Privacy at NextRamble

Who is responsible for your information?

NextRamble is operated by Matthew Moran, who is responsible for how personal information is used by this service, known as the data controller.

For privacy enquiries or requests about your information, contact Matthew Moran through the contact options on his website. Please mention NextRamble so your enquiry can be identified.

What information do we use, and why?

• Account details: your sign-in identifier, email, display name, connected sign-in methods and account status let you sign in and return to your groups. Your optional About me introduction is limited to 200 characters.
• Group activity: memberships, join requests, introductions, roles and invitations let organisers manage their groups. Route proposals, votes, suitability questions and attendance responses support shared planning.
• Group and walk details: descriptions, approximate locations, meeting information, dates, distances, facilities and route links help walkers understand an outing.
• Updates: recent group activity is shown to people who have access to it. Private read markers remember which updates you have read across devices. Group notification emails are not currently sent.
• Technical information: hosting and authentication services can process IP addresses, browser information and request records to deliver the website, maintain security and prevent abuse.
• Enquiries: if you contact us, we use the information you provide to respond and handle your request.

We use account and planning information to provide the service you request, on the lawful basis of performing our agreement with you. Our legitimate interests in running a reliable, secure community service support security, abuse prevention and handling enquiries. Where the law requires information to be kept or disclosed, we rely on that legal obligation.

An account is needed to request membership, manage groups or participate in planning. An About me introduction is optional. Keep introductions and suitability questions practical, for example by asking about steps or rest stops, without including diagnoses, medical histories or private contact details.

Signing in with email, Google or Apple

Email sign-in uses your email address, display name and password. Firebase Authentication handles password verification; passwords are not stored in NextRamble’s profile records. Verification and password-reset emails are service messages, not marketing subscriptions.

When you use Google or Apple sign-in, the provider supplies an account identifier and basic profile information such as your name and email. Apple can supply a private relay address. A provider may include a profile image in its authentication record; NextRamble does not display it. We do not receive your Google or Apple password or request access to your emails, contacts, files or calendar.

Signing in can create a NextRamble account. Use the same sign-in method when returning, or connect another method from Your account. Separate accounts are not merged automatically.

Who can see what you share?

Public information

A public group’s introduction can be viewed without signing in. It includes the group description, approximate area, walking preferences, welcome information, owner’s membership name, active-member total and any Facebook group link or WhatsApp invite supplied by an admin. Unlisted group introductions are restricted to approved members and people with a pending join request.

If a public group enables public walk listings, its confirmed walks can also appear in search without signing in. These listings show the walk title, date, approximate town or area, distance, duration and selected terrain and facilities. Walk proposals under discussion, meeting points, free-text notes, votes, questions and member details are not part of that public listing.

Your group and its organisers

Your email address is not displayed to other walkers. Your membership name, join message and copied About me introduction are visible to you and that group’s admins. The About me copy is saved when you request to join and remains available after approval. Later profile edits affect future requests, not copies already shared. There is no public profile directory.

Approved members can access shared walk proposals, their authors’ names, votes and attendance responses within their group. Named attendance lists are shown to admins. Suitability questions are restricted to their author and current group admins. Group owners and admins decide membership requests; NextRamble does not use automated profiling to make those decisions.

Anyone who can view content may be able to copy it. Share only information you are comfortable making available to the audience described here.

Storage, service providers and external links

Google Firebase provides account authentication and shared data storage. Netlify hosts the website. These providers process information needed to deliver and secure their services. Their infrastructure and support can involve processing outside the UK. Provider data-processing terms describe the applicable transfer safeguards; contact us for information about the arrangements relevant to your data.

Google Firebase privacy and data-processing information · Netlify privacy information

Town and postcode searches send the entered location to Postcodes.io. Maps request tiles from OpenStreetMap, or the map provider configured for the service. Those providers receive connection information such as your IP address and the requested search or map area. Your NextRamble profile, membership and private questions are not sent with location searches.

Opening a route provider’s website, a Facebook or WhatsApp group, or an external map takes you to a separate service with its own privacy notice. A Facebook or WhatsApp link does not give NextRamble access to group posts, membership or activity. Joining a WhatsApp group shares your phone number with its members. Group admins can replace or remove these links in group settings. Downloading a calendar event creates a file on your device, without giving NextRamble access to your calendar.

Browser storage and tracking

The application uses browser storage for sign-in state and preferences such as your distance unit. If you use the local demonstration mode, its example accounts and planning data are stored in that browser rather than shared online. Clearing site data removes local preferences and demonstration data; it does not delete your online account.

Optional Google Analytics only loads after you accept analytics cookies, and only on public information pages. Consent is the basis for this optional measurement. Google receives technical information such as your IP address, browser and device information when its service is contacted. We do not send search terms, account details, private group activity or personalised page addresses to Analytics. Advertising features are disabled.

Analytics cookies named _ga and _ga_* can recognise returning browsers for up to six months. Your consent preference is stored locally for up to six months. Rejecting analytics keeps these optional scripts off; withdrawing consent stops further measurement and clears accessible Analytics cookies. This does not erase information already received by Google. Clearing browser data removes your locally remembered choice.

Change cookie settings at any time. You can also read Google’s privacy policy and how Google safeguards Analytics data. Sign out on shared devices and use your browser’s site-data controls to manage other local storage.

How long is information kept?

Your private profile and sign-in account remain stored while your account exists. Completing account deletion removes them from the service. Authentication providers can retain limited technical, security or backup records under their own retention arrangements.

Updates show recent activity from the last 30 days, rather than a complete event history. Read markers contain references and timestamps, not copies of walk descriptions or private questions. Expired individual markers are cleared in small batches when you return, and all update read states are removed during account deletion. Group activity records follow the retention arrangements below.

Shared group history has no automatic expiry. Membership records and introductions, About me copies, names recorded on proposals, votes, attendance and suitability questions remain stored after you leave or delete your account, under their existing access permissions. Closing a group removes normal access and discovery, but does not automatically erase its stored records.

That history supports the group’s planning record and handling membership or safety enquiries. Requests to remove or correct historical personal information are considered separately, taking account of the purpose of the record, other people’s rights and any legal obligations. Contact us to request a review rather than assuming account deletion removes every shared record.

Leaving a group or deleting your account

Use My groups to leave an individual group or withdraw a pending request. Use Your account to review account deletion. If you own an active group, transfer ownership or close the group before completing self-service deletion. Ordinary membership does not prevent deletion. You can contact us about your information rights at any time, including while you own a group.

Your rights and how to contact us

Depending on the circumstances, you can request access to your personal information, correction, erasure, restriction of processing or a portable copy. We may need to confirm your identity before providing or changing personal information. Where consent is the basis for a particular use, you can withdraw it.

Your right to object

You can object to processing based on legitimate interests. Explain which processing concerns you so we can consider your circumstances and respond.

Contact Matthew Moran about NextRamble. Include the email connected to your account and a description of your request. Never send your password. We will explain the outcome of a request and any applicable limits.

You can also raise a concern with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office: make a data-protection complaint to the ICO.

The date at the top identifies this version of the notice. Changes to how the service uses personal information will be reflected here.