1. About this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Welcome to Germany (WTG, the “App”) handles personal data when you create an account, use personalized guidance, follow your migration journey, look up local services, or contact us. It applies to the mobile App and the public WTG privacy and account-deletion webpages.
Welcome to Germany provides informational guidance to help people plan their move to Germany and settle into daily life. It does not act as an immigration authority or replace advice from qualified professionals.
2. Who Is Responsible for Your Data
Data controller: Thales Barbosa Batista
Max-Planck-Straße 4D, 64807 Dieburg, Germany
Email: support@welcometogermany.app
For privacy-related questions or to exercise your data protection rights, please visit our Support Center. You may also contact us directly using the email address provided above.
3. Account and Authentication Data
To create and manage an account, WTG processes your email address, a user or authentication identifier, and information needed to authenticate you and maintain a secure session. Authentication is handled through Supabase. Depending on your sign-in method, additional technical authentication data may be processed by the authentication service.
We use these data to provide access to your account, protect it and restore your profile and progress when you sign in. We may also send necessary account-related messages, such as verification, password reset or security notices. These essential service messages are separate from the optional newsletters described below.
If you choose Google Sign-In, Google acts as an external authentication provider. WTG receives the identity and authentication information made available through Supabase, which may include your email address, its verification status and provider-related identifiers. Google Sign-In is optional; email and password sign-in remains available.
WTG uses Resend to deliver essential account emails, including verification, password recovery and security notices. To deliver these messages, Resend processes recipient email addresses, message content and related delivery information. These service messages are separate from optional newsletters.
4. Optional Newsletters and Email Updates
WTG provides an optional newsletter preference for product and beta news, new features and practical tips about moving to or living in Germany. At present, this preference is stored internally with your WTG account; regular newsletter delivery has not yet started. If you opt in and we begin sending these messages, we may use your account email address and name to address them.
Subscribing is voluntary and independent of creating an account, optional analytics and sensitive-profile consent. You can use the core App without receiving newsletters. You can change your choice at any time through the Newsletter preference in Profile or by emailing support@welcometogermany.app. If newsletters are sent in the future, any applicable unsubscribe mechanism will also be explained in the messages. Essential account and security messages are not newsletters.
We store your newsletter preference while needed to manage your choice and may retain a limited record of consent or withdrawal where legally necessary. We will update this Policy before sending subscriber details to a new external provider for newsletter delivery.
5. Profile and Residence Information
Depending on the features you use and the information you provide, WTG may process the following categories:
- Personal details: full name, age, gender and nationality.
- Household and preferences: family status, whether you have children or pets, and optional preferences used to tailor relevant guidance.
- Residence journey: current stage of the residence process, visa or residence-permit type, visa status and any relevant expiration date.
- Saved location: when location information is required for your account or the relevant feature, German federal state, city or municipality, and postal code; street name and house number are optional and may be left blank.
- Administrative area identifiers: municipality, district, administrative county and state identifiers used to match local authorities and information.
- Optional potentially sensitive profile information: your selected religion or a Yes/No indication relating to LGBTQ+ identity, provided only if you choose to answer and permit the related processing as described below.
Relevant profile information is used to organize your migration journey, identify authorities and nearby services, and tailor guidance. Optional religion and LGBTQ+-related answers currently determine whether related sections are displayed; some of their content and resources are planned for later updates and may not yet be available. The App indicates which profile details are optional or needed for a particular service.
Your profile is not used for behavioral advertising.
6. Optional Sensitive Information and Explicit Consent
Religious or philosophical beliefs and information revealing sexual orientation are special categories of personal data under Article 9 of the GDPR. A Yes/No indication relating to LGBTQ+ identity can reveal sensitive information, so WTG applies the safeguards described here.
Providing religion or LGBTQ+-related information is optional. In Signup and Profile, WTG requests separate, explicit consent before storing and using each type of sensitive answer to personalize your experience. These consents are independent of each other and of permission for optional analytics or device location. You can select “Prefer not to say” for either field and continue using the core App.
If you consent, WTG stores the relevant answer in your profile to determine whether related optional sections appear and, as those features become available, to tailor information about communities, support services, places of worship, religious holidays and similar resources. Some related content is planned for future updates and may not be available in the beta.
We do not use religion or LGBTQ+-related answers for behavioral advertising or to determine your immigration or legal status. We do not intentionally include these answers in custom PostHog analytics events.
You may withdraw either consent independently by changing the applicable preferences in Profile or by submitting a request through our Support Center. After withdrawal, we stop the relevant personalization and remove the associated sensitive answer from active profile data unless we have another lawful reason to retain it. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before it.
We record the consent decision and relevant date or time to manage your choices and demonstrate compliance. Information provided without the required consent is not used for sensitive personalization.
7. My Journey’s Guide and Progress
WTG stores your progress through My Journey’s Guide, including steps you have read or acknowledged, completion states, and relevant completion timestamps. These data are linked to your account so that you can resume your journey and see the stages you have completed.
This may include progress across planning your move, getting ready to move, your first days in Germany, settling in and living in Germany. WTG uses these records to show applicable guidance and unlock subsequent stages where the App requires earlier steps to be completed.
8. Saved Location and Device Location
WTG uses a saved city, municipality, postal code or address, where provided, to offer local and jurisdiction-specific information. Some location-based features use Geoapify to convert a place or address into geographic coordinates and to find nearby services.
If you choose a feature that uses your current location, the App may request foreground location permission from your device. If you grant permission, your current coordinates may be sent to Geoapify for the nearby search you requested. The App does not intentionally add your device’s current precise coordinates to your WTG profile.
You can deny or revoke device-location permission in your device settings. Features that support a saved location can still be used with that location. Device permission is separate from consent to optional analytics or sensitive profile fields.
9. Local Information, Authorities and Siren Alerts
Depending on availability, WTG may use your saved country of nationality, municipality, federal state and other residence information to present relevant information on immigration authorities, embassies or consulates, nearby everyday services, transport, emergency information and local siren tests.
For example, administrative area identifiers may be compared with coverage information in WTG’s database to identify whether a siren-test notice applies to your area. These matches provide informational guidance; they do not imply that an authority has accessed your profile.
If you choose to open an official source, map, ticketing service or another external website or app, that provider may process data under its own privacy policy.
10. Optional Analytics, Crash Reports and Internal Diagnostics
Internal error diagnostics (independent of analytics consent). WTG operates an internal technical error-reporting system using Supabase. It is used to investigate failed requests, broken features, synchronization problems and similar technical issues. These reports are collected as part of maintaining and troubleshooting the App, even if you decline optional PostHog analytics.
Internal reports may include the associated user ID; the affected screen and feature; an error code, severity, operation or technical context; platform and app version; and timestamps. When relevant to diagnosing a specific problem, they may also include a city, German federal state, municipality identifier, nationality or residence-process stage. For example, locality or nationality helps identify a failed authority/service lookup; the journey stage helps investigate progress-update errors. WTG uses this context for troubleshooting, not for advertising or unrelated personalization.
If a report cannot be sent because the device is offline, it may be placed in a local diagnostic queue for later transmission. For information about how long diagnostic records are retained on the device and in Supabase, see Section 13 (Data Storage and Retention).
WTG designs its internal reports to avoid intentionally including account passwords, authentication tokens, precise device coordinates, religious beliefs or LGBTQ+-related answers. Technical context may still be personal data, especially when linked to an account.
Optional PostHog analytics and crash reports. Separately, WTG uses PostHog Cloud EU to understand App usage and diagnose certain application crashes and errors. This collection is off by default and is enabled only after you choose to allow usage analytics. You can withdraw that permission in the App's Usage analytics setting.
If enabled, PostHog events may include selected screen and feature usage, opening information or external sources, technical diagnostics, uncaught exceptions, unhandled promise rejections and native crash reports where supported by the installed integration. Technical information may include app version, platform, device or application metadata, request details and pseudonymous installation or event identifiers. PostHog or its network infrastructure may also process IP addresses as part of delivering the service.
WTG disables PostHog Session Replay, automatic screen and touch capture, and GeoIP-based location enrichment. We do not intentionally add your name, email address, street address, precise coordinates, nationality, immigration information, religion or LGBTQ+-related answers to our custom analytics events. Technical error reports may nevertheless contain contextual information needed to understand a failure.
If you decline or later withdraw optional analytics consent, WTG does not intentionally send new optional analytics or crash-reporting events to PostHog. The separate internal Supabase diagnostics described above continue to operate.
11. Service Providers and Data Recipients
WTG uses the following service providers and recipients for their stated purposes:
- Supabase: authentication, account and profile data storage, My Journey’s Guide progress, consent records, internal error diagnostics, backend functions and account-deletion infrastructure. Our primary Supabase project is hosted in AWS eu-west-1 (Ireland).
- Support email hosting: receiving, storing and answering support messages and privacy requests sent to our support mailbox.
- Google: authentication when you choose Google Sign-In, and Google Forms for support requests submitted through our public Customer Support Center. Form submissions may contain your contact details, the issue description and information you voluntarily provide.
- Resend: delivering transactional account emails, including email confirmation, password recovery and security notifications. Resend processes recipient addresses, email contents and technical sending and delivery logs. Resend stores these data in the United States.
- RevenueCat: managing subscription-related customer records and access entitlements, including the WTG user identifier used as an App User ID, subscription or purchase information where applicable, and the status of account-deletion requests. A RevenueCat customer record may exist during the free beta even if the user has not purchased a subscription.
- Geoapify: geocoding and nearby-place searches through
https://api-eu.geoapify.com. Depending on the feature, requests may include an address, municipality, city, state or geographic coordinates. WTG does not intentionally send your account name, email, nationality, visa information, religion or LGBTQ+-related answers to Geoapify. - PostHog: optional usage analytics, application error tracking and supported crash reports in its EU Cloud environment, subject to your choice. Events may include technical device/application information and pseudonymous identifiers.
- Neocities: hosting these public information pages; the hosting service may process connection-related technical data such as IP addresses and requests to deliver the pages.
- External services you choose to open: map applications, official agencies and other websites or apps, which have their own privacy notices.
If WTG launches an email newsletter using an external mailing provider, this Policy will be updated to identify that provider before subscriber details are transferred for newsletter delivery.
WTG does not sell your personal data or use your WTG profile for behavioral advertising. Personal data may also be disclosed where legally required or to protect lawful rights. Service providers may use authorized subprocessors under their applicable contractual arrangements.
12. Purposes and Legal Bases
WTG processes personal data for the following purposes and legal bases, as applicable:
- Account access, service messages, profile storage, personalized information and journey tracking: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR, where needed to provide the service you request.
- Optional religion and LGBTQ+-related processing: Article 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent) and, where special-category data are involved, Article 9(2)(a) GDPR (explicit consent).
- Optional newsletters, product news and tips: Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, consent. You can withdraw consent without affecting access to the core App.
- Optional PostHog analytics and crash/error reporting: Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, consent.
- Internal technical error diagnostics and protection of the service: Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, our legitimate interests in finding and resolving defects, keeping the App reliable and protecting its operation; Article 6(1)(b) may also apply where processing is strictly necessary to provide the requested service. We limit contextual profile details to those relevant to diagnosing the affected feature.
- Security, abuse prevention and protection of legal claims: Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, legitimate interests, where applicable.
- Compliance with mandatory legal obligations: Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, where applicable.
- Subscription access and customer management: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR where processing is necessary to provide requested App access and manage entitlements; Article 6(1)(f) where appropriate for account security and service administration.
- Responding to support or privacy inquiries: Article 6(1)(b) GDPR when necessary to provide support for the App, Article 6(1)(f) GDPR for our legitimate interest in handling other inquiries, or Article 6(1)(c) GDPR when responding to a legal obligation.
Where information is necessary to create an account or use a specific function, not providing it may prevent that function from working. Sensitive fields, newsletters and PostHog analytics are optional and not required for the core App. Operating-system location permission is separate from these consent choices.
13. Data Storage and Retention
Account, profile, saved-location and My Journey’s Guide data are generally kept while your account remains active and the data are needed to provide the App. Optional religion and LGBTQ+-related answers are kept only while the relevant consent remains valid and the data are needed for the stated purpose, unless a different legal retention obligation applies.
Internal diagnostics: if the device is offline, unsent diagnostic reports may remain in a local queue for up to 30 days, with a maximum of 100 queued reports. Diagnostic records received by Supabase are subject to automatic daily deletion once they are more than 30 days old. Because cleanup runs once per day, records may remain in the active database for approximately 30 to 31 days. Limited copies may persist temporarily in system backups or where retention is legally required.
Optional PostHog data: analytics and crash-reporting records are retained under the applicable PostHog EU project settings and provider arrangements, according to their diagnostic and product-improvement purpose. Withdrawing consent stops new optional collection; it does not automatically erase records already lawfully collected. You may request deletion of personal data by contacting us.
Optional newsletters: we keep the subscription preference while needed to manage your choice, and may retain limited consent or withdrawal records where necessary to demonstrate compliance. No regular WTG newsletter campaign has started yet.
After account deletion, limited copies may remain temporarily in technical backups or security logs where necessary for recovery, security or legal obligations. These copies are not used to restore an active WTG account. For deletion steps, see Account Deletion.
RevenueCat customer records: RevenueCat processes customer identifiers and information relevant to subscriptions and access. When you delete your WTG account, we request deletion of the corresponding RevenueCat customer record. RevenueCat processes deletion requests asynchronously.
Transactional email delivery: Resend retains email contents and logs according to its service arrangements. Its published standard retention for email data and logs on Free, Pro and Scale plans is 30 days, subject to applicable provider terms and exceptions.
14. Account Deletion
You can request deletion of your Welcome to Germany account and the personal data associated with it at any time.
- In the App: open Profile → Account & security → Delete account and follow the instructions.
- Without the App: visit our Account Deletion page or submit a deletion request through our Support Center. You do not need to reinstall the App.
When deletion is completed, we remove your authentication account and associated active profile, saved preferences, optional sensitive responses, consent records and My Journey’s Guide progress, including linked step-completion records. Applicable technical logs, backup copies or legally required records may be subject to the limited retention described above.
Deleting your account also triggers a request to delete the corresponding RevenueCat customer record; RevenueCat processes that request asynchronously. If paid subscriptions are available, deleting the WTG account does not automatically cancel a subscription managed by Google Play or the Apple App Store. You must cancel any such subscription through the applicable store.
We may need to verify account ownership for a request made outside the App. Please do not email passwords, passports or other sensitive documents with your initial request. Account deletion is irreversible.
15. International Processing
WTG prioritizes European processing locations where available. Our primary Supabase project is hosted in Ireland, PostHog uses EU Cloud, and Geoapify requests use its EU-focused endpoint.
Some service providers process information outside the European Economic Area. Resend stores email contents, delivery logs and related account data in the United States, even when an EU sending region is selected. Google and other service providers or their authorized subprocessors may also involve international processing, depending on the service and relevant contractual arrangements. Where required, cross-border transfers are supported by applicable safeguards, such as adequacy decisions and Standard Contractual Clauses. You may contact us for information about the applicable arrangements.
16. Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to access your personal data, request correction or deletion, restrict or object to certain processing, receive data in a portable format, and withdraw consent at any time. Consent withdrawal does not affect processing carried out lawfully before withdrawal.
To make a request, contact our Support Center. You also have the right to complain to a competent data-protection authority. For a controller established in Hesse, this is generally the Hessischer Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (HBDI).
17. Security
WTG uses technical and organizational measures intended to reduce the risk of unauthorized access, loss and misuse, including authenticated accounts, database access controls, Row Level Security where configured, and server-side account-deletion functions.
No online service can guarantee absolute security. Please keep your login details confidential.
18. External Links and Public Webpages
WTG may link to official authorities, transport providers, map services and other websites. When you leave the App, those websites and apps are responsible for their own data handling.
The public Neocities pages provided for privacy information and account deletion are static and do not include WTG-operated sign-in forms, advertising scripts or analytics scripts. Neocities may process technical connection information necessary to deliver the pages.
The public Customer Support Center provides a Google Forms-based support form. If you use the form, information you voluntarily submit is processed by Google to transmit and store your request for our support response. Please do not include passwords, identity documents or payment card details in a support form submission.
19. Age Eligibility
Welcome to Germany is currently intended for users aged 18 or older. If you believe a person under 18 has created an account or provided personal data, please contact us.
20. Changes to This Policy
We may revise this Privacy Policy when App functionality, service providers, security practices or legal requirements change. Where required, we will notify you of material changes and request new consent for new consent-based processing.