ECHIVO
Legal
Privacy notice
This notice explains what personal data Echivo processes when you use the Echivo iOS app, visit echivo.com, apply as a business (HoReCa) or use the business and association dashboards, why we do it and what your rights are.
1. Who is responsible
The data controller is Liviu-Casian Sime, a natural person (individual) based in Oradea, Romania, founder of Echivo — until a PFA (authorised sole trader) or company is registered. Contact: casisime@gmail.com. Postal address: [FOUNDER: postal address]. Legal entity (once registered): [FOUNDER: PFA/company name, registered office, CUI, Trade Register no.].
Contact for anything related to your data: casisime@gmail.com. No data protection officer is appointed (not legally required at this size).
2. What data we process
Echivo app account: email address, password (stored only as a hash by our authentication provider), one-time email codes for two-step login, username, display name, profile photo and bio (optional), preferred language, home city.
Using the app: monuments visited and passport stamps, audio guides listened to, favourites, saved walks and the prompts you typed for them, friends you add, notifications, offers you redeem and when.
Student Pass and association cards: your university email address and verification status; your memberships of student associations (status, member number, validity) and the serial of any Apple Wallet pass we issue.
Offers for groups: we never ask for, upload or store copies of identity, student, service or professional cards, nor your national ID number (CNP). Venue staff only look at your card at the counter. We do not store your occupation (for example police, medical staff, teacher); groups you choose to filter offers are kept on your device. A redemption records the offer, your account and the time; venues only see counts.
Echo (AI companion): the messages you send, your display name, whether you hold a Student Pass or association card, and an approximate location (rounded to about 10 metres) when you ask for nearby suggestions. We log technical usage (model, tokens, cost, duration) but not the text of your conversations.
Location: the map uses your device location on your iPhone. Location leaves your device only when a feature needs it: Echo nearby suggestions (rounded) and community photo submissions (see below).
Community photos: the photo you submit, its technical metadata (size, format, capture time, embedded GPS position) and your device position at submission, used to check that it was taken at the monument.
echivo.com: no cookies, no analytics, no advertising trackers. Our host keeps short-lived technical logs (IP address, browser, page requested) for security and operation. Fonts are served from echivo.com itself (no Google Fonts). If you join the waitlist, your email program sends us an email with your address.
Business (HoReCa) application form: business name and type, address, contact person, email, phone, fiscal code (CUI, optional), the plan and customer groups you are interested in, your message, language, how you heard of us, a one-way hash of your IP address and your browser’s user-agent (to stop spam and abuse). See the short notice for the form.
Business and association dashboard accounts: email address of each owner/staff member, role, login codes and security logs (time, action); the venue profile, photos and offers you publish (these are public by design); subscription data (plan, trial dates, payment status, invoice references, notes); upgrade requests. Venue statistics are aggregated counts (views, offer views, redemptions, directions taps, mentions) and do not identify app users.
3. Why we use it and on what legal basis
| Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR Art. 6) |
|---|---|
| Create and run your app account, login and two-step verification, app features you ask for (stamps, audio, Echo, offers, passes) | Contract (6(1)(b)) |
| Verify student status or association membership when you request it | Contract (6(1)(b)) |
| Use your location for Echo nearby suggestions and photo checks | Your request / consent given in iOS (6(1)(a)); you can switch it off at any time |
| Evaluate a business application and reply to it; set up a free trial | Steps prior to a contract (6(1)(b)) |
| Provide the business dashboard, the subscription and the venue listing | Contract (6(1)(b)) |
| Invoices and accounting records for paid plans | Legal obligation (6(1)(c)) |
| Security, spam and fraud prevention, abuse rate limits, keeping logs | Legitimate interest (6(1)(f)): keeping Echivo safe |
| Aggregated venue statistics shown to businesses | Legitimate interest (6(1)(f)); no individual is identified |
| Service emails (codes, confirmations, trial reminders) | Contract (6(1)(b)) |
| Echivo news to business contacts, only if they tick the optional box | Consent (6(1)(a)); withdraw any time |
We do not sell personal data, do not use it for advertising profiles and do not make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects based solely on automated processing. Echo’s answers are generated by AI and may contain mistakes.
Featured partner venues may be mentioned in audio guides and by Echo. Such mentions are paid advertising, are always labelled “Sponsored” (and the venue as an “Echivo partner”), never change facts about a monument and are not based on your personal profile.
4. Who processes data for us
We use these service providers (processors) under data processing agreements. Some are located outside the EEA; transfers rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified and/or the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.
| Provider | What for | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase Inc. | Database, authentication, file storage, server functions | EU (Frankfurt, Germany); company in the USA |
| Resend Inc. | Sending emails (codes, confirmations, reminders) | USA |
| Anthropic PBC | AI for Echo and audio guide scripts (Claude) | USA |
| OpenAI | Text-to-speech for audio guides (no personal data); backup AI for Echo if Claude is unavailable | USA |
| Vercel Inc. | Hosting echivo.com and the dashboards | Global edge network; company in the USA |
| Apple Inc. | App Store distribution, Apple Maps, Apple Wallet passes, push notifications | USA / Ireland |
| Google LLC | The founder’s mailbox (Gmail), which receives application notifications and messages | USA / EU |
Within Echivo, only the founder (administrator) can access personal data. Association admins see the members of their own association; business members see only their own business, venue and aggregated statistics.
5. How long we keep it
- App account data: while your account exists; deleted within 30 days after you delete the account (backups roll over within a further 30 days).
- Student verification codes: hashed and valid for minutes; verification status until it expires.
- Business applications that are rejected or marked as spam: deleted 180 days after the decision. Applications that are not decided are deleted after 180 days. The IP hash is deleted after 90 days.
- Offer redemptions: 24 months, then only aggregated counts are kept.
- Accepted applications and business accounts: for the duration of the business relationship and up to 3 years after it ends (to handle disputes).
- Invoices and accounting documents: as long as Romanian accounting and tax law requires (currently up to 10 years).
- Security and email delivery logs: up to 12 months. Hosting logs: as set by the provider, typically days to weeks.
- Aggregated venue statistics contain no personal data and may be kept longer.
6. Business application form — in short
- Controller: Liviu-Casian Sime (natural person; the PFA/company named in section 1 once registered), casisime@gmail.com.
- Data: business name, type and address, contact person, email, phone, CUI (optional), plan and groups of interest, message, language, source; technical: IP hash and user-agent (anti-spam only).
- Purposes and bases: handling your application and the free trial (steps prior to a contract, Art. 6(1)(b)); security and anti-abuse (legitimate interest, 6(1)(f)); invoicing once you are a customer (legal obligation, 6(1)(c)). Marketing emails only if you tick the optional box (consent).
- Recipients: Supabase (database), Resend (email), Vercel (website), Google (founder’s mailbox); transfers outside the EEA under the Data Privacy Framework and/or Standard Contractual Clauses.
- Retention: rejected or spam applications deleted after 180 days; IP hash after 90 days; accepted applications for the life of the account, invoices as accounting law requires.
- Your rights: access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, withdrawal of consent, complaint to ANSPDCP (dataprotection.ro).
- Giving the data is voluntary, but without a business name and email we cannot process the application. No automated decision-making or profiling: the founder reviews every application.
7. Your rights
You can ask us for access to your data, correction, deletion, restriction, a portable copy, and you can object to processing based on legitimate interest. Where we rely on consent you may withdraw it at any time (without affecting earlier processing).
Write to casisime@gmail.com from the email address linked to your account. We answer within one month (extendable by two months for complex requests) and may ask you to confirm your identity.
You may also complain to the Romanian supervisory authority: Autoritatea Națională de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal (ANSPDCP), B-dul G-ral. Gheorghe Magheru 28-30, Bucharest, dataprotection.ro, or to the authority in your EU country of residence.
8. Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest at our database provider. Access is restricted by row-level security rules, dashboard logins use one-time email codes, and administrative actions are logged. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you we will inform you and the authority as the law requires.
9. Children
Echivo accounts are intended for people aged 16 or older. If you believe a child under 16 has created an account, please contact us and we will delete it.
10. Changes
We will update this notice when our processing changes and show the date at the top. Significant changes will be announced in the app or by email.