring your informed consent is a cornerstone of our commitment to privacy and data protection. This GDPR Consent section outlines how Social Climber obtains, records, and manages your consent in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other similar data privacy laws. It also explains how you can withdraw consent and what that means for your use of the Service.

Consent at Sign-Up

When you create an account or start using Social Climber, we ask for your agreement to our Terms of Service and acknowledgment of our data practices as described in the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. This is presented in a clear way for you:

By tapping "Sign in", you agree to our Terms of Service. Learn how we process your data in our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy.

This clickwrap agreement is designed to capture your consent in a way that is freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous. By proceeding with sign-up (tapping that button), you perform a clear affirmative action indicating your agreement. We provide links to the Terms and policies right there, so you can review what you're consenting to.

In summary, at sign-up:

• You consent to the Terms of Service – essentially the contract for using the app.
• You consent to the Privacy Policy – which details the types of data we collect and how we use it.
• You acknowledge the Cookie Policy – how we use cookies and similar tech, and (if applicable) you make choices about non-essential cookies.

If you do not tap "Sign in" (or agree) and instead navigate away, no account is created and we do not proceed with collecting or processing your personal data beyond any necessary minimal technical logs.

For users in jurisdictions like the EU, we may present additional granular consent options during onboarding. For example, we might ask for:

• Consent to collect and use your precise location (with a prompt like "Allow Social Climber to access your location?") – you can say yes or no. Saying yes gives us consent to use your location for the features described (finding nearby events, etc.). Saying no means we won't collect or use precise location (some features just won't function).
• Consent to send you push notifications – both the system (iOS/Android prompt) and perhaps a toggle in-app for things like marketing notifications. You have control over these.
• Consent for any optional data collection – e.g., if we ever want to collect health data (like if you log workouts), we'd explicitly ask if it's okay to collect such info for certain features.

We ensure that each consent is specific to its purpose. For instance, consenting to our Terms/Privacy Policy covers the general operation of the service (which might use multiple legal bases, not just consent). But for things that truly require consent (like marketing emails or certain tracking), we will ask separately so you know what you're agreeing to.

What You Consent To

By using Social Climber and agreeing to the policies, you consent to us processing your personal data as described in the Privacy Policy. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Profile and Content: You allow us to collect the info you provide (profile details, posts, etc.) and share it with other users per your settings.
• Usage Data: You consent that we gather usage analytics (unless you opt out) to improve our service. For EU users, we treat analytics as consent-based (except those essential for service integrity) – meaning we will not drop analytics cookies or run analytics scripts until you've given consent via the cookie banner or settings.
• Location Data: If you grant permission, you consent to the processing of your GPS/location data to provide location-based features. You can choose not to grant this; the app will still work with reduced functionality.
• Notifications: If you opt in to notifications, you consent to receive them. On iOS, that's handled by the system prompt (you can allow or don't allow). On Android, installing the app implies consent to notifications until you turn them off in settings. We also allow you to fine-tune which notifications you get within the app.
• Cookies: By continuing to use our website after seeing the cookie notice (and if you click "Accept"), you consent to our use of cookies as detailed in the Cookie Policy, especially non-essential ones. If you choose settings or partial consent, we only use those categories you allow.
• Email Marketing: During sign-up or in your profile settings, we might have a checkbox like "I would like to receive updates and news via email." This is unchecked by default (no pre-ticked boxes, as GDPR forbids that for consent). If you tick it, that's explicit consent to receive such communications. You can always untick it later (withdraw consent).
• Third-Party Data Sharing: Currently, we don't share data with third parties for their own use except service providers. If that ever changes (say, partnering with another app, or introducing targeted third-party advertising), we will seek your consent if required. For example, for targeted ads we would ask you, maybe via a prompt, "Do you agree to share your data with our advertising partners for personalized ads?" – you can say yes or no. By default, we'd treat no answer as a no for personalized ads (only contextual ads then).
• Sensitive Data: As our policy states, we generally don't collect sensitive data. If we ever ask for something like your health info, we will do so with a clear explanation and a separate consent (for example, a checkbox or agreement specific to that data, in compliance with Article 9 of GDPR).

Right to Withdraw Consent

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it in the first place. Here's how you can do that:

• Account Deletion: If you no longer want us to process any of your data at all, the straightforward way is to delete your account (available in settings). Deleting your account is considered withdrawing consent for all further processing of your data. We will then erase your personal data (except what we might need to retain for legal reasons as described in the Privacy Policy). Note: If you delete your account, we can't provide the service to you anymore.
• Feature Opt-Outs: If you want to withdraw consent for specific things:
  • Location: Simply turn off location sharing in the app or revoke the app's location permission in your device settings. Our Privacy Policy and app will remind you that by doing so, location-based features will be disabled. Once turned off, we stop collecting your GPS data (barring perhaps an approximate location from IP which we might use under legitimate interest for basic service functionality, but not for precise tracking).
  • Notifications: You can disable push notifications in the app settings or in your phone's settings for our app. If you had consented to marketing notifications, you can also turn that off.
  • Email Marketing: Click "unsubscribe" in any promotional email, or go to your account settings and uncheck the newsletter box. That withdrawal is immediate; we will stop sending you such emails. (Service emails about your account will still go through since those are considered contractual/legitimate interest, not marketing.)
  • Cookies/Analytics: Use the cookie settings on our site to withdraw consent for analytics cookies. If you previously allowed them and now uncheck them, our site will stop loading those scripts and will attempt to delete the associated cookies. Similarly, if you enabled optional cookies and now change your mind, update the preferences or clear cookies.
  • Third-Party Tracking: If we had any (like personalized ads), you could toggle those off in a privacy dashboard in the app when available. Or use the device's "Ask app not to track" which effectively withdraws consent for cross-app tracking.

Effect of Withdrawal: Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any data processing we carried out based on your consent before it was withdrawn. For example, if you allowed location for a while and then turned it off, we don't erase the location data collected earlier (unless you request deletion) but we stop collecting new data from that point onward. We typically treat it as: past processing was okay, but now we will cease that processing for the future. If you want data deleted, you should use your deletion right.

Contact and More Information

If you have questions about your consent or how to manage it, you can contact our Data Protection Officer or support.

If you feel your consent was not properly obtained or respected, please reach out. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local Data Protection Authority in the EU.

We are committed to making sure you understand and control how your data is used. Consent is not just a checkbox for us – it's about trust and permission. We will regularly review our consent practices to ensure compliance and user friendliness.

Thank you for taking the time to understand our GDPR Consent approach. Your cooperation in managing your preferences helps us honor your privacy choices and comply with the law.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our GDPR Consent policy, please contact us:

Submit Form