Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible

Chessneighbours is operated by Igor Sermek, Croatia (European Union), who is the controller of personal data collected for this service. The service connects adults for in-person chess games. Operator contact details are listed on the Contact page; a public email and postal address are still pending.

2. Information we process

• Account identifiers, email and authentication information; information shared by a social sign-in provider when you choose it.
• Profile details you provide: name, username, photo, biography, city, country, rating, skill level and chess equipment.
• A private date of birth and age-confirmation record. Birth dates are not shown to other members.
• Approximate map location when you allow device location access, and recent activity timestamps. A device position is processed to save an approximate area, rather than show other members your exact position.
• Follows, blocks, messages, challenges, proposed meeting times and meeting points, and chess spots you add.
• AI matching preferences you submit, such as game time, skill level, game speed, distance and notes.
• Reports and privacy requests, including information and references you choose to include, plus technical information needed to operate and secure the service.

3. Why we use it

Account access, profile discovery, messages and challenges are processed to provide the service you request (GDPR Article 6(1)(b)). Safety, age-eligibility checks, abuse handling and service security are based on legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)), subject to your rights. We use consent where legally required for optional processing, and legal obligations where applicable (Article 6(1)(c)). Browser permission for location can be withdrawn in your device settings; use “Hide me” on the map to remove your saved area. Final legal bases must be reviewed by the operator.

4. Who can see information

Signed-in eligible members can see discoverable profiles and approximate map areas. Messages and challenges are available to their participants; meeting pins may contain a precise place you choose to share. Public chess spots are visible to eligible members. Other members cannot read your birth date, block list or reports. Authorised service administration may access data when needed for operation, safety or legal requests. Messages are not end-to-end encrypted.

5. Services and international processing

Lovable Cloud provides hosting, account access and data storage. OpenStreetMap supplies map tiles, and Open-Meteo geocoding supplies city suggestions; these services receive connection information such as your IP address and relevant map or city queries. Known chess places use a built-in list. Google Fonts supplies the site's fonts and receives connection information. Optional AI recommendations use Lovable AI Gateway and a model provider, receiving your submitted preferences and relevant candidate profile information; private birth dates and conversation history are not included in matching requests.

Providers may process data outside Croatia or the EEA. Before finalising this policy, the operator must confirm provider contracts, processing locations and applicable safeguards, such as EU Standard Contractual Clauses where required.

6. Storage, retention and deletion

Essential browser storage keeps you signed in and supports the service. A final retention schedule for accounts, reports, technical logs and backups has not yet been confirmed. Data should be kept only as long as needed for the stated purposes or legal obligations. You can edit your profile, hide discovery and location, delete challenges you participate in, and delete messages or an entire conversation using the available controls. Conversation deletion removes the messages for both participants. Blocking does not erase past history.

You can permanently delete your account from Profile after confirmation. This removes your sign-in account and account-linked records in the live app, including your profile, private birth date, saved location, messages, challenges, follows, blocks, added chess spots and directly linked reports. Shared messages and challenges are removed for their other participants too. Backup copies and external provider logs are not erased immediately and remain subject to their retention arrangements. Self-service data export is not yet available. Submit other privacy requests through Contact while signed in; signed-out requests need the public contact email, which is not yet provided.

7. Your rights

Subject to applicable conditions, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or object to processing; you may withdraw consent without affecting earlier lawful processing. GDPR requests are normally answered within one month, with lawful extensions explained where applicable. You may complain to Croatia's supervisory authority, Agencija za zaštitu osobnih podataka (AZOP), at azop.hr, or your local EU supervisory authority.

8. Adults and updates

Membership is limited to people aged 18 or older. Report suspected underage accounts. We may update this policy and its revision date when processing changes; significant changes should be communicated to affected members.