Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 6 September 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect and use personal data when you use Makaany and the related features — including the website makaany.com, the Makaany app, and related communications (together, the “Service”).

The terms “we”, “us”, and “Makaany” refer to the controller named below, which is established in the United Kingdom. “Users in our market regions” means persons resident in Germany or Austria. The Service is offered exclusively in these two countries and is not directed at persons in the United Kingdom or in other states.

Capitalized terms not defined here have the same meaning as in our Terms of Use.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

The controller responsible for processing personal data in connection with the Service is the operator of Makaany, established in the United Kingdom (“Controller”). Although the Controller is established in the United Kingdom, the Service is not directed at persons in the United Kingdom, but exclusively at persons resident in Germany or Austria.

This Privacy Policy applies to use of the Service by persons resident in Germany or Austria.

For users in Germany and Austria, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation, “GDPR”) is particularly relevant.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party websites, apps, or services, even if they are linked or embedded via the Service. Those offerings are governed by the privacy notices of the respective providers.

2. The Service

As explained in more detail below, we process your personal data for various purposes in connection with the Service, including providing the features of the Service, fulfilling your requests, improving the Service, personalizing your experience, operating the Service, providing feedback to businesses listed in the Service, handling support requests, communicating with you, performing system and data backups, improving the security of the Service, and complying with legal obligations.

3. Data you submit to us

When you use our Service, we may collect and use personal data that you submit to us as described below.

3.1 Account information

When you create your account, we collect, store, and use certain data. This may include in particular your first and last name, email address, authentication details, language or region, profile photo, and settings you choose.

We may use account information to provide the Service, manage your account, personalize your experience, and provide more relevant recommendations.

Publicly visible profile information — such as first name, last-name initial, profile photo, and information you choose to share — may be viewable by other users or the public to the extent you provide or release it.

You can later add to or change some of your account information via your account settings.

If you believe someone has created an unauthorized account using your personal data, you may request its removal by reporting the account.

3.2 Information about listed businesses

If you represent a business, we may collect and — where provided for — publicly display relevant information such as business name, address, contact details, opening hours, categories, images, claim or verification details, and other profile content.

If you represent a business, we may collect and display information about you in the Service that relates to that business, for example a business name that may include your name, or a publicly accessible business address.

We may also process data about your professional background that you provide to us via the Service, to the extent you supply it.

This data is used in particular to provide and maintain business profiles, review claims, and display business information in the Service.

3.3 Public content

Your contributions in the Service are in part intended for the public. This may include, for example, reviews, photos, comments, reactions, business suggestions, and similar content.

Favorites and other purely account-related saved data are visible to you in your account and are not publicly viewable.

Your account profile may also be publicly visible where you choose to share corresponding information.

When you publish content, we may store that content together with related metadata, for example date, time, or location details.

Please do not include in public posts any information you do not wish to make public.

You may restrict the public visibility of certain content via your account or account settings, where corresponding features are available.

3.4 Communications

When you use the Service, you may receive communications from Makaany and — where corresponding features are offered — from other users.

Makaany may collect your interactions with communications and store related communications data where this is necessary to provide, secure, or improve the relevant features.

When you create an account or use certain features, you may receive communications from Makaany, in particular regarding your account, your activities, security-related events, and — where permitted and, where required, on the basis of your consent — regarding news, features, and marketing content from Makaany.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications via the opt-out option offered in each case. Certain account-related, administrative, security-related, or legally required messages may be excepted from this.

If you contact us, for example by email or via support forms, we process the data you submit in order to handle your request.

Push notifications require a corresponding device permission. You can control this at any time in your device settings.

3.5 Location data

Where you grant a corresponding device permission or enter a location manually, we may process location data to provide local results, distances, and location-related features and to personalize your experience.

You can restrict or disable access to location data in the settings of your browser, iOS, or Android.

4. Data we collect through your use

We collect personal data in connection with your use of the Service as described below.

4.1 Activity and usage data

We process information about your use of the Service, for example content viewed, interactions with profiles and reviews, and the date and time of certain actions. Search queries are processed to provide results but are not stored as a permanent search history per user account. Favorites are stored as account-related data and are visible to you only.

In addition, technical data may be processed that your device makes available to us in connection with your use of the Service. This may include in particular:

Browser type
Device type
Operating system
Browser or app language
IP address
Technical device and app information
Location data including geolocation and GPS data, where you allow access to it

We use this information in particular to provide and personalize the Service, to determine suitable default locations and relevant search results, and for security and misuse prevention.

In the app, we also process technical performance and diagnostic data to monitor and improve the operation, reliability, and performance of the Service. This data is not used for advertising or cross-app tracking.

4.2 Device information

You can access the Service via various devices and platforms, for example via the Makaany website or mobile applications.

Information processed in connection with these different access paths may be linked where this is necessary to provide the Service to you in a consistent manner.

Your publicly provided contributions may be available across the various Makaany platforms in accordance with their intended visibility.

4.3 Cookies and similar technologies

On the website, we use only technically necessary cookies where required to provide and secure the website.

You can manage cookie settings via your browser.

In the app, technical identifiers and push tokens may be processed where required for operation, security, or notifications.

5. Data we receive from third parties

To provide and improve our Service, we may also receive personal data from third parties.

5.1 Public and provided business sources

We may obtain information from publicly available sources or sources provided by third parties that enable us to identify businesses displayed in the Service, to create, maintain, or supplement business listings, or to identify a contact person for a business.

This information may be combined with data already held where this is necessary to provide and update business profiles.

5.2 Authentication

We use Firebase Authentication for sign-in and registration. You authenticate with your email address and a password.

5.3 Makaany service providers

We use external service providers that support us in providing the Service, for example in the areas of communications, web hosting, security and fraud prevention, and technical support.

In providing these services, the service providers may process and transmit certain information to us, for example contact details, device and usage data, and information about interactions with the Service.

Where service providers process personal data on our behalf, they are contractually obliged within the framework of applicable data protection requirements.

Independent processing of personal data by third parties outside our instructions is governed by the respective privacy notices of those third parties.

We share personal data with third parties only where this is necessary to provide and operate the Service, where you instruct us to do so or have consented, or where the sharing is based on a legal obligation or another permissible legal basis.

Sharing may in particular be with service providers we engage, operators of external platforms, and — where required by a feature you use — businesses listed on Makaany.

Content you provide publicly may be visible to other users and to businesses listed on Makaany in accordance with its intended function.

6.1 Service providers

We may share personal data with external service providers where this is necessary for them to perform services for Makaany or to handle your requests.

This may include in particular providers for hosting and infrastructure, authentication, cloud storage, maps and location features, push notifications, email communications, security, fraud prevention, support, and technical maintenance.

Where these service providers process personal data on our behalf, processing takes place within the framework of legal requirements and the contractual arrangements required in each case.

Service providers may also transmit to us information that they process in the course of their work for Makaany.

6.2 Businesses and other third parties

Public contributions and business profiles are visible in the Service. Listed businesses or their representatives may see public content relating to their listing as well as public activities that you share in the Service.

Users may themselves contact a listed business using contact details stored in the business profile, for example telephone numbers or email addresses.

Makaany does not transmit additional personal data to the business in that context.

6.3 Investigations and legal disclosures

We may review and disclose personal data where we believe in good faith that this is necessary to comply with legal obligations as well as official or court orders, to prevent, investigate, or detect possible misconduct in connection with the Service, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Makaany, our users, or other data subjects.

If you report content or complain about content in the Service, we may share the essential content of your report — where necessary for handling — with the affected person or the provider of the relevant content so that they can respond.

6.4 Transfer of the Service

Should Makaany in future be transferred in whole or in part to another controller, the personal data required to operate the Service may pass to that controller within the framework of legal requirements.

Such a transfer takes place only where a permissible data protection basis exists. Data subjects will be informed where this is legally required.

6.5 Third-party platforms

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services.

Except as described in this Privacy Policy, we do not share your personal data with operators of such platforms unless this is prompted by a feature you initiate or you expressly instruct us to do so.

Independent processing of personal data by third parties is governed by their respective privacy policies.

6.6 Transfers to third countries

Personal data may be processed or stored for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy outside Germany and Austria.

This concerns in particular the United Kingdom, where the Controller is established, and the United States of America, in particular in connection with Google and Firebase services we use.

For transfers of personal data from Germany and Austria to countries outside the European Economic Area, we ensure that the legal requirements of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR are met.

A transfer may in particular take place on the basis of an adequacy decision of the European Commission where such a decision applies to the respective recipient country or the relevant recipient. Otherwise, appropriate safeguards may be used, in particular the Standard Contractual Clauses issued by the European Commission pursuant to Art. 46 GDPR and, where appropriate, additional technical and organizational measures.

An adequacy decision of the European Commission currently exists for the United Kingdom.

For data transfers to the United States, an adequacy decision under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework may apply where the respective recipient is certified accordingly. Where that is not the case, Standard Contractual Clauses and, where appropriate, additional protective measures may in particular be used.

Details of the safeguards used in each case can be provided on request.

7. Managing your personal data

Please note that visitors to the Service may be able to identify you or associate you with your account if you include personal data in publicly provided content.

You can reduce the risk of personal identification by not publishing unnecessary personal data in public areas.

You can view and update certain account and profile data within the Service.

You can manage location, notification, and comparable device permissions via your device or app settings.

You can manage cookie settings via your browser.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications via the opt-out option offered in each case, for example an unsubscribe link in emails. Account-related, security-related, or legally required messages remain unaffected.

8. Account closure and data retention

Information on deleting your account is available in the app and on our account deletion page.

After you delete your account, personal data associated with your account will generally be deleted within 30 days, unless statutory retention obligations or other legally permissible grounds require longer storage.

For accounts through which a business profile was managed or claimed, that business profile may be disconnected from the user account after account closure.

We generally store personal data only for as long as necessary for the respective processing purpose or as required by law for further retention.

This may include in particular:

account data during active use and until deletion within 30 days of the account deletion request
support data
security and misuse-prevention data
technical log and error data
data whose retention is required to comply with legal obligations or to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims

Data stored solely due to statutory retention obligations or to protect legal claims is not used for purposes incompatible with those purposes.

9. Children

Makaany does not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 and does not direct the Service at children.

Access to or use of the Service by persons under 13 is not permitted.

The use of Makaany is permitted exclusively to persons who are at least 18 years old.

Please contact us at support@makaany.com if you become aware that a minor is using the Service contrary to these requirements.

If we learn that a person under the applicable minimum age has provided us with personal data in violation of these requirements, we will take appropriate steps to delete the relevant data and — where applicable — the related account, unless legal grounds prevent deletion.

10. Security

We take appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data.

However, methods of transmitting data over the internet or mobile networks and methods of electronic storage cannot be fully protected against all risks.

Therefore, despite appropriate security measures, we cannot guarantee absolute security of personal data.

11. Contact

You can contact us about this Privacy Policy online or write to us at the address below.

If you are resident in Germany or Austria:

EU representative under Article 27 GDPR: Europe Services, SE, Na Cecelicce 425/4, Smichov, 150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic. Data subjects may contact the representative at info@gdprrepresentative.com regarding the processing of their personal data.

Controller:

Ali Riffi
413 Yardley Road
B25 8NB Birmingham
United Kingdom
Email: support@makaany.com

The Controller is established in the United Kingdom. Users in Germany and Austria may additionally contact the EU representative named above.

For security reasons, we may take appropriate steps to verify your identity before processing your request or disclosing personal data to you.

12. Changes

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Processing of personal data is governed by the current version of the Privacy Policy available at makaany.com. The date of the last update appears at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.

For material changes, we will notify you in an appropriate manner, for example by email and/or by a notice within the Service.

Where a change concerns new processing for which your consent is required, we will obtain that consent separately.

13. Users in Germany and Austria: Your privacy rights

If you are resident in Germany or Austria, you have in particular the following rights under the GDPR, subject to the statutory conditions:

access to your personal data (Art. 15 GDPR)
rectification of inaccurate personal data (Art. 16 GDPR)
erasure of personal data (Art. 17 GDPR)
restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
objection to certain processing, in particular processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21 GDPR)
withdrawal of a consent given, with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR)

To exercise your rights, contact us using the details in Section 11.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, your place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement.

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time via the opt-out option offered therein.

13.1 Legal bases for processing

Processing of personal data of users in Germany and Austria takes place in each case on the basis of a legal basis permitted under Art. 6 GDPR.

Depending on the processing, this may in particular be:

Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR)

for example for optional device permissions and marketing communications where consent is required for this purpose.

Performance of the user relationship or taking steps prior to entering into a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR)

for example for setting up and managing a user account and providing features that you expressly use, such as reviews, favorites, or managing a business profile.

Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR)

for example for the secure and reliable operation of the Service, misuse and fraud prevention, technical error analysis, improvement of the Service, and enforcement of our Terms of Use, unless your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms override.

Legal obligations (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR)

where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

Where we process personal data on the basis of legitimate interests, our interest is in particular to provide Makaany securely, reliably, and in a functional manner, to prevent misuse, and to further develop the Service.

13.2 Requirement to provide data

Certain personal data is required to provide individual features of the Service, for example an email address to set up a user account.

Without this information, we may not be able to provide the relevant feature.

We indicate optional information where possible.