Privacy policy

This is a translation of the German version, provided for convenience. In the event of any discrepancy, the German version prevails.

This policy tells you which data we process when you use Fruit Pin, why we do it, what we rely on, and what rights you have.

1. Who is responsible?

The controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:

Data protection officer: We have not appointed one and are not required to. The obligation under section 38(1) sentence 1 of the German Federal Data Protection Act applies from 20 people permanently engaged in automated processing; Fruit Pin is a sole proprietorship. The obligation under section 38(1) sentence 2, which applies regardless of headcount where processing requires a data protection impact assessment, does not apply either: we have assessed and documented that none of our processing requires a data protection impact assessment under Article 35 GDPR. The conditions of Article 37(1) GDPR are likewise not met.

2. The short version

You can view the map, all spots, photos and profiles without an account. You only need an account to add spots or upload photos yourself. We do not ask for your real name — a display name you choose is enough. We do not sell data and we do not run personalised advertising.

3. If you are just looking

3.1 Visiting the website (server logs)

When you open Fruit Pin, your device transmits technically necessary information to our host so the page reaches you: IP address, time, the address requested, the amount of data transferred, browser type and operating system, and the page you came from if your browser sends it.

• Purpose: delivering the site, stability, detecting and preventing attacks and abuse.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is the secure and functioning operation of the service.
• Retention: opensiehe deutsche Fassung 3.1
• Recipients: our host, see section 7.

3.2 What we do not do

We set no cookies for advertising or analytics, we do not build a profile of you across websites, and we embed no social network scripts. That is why you see no consent banner here. What counting we do instead is set out in section 4.4 — in full.

4. Services involved in showing the map

4.1 Why third parties appear here at all

A map consists of many small image tiles, and a place search needs a database of place names. Both come from specialised providers. It is technically unavoidable that your device fetches this content directly from the provider — and transmits your IP address in doing so. Without that transmission your device could not receive the content.

4.2 Map tiles

The map tiles come from the free OpenFreeMap project. Your device does not fetch them there, but from us. We retrieve the tiles with our own servers, cache them and deliver them to you.

What this means for you: displaying the map transfers none of your data to third parties. Neither your IP address nor cookies nor details about your browser leave our infrastructure. When retrieving tiles we send only what is technically needed to deliver them, identifying ourselves with our own signature.

• Purpose: displaying the map.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR — the map is the main function of the service you open.
• Third country transfer: none takes place.
• Recipients: none. OpenFreeMap only learns that our servers requested tiles — not who viewed them.
• Logging on our side: the details on server logs in section 3.1 apply. opensiehe deutsche Fassung 4.2 — Zusage zur Nichtprotokollierung der Kartenausschnitte erst eintragen, wenn technisch umgesetzt (L-10.38).

The map data comes from OpenStreetMap and is licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL). The attribution appears at the edge of the map.

4.3 Place search

When you type a place into the search field, your input is sent to the geocoding service Photon, operated by komoot GmbH. According to our check on 28 September 2026 this service runs on servers of Hetzner Online GmbH in Germany; no transfer to a third country takes place.

Your search term and your IP address are transmitted.

• Purpose: finding places on the map.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR — you trigger the search yourself to use a function you deliberately want.
• Data minimisation: your input is only sent after a short delay and from a minimum length, so not every keystroke is transmitted.
• Retention: we do not store search queries.

4.4 Anonymous page view counting

We want to know which pages are used — but not who uses them. So we count anonymously.

Only three items are transmitted:

What expressly does not happen: No cookie is set, nothing is stored on your device or read from it. There is no visitor identifier, not even a calculated one. No fingerprinting takes place — we do not read screen resolution, time zone or fonts. Two visits by the same person are not recognisable to us as the same person.

• Purpose: understanding which content is used, in order to improve the service.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is developing the service on a sound basis. Because no identifier and no IP address are stored, the interference with your rights is very low.
• No consent required: As nothing is stored on or read from your device, section 25(1) of the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act does not apply. That is why you do not have to dismiss a cookie notice here.
• Analysis: aggregated only, never related to an individual.
• Who does the counting: we do. The counts run through our own endpoint on our existing infrastructure and are stored in our own database. No third-party analytics service is involved — neither hosted nor self-operated. The reason is the assurance above: common analytics tools count "unique visitors" using a value calculated from IP address and browser signature. That would be a calculated identifier, and we have ruled those out. So we count ourselves.
• What we can say about your IP address — and what we cannot: no IP address is stored in the counts; it is not one of the three items transmitted and is not recorded. As with any page request, our infrastructure does technically see the IP address, and for retention in the general server logs what is stated in section 3.1 applies. opensiehe deutsche Fassung 4.4
• Retention: We keep the daily counts for 24 months. After that we consolidate them into monthly totals and delete the daily figures; we keep the monthly totals indefinitely so that we can compare years. This is unproblematic because these figures contain no information about individual people in the first place.

5. If you create an account

5.1 Registration and account

For an account we need an email address, a password and a display name. You also confirm that you are at least 16 years old.

• Data processed: email address, password (only as a cryptographic hash, never in plain text), display name, time of registration, confirmation of the minimum age.
• Purpose: creating and maintaining your account, signing in, attributing your contributions, contacting you about your account.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (user agreement).
• Mandatory information: without it we cannot set up an account. We do not require your real name — it is never requested.
• Your display name is pre-filled with a random name at registration. You can change it but do not have to. That way you stay pseudonymous even if you would rather not think about the question.

5.1b Emails about your account

To operate your account we send you emails: the confirmation of your address at registration and, if you need it, a link to reset your password. Later the seasonal reminders from 5.5 will be added, if you have switched them on.

• Data processed: your email address and the content of the respective message.
• Purpose: confirming your address, restoring access, notifications about your account.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR — without these messages an account could not be set up or recovered.
• Processor: delivery runs through Plus Five Five, Inc. (trading as "Resend"), based in the USA. We have entered into a data processing agreement under Article 28 GDPR with them; delivery is configured for the Ireland (EU) region. More on the transfer to the USA in section 7.
• No performance tracking: we do not measure whether you open an email or which links you click. Open and click tracking are switched off, no tracking pixels are included, and links are not rewritten.
• Retention: your address remains with the processor only as long as needed for delivery and technical troubleshooting. opensiehe deutsche Fassung 5.1b

5.2 Public profile

Your profile is publicly visible, including to people without an account. It shows your display name and, if you add them, a profile picture and a short text about you, along with your spots and contributions.

• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR. Public visibility is core to the service: spots should be traceable, and that includes who reported them.
• Your control: the picture and description are optional. You can change or remove them at any time. Please do not put anything in your profile that you do not want to be public.

5.3 Spots, photos and videos

When you add a spot or upload a contribution, we process the location, the species, your accessibility details, your description, your image and video files, the time, and the link to your account.

• Purpose: showing the spot on the map and in detail.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR.
• All of this is public, including to people without an account.

We strip location data from your files. Photos and videos from mobile devices often contain the exact coordinates of where they were taken. We remove this and other embedded metadata on our server before a file becomes public, and we publish only the cleaned version.

We do not keep the original file. Cleaning happens on upload; only the cleaned version is stored. This also means: if you export your data (see section 9), you receive that version — the original file containing the location data is not held by us and therefore cannot be part of the export. This is intentional: that data is precisely what we do not want to hold.

Two requests, for your own protection:

1. Do not place spots at your home address. The position is public, and combined with your profile it can reveal where you live.
2. Do not upload images showing recognisable people. Our terms of use do not allow it — we have no legal basis to publish images of third parties. If you notice such an image, report it and we will remove it.

5.4 If you delete your account

You can delete your account yourself at any time. Then:

• Deleted: your account, email address, password hash, display name, profile picture and profile text.
• Retained: the spots and the cleaned photos and videos you contributed — but with no link to you whatsoever. The attribution to your account is permanently removed; we keep no key that could restore it. A note such as "deleted user" appears in place of your name.

5.5 Saved species and spots, seasonal reminders

You can save species and individual spots, and have a reminder sent to you when each one is in season.

Nobody but you can see your saved list.

• Data processed: which species and spots you have saved, the time, whether you want a reminder for each one, and by which channel.
• Purpose of saving: keeping the list available for you.
• Legal basis for saving: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR — the save function is part of the service you use.
• Purpose of the reminder: notifying you when a saved species is in season according to the catalogue.
• Legal basis for the reminder: Article 6(1)(a) GDPR — your consent, given separately for each saved item. You can withdraw it at any time, individually or for all items at once; every reminder also contains an unsubscribe link. Withdrawal takes effect for the future.
• Separate from the newsletter: a reminder is not the newsletter. Ordering reminders does not subscribe you to the newsletter, and vice versa. Both are asked for separately.
• What a reminder contains: the saved species or spot, the seasonal information from the catalogue and a link. We do not use reminders to offer you anything — no shop references, no events, no project news.
• Retention: until you remove the saved item or delete your account. Removing deletes the record, not just the display.
• Recipients: the email delivery provider, see section 7.

What we expressly do not do: your saved list does not appear in your public profile or anywhere else. There is no counter on a spot showing how many people have saved it — not even an aggregated one. We derive no recommendations, rankings or interest profiles from your saved items, neither for you nor for us.

If a saved spot disappears: where a spot is removed — for example because the landowner has contacted us — the reminder for it stops immediately. We will not send you to a place that should no longer be on the map.

6. Reporting, moderation and newsletter

6.1 If you report content

Anyone can report content — including without an account. This matters for people who own land where a spot has been added.

• Data processed: the reported content, the reason you select, your explanation, the time, and — optionally — your email address and name. Without contact details we cannot send you an acknowledgement or a decision; the report is still processed.
• Purpose: reviewing the report, deciding, replying to you, documenting our handling.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(c) GDPR — Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act) requires us to offer such a procedure and to handle reports. Additionally Article 6(1)(f) GDPR for documentation.
• Recipients: if a report is justified and concerns a contribution, we inform the affected person of our decision with a statement of reasons (Article 17 of the Regulation). We disclose your identity only where strictly necessary. Where we suspect a criminal offence involving a threat to the life or safety of persons, Article 18 of the Regulation requires us to inform law enforcement.
• Retention: We do not keep everything for the same length of time, only as long as the respective purpose requires:
  • Your contact details (name, email address) are deleted six months after we have told you our decision. The report itself is retained without them.
  • Reports that led to no measure are deleted twelve months after closure. We need that time to evidence our handling and to recognise where the same content is reported repeatedly without cause. For a seasonal service, a full annual cycle is the sensible benchmark.
  • Reports that led to a measure — such as the removal of a spot — are kept for three years after closure. Reason: the person affected may challenge our decision, and we must be able to show why we acted. Three years corresponds to the standard limitation period.
  • Where a landowner has contacted us, we permanently record that no spot should be published at that location — but without the details of the person who contacted us. Without that record, someone else could re-add the same place shortly afterwards and the objection would be ineffective.

  Where ongoing legal proceedings require longer retention, we limit it to the information needed for that purpose and to the people handling the case. An open report is not a reason for us to delay the deletion of an account.

6.2 Newsletter

You receive our newsletter only if you expressly request it.

• How it works: after you enter your email address we send you an email with a confirmation link. You are only added once you click it. This ensures nobody signs up someone else's address.
• Data processed: email address, time of sign-up, time of confirmation.
• Purpose: sending the newsletter about the season, new species and the project.
• Legal basis: Article 6(1)(a) GDPR (your consent); the record required by Article 7(1) GDPR is the confirmation.
• No performance tracking: we do not measure whether or when you open an email or which links you click. There are no tracking pixels and we do not rewrite links.
• Withdrawal: you can unsubscribe at any time — every email contains an unsubscribe link. We then delete your address from the list.
• Processor: the same as for account emails — Plus Five Five, Inc. (trading as "Resend"), see 5.1b and section 7. Open and click tracking are switched off here too.
• Retention: until withdrawal. We keep the record of your consent for as long as it is needed to defend against claims.

7. Who else processes your data

We work with service providers who support us technically. Where they process data for us, they are bound by contract to our instructions under Article 28 GDPR.

One point that is often left unsaid: providers based in the USA can be compelled under US law to hand data to authorities — even when the data is physically located in the EU. Choosing the Frankfurt region therefore limits where data is stored but is not protection against government access. We keep the amount of data held there as small as possible.

Beyond these providers we disclose data only where legally required, for example to law enforcement. We do not sell data and do not pass it on for advertising.

8. How long we keep data

Beyond this we keep data as long as statutory retention obligations exist or we need it to pursue or defend against claims. In that case it is kept for that purpose only and with restricted access.

9. Your rights

You have the following rights towards us:

• Access (Article 15 GDPR) — which data we process about you.
• Rectification (Article 16 GDPR).
• Erasure (Article 17 GDPR) — see 5.4 on account deletion.
• Restriction of processing (Article 18 GDPR).
• Data portability (Article 20 GDPR) — your data in a common format.
• Withdrawal of consent (Article 7(3) GDPR) — at any time, with effect for the future. For us this concerns the newsletter.

Access, export and deletion of your account are available directly in your profile — that is the fastest route. You can also contact us any time: info@fruitpin.com

10. Complaint to a supervisory authority

You can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority at any time (Article 77 GDPR). The authority responsible for us is:

You may also contact the authority where you live or work.

11. No automated decision-making

We do not make decisions about you that are based solely on automated processing and significantly affect you legally (Article 22 GDPR). Reports and measures against content are decided by people. Where we do use automated tools, we say so in the statement of reasons.

12. Changes to this policy

We update this policy when the service or the law changes. The current version is always on this page; the date appears at the top. For significant changes we will additionally inform you if you have an account.

13. Language versions

This policy is available in German and English. The English version is a translation provided for your convenience. In the event of any discrepancy between the versions, the German version prevails.