🏔 Ridgemate

Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

Ridgemate ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data when you use the Ridgemate iOS app.

Information We Collect

Account information: Your email address and password when you create an account.

Profile information: Your name, bio, location (city/region), hiking experience level, and identity/gender (optional). This information is visible to other Ridgemate users.

Profile photo and verification selfie: A photo taken with your device's front camera. This becomes your public profile photo. A copy is stored privately as a verification record to confirm you are a real person. Your selfie is never shared with other users beyond your profile photo. Photos are stored as static images for profile display and identity verification. We do not extract or store biometric identifiers, facial geometry, or biometric templates from photos.

Hike plans (trip intents): Trails you plan to hike, dates, experience level, and preferred group size. This information is visible to other users on the platform.

Messages: Messages you send in group chats with other hikers. These are stored on our servers to enable real-time communication.

Location data: If you grant permission, your approximate location is used on-device to show nearby trails. We do not store your precise GPS coordinates on our servers.

Device data: Push notification tokens to send you alerts about hike matches, messages, and activity reminders.

Usage data: Basic app usage information to improve the service.

How We Use Your Information

We process your personal data on the legal basis of contract performance — this information is necessary to provide the Ridgemate service you have requested.

Information Shared With Others

Your public profile (name, photo, bio, location, experience level, and planned hikes) is visible to other Ridgemate users. Your email address, gender/identity, and verification selfie are never displayed to other users.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Third-Party Services

We use the following services to operate Ridgemate:

Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all associated data — including your profile, messages, trip plans, photos, and push notification tokens — is permanently deleted from our servers within 24 hours. Some data may be retained longer where required by law.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@ridgemate.co.

Children's Privacy

Ridgemate is not intended for users under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly.

Safety and Content Moderation

Ridgemate reviews reports of inappropriate content and user behavior. We may access messages and profile data when investigating reports to enforce our community guidelines.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via the app or email. Continued use of Ridgemate after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
hello@ridgemate.co