Privacy Policy

Version: 2026-09-v1
Last updated: September 12, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Urbexplorer (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores and shares personal data when you use our website, mobile applications, community features, maps, WebViews and other related services (collectively, the “Services”).

Information about the operator and data controller of Urbexplorer, including our legal business information and address, can be found in our Imprint.

For privacy-related questions or requests, you may contact us at hello@urbexplorer.net or through our contact page.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data processed through:

  • the Urbexplorer website at urbexplorer.net;
  • the Urbexplorer mobile applications for supported platforms;
  • WebViews opened within the mobile application;
  • user accounts and profiles;
  • Place submissions and location information;
  • community posts, comments, groups, friendships and private messages;
  • contact, editing, reporting and deletion forms;
  • purchases and subscriptions;
  • maps, location features and offline Places; and
  • related technical, security and support systems.

Some third-party services used by Urbexplorer process data under their own privacy policies and, depending on the circumstances, may act as independent data controllers or as service providers acting on our behalf.

2. Personal Data We Collect

2.1 Account and profile information

When you create or use an Urbexplorer account, we may process information such as:

  • username;
  • email address;
  • authentication information and password hashes;
  • profile name and profile information;
  • profile and cover images;
  • account roles and access permissions;
  • account settings and preferences;
  • membership and subscription status;
  • account creation and activity timestamps; and
  • internal moderation, access and trust-related information.

Passwords are normally stored as cryptographic hashes rather than in readable form.

2.2 Community content and communications

Urbexplorer contains community functionality. Depending on how you use the Services, we may process content such as:

  • community posts;
  • comments and replies;
  • photographs and other uploaded media;
  • profile information;
  • friend connections and requests;
  • group memberships and group content;
  • private group content; and
  • private messages between users.

Public content may be visible to other users and, depending on the relevant feature, to visitors who are not logged in.

Private messages, private groups and other restricted content are intended only for the relevant recipients or group members. However, such content is still processed and stored by our systems and may be accessed where reasonably necessary for security, support, abuse prevention, moderation or compliance with legal obligations.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information about yourself or other people unless it is necessary for a specific purpose and you are legally entitled to provide it.

2.3 Place submissions and location-related content

When you submit, edit or report a Place, we may process information including:

  • Place names and descriptions;
  • coordinates and map locations;
  • photographs and uploaded files;
  • access and condition information;
  • submission notes;
  • your account identifier;
  • submission and review history; and
  • related moderation information.

Information from a submission may later be incorporated into an existing Place or used to improve location information as described in our Terms and Conditions.

2.4 Forms, support and reports

When you use our contact, Place editing, Place deletion, reporting or similar forms, we may collect information such as:

  • your name or username;
  • email address;
  • message or request content;
  • Place information;
  • uploaded files or supporting evidence;
  • submission time; and
  • technical information associated with the submission.

Form submissions may be stored in our systems in addition to being sent by email so that requests, moderation decisions and support cases can be handled and documented.

2.5 Device, log and technical information

When you access the Services, we and our technical service providers may automatically process information including:

  • IP address;
  • browser type and version;
  • device type and model;
  • operating system;
  • application version;
  • language and regional settings;
  • timestamps;
  • requested URLs and pages;
  • referrer information;
  • session and authentication information;
  • error and diagnostic information;
  • security events; and
  • information about interactions with the Services.

2.6 Device location

The mobile application may request access to your device location in order to display your current position on the map and provide location-based functionality.

Urbexplorer does not intentionally store your continuously updated device location on our own servers merely because you view your position on the map.

However, third-party mapping technology used by the application, including Mapbox, may receive location and technical information when the relevant map functionality is used and device location permission has been granted.

We do not intentionally use background location tracking when you are not actively using relevant location functionality.

You can disable location access through your device settings. Certain map or nearby features may then no longer function as intended.

2.7 Photos, camera and media access

Where supported, the application may request access to your photo library, file storage or camera so that you can select, capture and upload photographs or other media.

Access is used only when required for the feature you choose to use. You can manage these permissions through your device settings.

2.8 Purchase and subscription information

When you purchase Member Access, a subscription or another digital product, we may process information such as:

  • product purchased;
  • purchase date;
  • purchase platform;
  • subscription or entitlement status;
  • transaction identifiers;
  • refund, cancellation or renewal information; and
  • an identifier connecting the purchase to your Urbexplorer account.

Full payment card details are generally processed directly by the relevant payment provider or app store and are not stored by Urbexplorer.

2.9 Information stored locally on your device

The mobile application may store information locally on your device, including:

  • login and session information;
  • application preferences;
  • consent and privacy preferences;
  • saved Places;
  • offline Place information;
  • coordinates;
  • descriptions;
  • images or thumbnails; and
  • other information required for offline functionality.

Locally stored information generally remains on your device until it is deleted by the application, you remove saved or offline content, clear application data, or uninstall the application.

3. Why We Process Personal Data

We process personal data for purposes including:

  • creating and maintaining user accounts;
  • authenticating users;
  • providing maps and Place information;
  • providing community and messaging features;
  • reviewing and moderating Place submissions;
  • providing purchases, subscriptions and account entitlements;
  • providing offline and saved Place functionality;
  • responding to support, deletion and legal requests;
  • protecting Urbexplorer against fraud, spam, abuse and security threats;
  • enforcing our Terms and community rules;
  • maintaining and improving the Services;
  • measuring usage and performance where permitted;
  • providing advertising where applicable;
  • complying with legal obligations; and
  • establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Where the GDPR, UK GDPR or similar laws apply, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

4.1 Performance of a contract

We process data where necessary to create and maintain your account, provide requested features, process purchases, provide community functionality and otherwise perform our agreement with you.

4.2 Legitimate interests

We may process data where necessary for legitimate interests such as:

  • maintaining the security and integrity of the Services;
  • preventing fraud, spam and abuse;
  • moderating user-generated content;
  • protecting our users, systems and legal rights;
  • operating and improving Urbexplorer; and
  • handling support and operational issues.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether those interests are outweighed by your rights and freedoms.

4.3 Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent for optional processing such as certain analytics, advertising, tracking technologies, Google Maps functionality and device permissions.

Consent may be withdrawn at any time through the relevant privacy settings, cookie settings, application settings or device settings. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.

4.4 Legal obligations

We may process and retain information where required by tax, accounting, consumer, data protection, law-enforcement or other applicable legal obligations.

5. Website Hosting and Content Delivery

5.1 ALL-INKL.COM

Our website and related WordPress systems are hosted through ALL-INKL.COM in Germany. The hosting infrastructure may process IP addresses, requests, server logs, account data, uploaded content, databases and other information necessary to provide the website and Services.

5.2 FlyingCDN and Cloudflare infrastructure

We may use FlyingCDN and infrastructure provided through Cloudflare to improve performance, security and availability.

CDN and security infrastructure may process technical information such as IP addresses, requested URLs, HTTP headers, device and browser information, timestamps and cached website content in order to deliver and protect the Services.

6. WebViews in the Mobile Application

Some Urbexplorer features may display pages from urbexplorer.net inside an in-app WebView.

When you use these pages, the same server-side processing and website privacy rules generally apply as when accessing the page through a normal browser.

Functional cookies or local storage may be used where necessary to maintain login sessions, security and requested functionality.

Non-essential services in WebViews are subject to the applicable consent choices. For example, Google Maps may remain blocked until the user allows the relevant service.

7. Maps, Geocoding and Location Services

7.1 Mapbox

The native mobile application uses Mapbox to provide map functionality.

When Mapbox functionality is used, Mapbox may process technical information such as IP address, device and operating-system information, application information, map requests, session information and, where device location permission has been granted, location information such as latitude and longitude.

Your current location is used to provide map and nearby functionality. Urbexplorer does not intentionally maintain a continuous history of your live device location on its own servers.

7.2 Google Maps Platform

Certain website and WebView functionality uses Google Maps Platform services, including map display, location search and geocoding.

When Google Maps services are activated, information such as your IP address, device/browser information, search queries, map interactions and location-related requests may be transmitted to Google.

Where required, Google Maps services are blocked until the relevant consent has been provided through our consent system.

8. Analytics and Usage Measurement

8.1 Google Analytics on the website

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website and to improve the Services.

Google Analytics may process information such as device and browser information, approximate location derived from IP address, pages viewed, interactions, timestamps, referrer information and identifiers associated with analytics sessions.

Where legally required, Google Analytics is activated only after the required consent has been obtained.

8.2 Google Analytics for Firebase

The mobile application may use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand application usage, improve features, diagnose problems and measure application performance.

Depending on configuration, analytics information may include:

  • application interactions and events;
  • screen views;
  • application version;
  • device and operating-system information;
  • application instance or similar identifiers;
  • approximate geographic information; and
  • technical usage information.

Where consent is required by applicable law, analytics collection is subject to that consent.

9. Advertising

9.1 Google AdSense

The website may display advertising through Google AdSense.

Depending on your location, consent choices and applicable settings, advertising may be personalized, non-personalized or otherwise limited.

Google and participating advertising providers may process information including cookies, advertising identifiers, IP address, device information, approximate location, advertising interactions and information used for measurement, fraud prevention and frequency limitation.

9.2 Google AdMob

The mobile application may display advertising through Google AdMob.

Depending on applicable law, device settings and your consent choices, AdMob may process advertising identifiers such as the Android Advertising ID or, where permitted by Apple and authorized by the user, Apple's advertising identifier.

Advertising may be personalized or non-personalized depending on your privacy choices and the requirements applicable in your region.

Where required, advertising consent is managed through Google's consent tools, including the User Messaging Platform (UMP).

On Apple devices, additional permission may be requested through Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework where the relevant form of tracking is used.

10. Cookies, Local Storage and Consent Management

The website uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes including login, security, preferences, maps, analytics and advertising.

We use Complianz to manage website consent choices. Depending on your location, different consent requirements or localized cookie information may apply.

Detailed information about cookies and similar technologies is available through our Legal Hub.

Our European Cookie Policy is also available at urbexplorer.net/cookie-policy/.

You can change available cookie and privacy choices through the privacy settings made available on the website.

11. Security and Abuse Prevention

11.1 Wordfence

We use Wordfence to protect the website against unauthorized access, malicious requests, attacks and other security threats.

For these purposes, security-related information such as IP addresses, requests, login attempts, timestamps and suspected malicious activity may be processed and, where necessary, shared with the security provider.

11.2 Google reCAPTCHA

We use Google reCAPTCHA, including reCAPTCHA v3, on certain forms and authentication pages such as registration, login and password recovery.

reCAPTCHA analyzes technical and interaction information to distinguish legitimate users from automated or abusive traffic. This may include IP address, browser and device information, interaction patterns and cookies or similar technologies used for security analysis.

We use this processing for the security and abuse prevention of our Services and, where applicable, on the basis of our legitimate interests in protecting the platform.

12. Payments, App Stores and RevenueCat

12.1 Apple App Store and Google Play

Purchases made through the mobile application may be processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The relevant platform processes payment credentials and transaction information under its own privacy terms. Urbexplorer generally receives only the information necessary to identify the purchased product and maintain the associated account entitlement.

12.2 RevenueCat

We use RevenueCat to manage and verify mobile purchases, subscriptions and entitlements.

RevenueCat may process information including:

  • an App User ID or similar customer identifier;
  • device type and operating-system information;
  • purchase and subscription information;
  • product identifiers;
  • purchase and renewal status;
  • Apple purchase receipts;
  • Google Play purchase tokens; and
  • related transaction and entitlement information.

The identifier used with RevenueCat may be capable of being linked to your Urbexplorer account so that purchases can be restored and account access can be provided across supported devices.

RevenueCat does not receive your full payment card details merely because it manages an app-store purchase.

12.3 Website payments

Website payments may be processed through payment providers such as Stripe, PayPal or another payment provider displayed during checkout.

Payment providers process payment credentials under their own privacy policies. Urbexplorer may receive and retain limited transaction information required to confirm payment, provide access, handle refunds, maintain accounting records and comply with legal obligations.

13. Emails and Push Notifications

We may send service-related emails necessary to operate your account, including:

  • registration or account verification messages;
  • password reset messages;
  • security notifications;
  • moderation or Place submission updates;
  • purchase-related information; and
  • responses to support or contact requests.

These operational messages are not treated as optional marketing communications where they are necessary to provide or secure your account.

The mobile application may also offer optional push notifications. If enabled, a device push token and related technical information may be processed by the relevant mobile platform or notification infrastructure, such as Apple or Google/Firebase.

You can disable push notifications through your device settings.

14. Moderation, Trust Indicators and Automated Rules

We may process account activity, submission history and moderation information in order to prevent abuse and improve the efficiency of moderation.

Urbexplorer may use rules-based internal trust or moderation indicators. For example, an account with a history of accepted Contributions may require less frequent manual review than a new or repeatedly problematic account.

These systems may use factors such as previous submission outcomes, account activity or other platform interactions.

We do not intend to use such systems to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on users solely by automated means.

15. When We Share Personal Data

We may disclose personal data where necessary to:

  • hosting and infrastructure providers;
  • content delivery and security providers;
  • analytics providers;
  • mapping providers;
  • advertising providers;
  • payment processors and app stores;
  • purchase and subscription infrastructure providers;
  • email and notification providers;
  • professional advisers where necessary;
  • competent authorities where legally required; or
  • another entity in connection with a lawful business restructuring, acquisition or transfer.

Depending on the service, relevant providers may include ALL-INKL.COM, Cloudflare infrastructure used by FlyingCDN, Google, Firebase, Mapbox, RevenueCat, Apple, Stripe, PayPal and Wordfence.

We do not sell personal data to third parties for monetary consideration.

However, certain advertising activities may be legally classified as “sharing”, “targeted advertising” or similar concepts under some United States privacy laws even where no money is paid in exchange for personal data. Where applicable, users are provided with legally required choices to opt out of such processing.

16. International Data Transfers

Our primary website hosting infrastructure is located in Germany.

However, some service providers used by Urbexplorer operate internationally, including in the United States and other countries outside the European Economic Area.

Where personal data protected by European data-protection law is transferred to a country without an applicable adequacy decision, the relevant provider or transfer may rely on legally recognized safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

Where applicable, providers may also rely on recognized adequacy frameworks, including the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for participating organizations.

17. How Long We Keep Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

In particular:

  • account information is generally retained while the account exists and until deletion is requested;
  • public Contributions may be retained while they form part of the Services, subject to account deletion and applicable legal rights;
  • factual Place information may remain in anonymized form where it no longer identifies the contributor;
  • contact, edit, reporting and deletion requests may be retained as reasonably necessary to process the request, document moderation decisions, prevent abuse or establish legal claims;
  • purchase, invoice and accounting information may be retained for legally required tax and accounting periods;
  • security logs are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention and investigation;
  • analytics information is retained according to the configured retention periods of the relevant analytics service;
  • deleted information may temporarily remain in backups until those backups are overwritten or expire; and
  • locally stored offline information remains on the user's device until removed or application data is deleted.

When personal data is no longer necessary, we delete or anonymize it unless continued retention is legally permitted or required.

18. Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your Urbexplorer account through:

Account deletion may require verification to prevent unauthorized deletion requests.

When an account is deleted, we will delete or anonymize personal account information and associated personal data where required by applicable law.

Public community posts, profile content and uploaded photographs associated with the deleted account will be deleted or anonymized as appropriate.

Purely factual Place information that is no longer personal data may be retained in an anonymized form where reasonably necessary to preserve the integrity and usefulness of the Urbexplorer location database.

Certain information may continue to be retained where necessary for legal obligations, accounting requirements, fraud prevention, security, dispute resolution or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Deleted information may also remain temporarily in technical backups until those backups are routinely overwritten.

19. Public Content and Other Users

Information that you intentionally publish in public areas of Urbexplorer may be viewed, copied or shared by other users or third parties.

Although we may remove content from Urbexplorer, we cannot guarantee deletion of copies that other users or third parties independently created before removal.

You should therefore avoid publishing personal information that you do not want to make publicly available.

20. Users Under 18

Urbexplorer is intended for users who are at least 18 years old.

We do not knowingly permit persons under 18 to create or maintain an Urbexplorer account.

If we become aware that an account belongs to a person under 18, we may restrict or delete the account and take reasonable steps to delete associated personal data, subject to applicable legal retention requirements.

If you believe that a person under 18 has provided personal data to Urbexplorer, please contact us at hello@urbexplorer.net.

21. Rights in the EEA, United Kingdom and Similar Jurisdictions

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights including:

  • the right to obtain information about our processing of your personal data;
  • the right to access your personal data;
  • the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
  • the right to request deletion of personal data;
  • the right to restrict processing;
  • the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests;
  • the right to data portability where applicable;
  • the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent; and
  • rights relating to certain automated decision-making where applicable.

You may exercise these rights by contacting us through our contact page or at hello@urbexplorer.net.

We may request reasonable information to verify your identity before responding to a privacy request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data-protection authority in your country. Our lead supervisory authority in Austria is the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehörde), where applicable.

22. Privacy Rights for Residents of the United States

Depending on the state in which you reside and whether the relevant privacy law applies to Urbexplorer, you may have rights including:

  • the right to know whether we process your personal data;
  • the right to access personal data;
  • the right to correct inaccurate personal data;
  • the right to request deletion;
  • the right to obtain a portable copy of certain data;
  • the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data, targeted advertising or certain profiling where applicable;
  • the right to limit certain uses of sensitive personal information where applicable;
  • the right not to be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights; and
  • the right to appeal certain denied requests where provided by applicable law.

We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration.

Personalized advertising or advertising technologies may nevertheless qualify as “sharing”, “targeted advertising” or similar processing under certain state laws. Where applicable, you may exercise available opt-out choices through our website privacy settings, mobile application privacy options or by contacting us.

Precise device location, where processed, is used to provide requested location-based functionality and is not used by Urbexplorer to infer sensitive characteristics about you.

We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. Where permitted by law, an authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf, subject to appropriate verification.

23. Rights in Other Countries

Users in countries outside the EEA, United Kingdom and United States may have additional privacy rights under their local laws.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit mandatory privacy rights that apply to you under the law of your country or region.

You may contact us if you wish to exercise a privacy right available under applicable law.

24. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures intended to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

These measures may include access controls, encrypted connections, authentication controls, security monitoring, backups, software updates and security tools.

However, no internet service or electronic storage system can guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for protecting your own account credentials and should notify us if you believe your account has been compromised.

Urbexplorer may contain links to websites or services that are operated independently from us.

We are not responsible for the independent privacy practices of third-party websites or services. You should review their privacy information before providing personal data to them.

26. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our Services, technologies, service providers or legal obligations change.

The current version and date will be displayed at the beginning of this Policy.

If changes materially affect how personal data is processed, we may provide additional notice through the website, application, email or another appropriate method where required.

A change to this Privacy Policy does not by itself replace any consent that applicable law requires us to obtain separately.

27. Contact

The operator and data controller of Urbexplorer is identified in our Imprint.

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, contact:

Email: hello@urbexplorer.net
Contact form: https://urbexplorer.net/contact/
Account deletion: https://urbexplorer.net/delete-account/

Version: 2026-09-v1
Last updated: September 12, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Urbexplorer (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores and shares personal data when you use our website, mobile applications, community features, maps, WebViews and other related services (collectively, the “Services”).

Information about the operator and data controller of Urbexplorer, including our legal business information and address, can be found in our Imprint.

For privacy-related questions or requests, you may contact us at hello@urbexplorer.net or through our contact page.

1. Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to personal data processed through:

  • the Urbexplorer website at urbexplorer.net;
  • the Urbexplorer mobile applications for supported platforms;
  • WebViews opened within the mobile application;
  • user accounts and profiles;
  • Place submissions and location information;
  • community posts, comments, groups, friendships and private messages;
  • contact, editing, reporting and deletion forms;
  • purchases and subscriptions;
  • maps, location features and offline Places; and
  • related technical, security and support systems.

Some third-party services used by Urbexplorer process data under their own privacy policies and, depending on the circumstances, may act as independent data controllers or as service providers acting on our behalf.

2. Personal Data We Collect

2.1 Account and profile information

When you create or use an Urbexplorer account, we may process information such as:

  • username;
  • email address;
  • authentication information and password hashes;
  • profile name and profile information;
  • profile and cover images;
  • account roles and access permissions;
  • account settings and preferences;
  • membership and subscription status;
  • account creation and activity timestamps; and
  • internal moderation, access and trust-related information.

Passwords are normally stored as cryptographic hashes rather than in readable form.

2.2 Community content and communications

Urbexplorer contains community functionality. Depending on how you use the Services, we may process content such as:

  • community posts;
  • comments and replies;
  • photographs and other uploaded media;
  • profile information;
  • friend connections and requests;
  • group memberships and group content;
  • private group content; and
  • private messages between users.

Public content may be visible to other users and, depending on the relevant feature, to visitors who are not logged in.

Private messages, private groups and other restricted content are intended only for the relevant recipients or group members. However, such content is still processed and stored by our systems and may be accessed where reasonably necessary for security, support, abuse prevention, moderation or compliance with legal obligations.

Please do not submit sensitive personal information about yourself or other people unless it is necessary for a specific purpose and you are legally entitled to provide it.

2.3 Place submissions and location-related content

When you submit, edit or report a Place, we may process information including:

  • Place names and descriptions;
  • coordinates and map locations;
  • photographs and uploaded files;
  • access and condition information;
  • submission notes;
  • your account identifier;
  • submission and review history; and
  • related moderation information.

Information from a submission may later be incorporated into an existing Place or used to improve location information as described in our Terms and Conditions.

2.4 Forms, support and reports

When you use our contact, Place editing, Place deletion, reporting or similar forms, we may collect information such as:

  • your name or username;
  • email address;
  • message or request content;
  • Place information;
  • uploaded files or supporting evidence;
  • submission time; and
  • technical information associated with the submission.

Form submissions may be stored in our systems in addition to being sent by email so that requests, moderation decisions and support cases can be handled and documented.

2.5 Device, log and technical information

When you access the Services, we and our technical service providers may automatically process information including:

  • IP address;
  • browser type and version;
  • device type and model;
  • operating system;
  • application version;
  • language and regional settings;
  • timestamps;
  • requested URLs and pages;
  • referrer information;
  • session and authentication information;
  • error and diagnostic information;
  • security events; and
  • information about interactions with the Services.

2.6 Device location

The mobile application may request access to your device location in order to display your current position on the map and provide location-based functionality.

Urbexplorer does not intentionally store your continuously updated device location on our own servers merely because you view your position on the map.

However, third-party mapping technology used by the application, including Mapbox, may receive location and technical information when the relevant map functionality is used and device location permission has been granted.

We do not intentionally use background location tracking when you are not actively using relevant location functionality.

You can disable location access through your device settings. Certain map or nearby features may then no longer function as intended.

2.7 Photos, camera and media access

Where supported, the application may request access to your photo library, file storage or camera so that you can select, capture and upload photographs or other media.

Access is used only when required for the feature you choose to use. You can manage these permissions through your device settings.

2.8 Purchase and subscription information

When you purchase Member Access, a subscription or another digital product, we may process information such as:

  • product purchased;
  • purchase date;
  • purchase platform;
  • subscription or entitlement status;
  • transaction identifiers;
  • refund, cancellation or renewal information; and
  • an identifier connecting the purchase to your Urbexplorer account.

Full payment card details are generally processed directly by the relevant payment provider or app store and are not stored by Urbexplorer.

2.9 Information stored locally on your device

The mobile application may store information locally on your device, including:

  • login and session information;
  • application preferences;
  • consent and privacy preferences;
  • saved Places;
  • offline Place information;
  • coordinates;
  • descriptions;
  • images or thumbnails; and
  • other information required for offline functionality.

Locally stored information generally remains on your device until it is deleted by the application, you remove saved or offline content, clear application data, or uninstall the application.

3. Why We Process Personal Data

We process personal data for purposes including:

  • creating and maintaining user accounts;
  • authenticating users;
  • providing maps and Place information;
  • providing community and messaging features;
  • reviewing and moderating Place submissions;
  • providing purchases, subscriptions and account entitlements;
  • providing offline and saved Place functionality;
  • responding to support, deletion and legal requests;
  • protecting Urbexplorer against fraud, spam, abuse and security threats;
  • enforcing our Terms and community rules;
  • maintaining and improving the Services;
  • measuring usage and performance where permitted;
  • providing advertising where applicable;
  • complying with legal obligations; and
  • establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Where the GDPR, UK GDPR or similar laws apply, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

4.1 Performance of a contract

We process data where necessary to create and maintain your account, provide requested features, process purchases, provide community functionality and otherwise perform our agreement with you.

4.2 Legitimate interests

We may process data where necessary for legitimate interests such as:

  • maintaining the security and integrity of the Services;
  • preventing fraud, spam and abuse;
  • moderating user-generated content;
  • protecting our users, systems and legal rights;
  • operating and improving Urbexplorer; and
  • handling support and operational issues.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether those interests are outweighed by your rights and freedoms.

4.3 Consent

Where required, we rely on your consent for optional processing such as certain analytics, advertising, tracking technologies, Google Maps functionality and device permissions.

Consent may be withdrawn at any time through the relevant privacy settings, cookie settings, application settings or device settings. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.

4.4 Legal obligations

We may process and retain information where required by tax, accounting, consumer, data protection, law-enforcement or other applicable legal obligations.

5. Website Hosting and Content Delivery

5.1 ALL-INKL.COM

Our website and related WordPress systems are hosted through ALL-INKL.COM in Germany. The hosting infrastructure may process IP addresses, requests, server logs, account data, uploaded content, databases and other information necessary to provide the website and Services.

5.2 FlyingCDN and Cloudflare infrastructure

We may use FlyingCDN and infrastructure provided through Cloudflare to improve performance, security and availability.

CDN and security infrastructure may process technical information such as IP addresses, requested URLs, HTTP headers, device and browser information, timestamps and cached website content in order to deliver and protect the Services.

6. WebViews in the Mobile Application

Some Urbexplorer features may display pages from urbexplorer.net inside an in-app WebView.

When you use these pages, the same server-side processing and website privacy rules generally apply as when accessing the page through a normal browser.

Functional cookies or local storage may be used where necessary to maintain login sessions, security and requested functionality.

Non-essential services in WebViews are subject to the applicable consent choices. For example, Google Maps may remain blocked until the user allows the relevant service.

7. Maps, Geocoding and Location Services

7.1 Mapbox

The native mobile application uses Mapbox to provide map functionality.

When Mapbox functionality is used, Mapbox may process technical information such as IP address, device and operating-system information, application information, map requests, session information and, where device location permission has been granted, location information such as latitude and longitude.

Your current location is used to provide map and nearby functionality. Urbexplorer does not intentionally maintain a continuous history of your live device location on its own servers.

7.2 Google Maps Platform

Certain website and WebView functionality uses Google Maps Platform services, including map display, location search and geocoding.

When Google Maps services are activated, information such as your IP address, device/browser information, search queries, map interactions and location-related requests may be transmitted to Google.

Where required, Google Maps services are blocked until the relevant consent has been provided through our consent system.

8. Analytics and Usage Measurement

8.1 Google Analytics on the website

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website and to improve the Services.

Google Analytics may process information such as device and browser information, approximate location derived from IP address, pages viewed, interactions, timestamps, referrer information and identifiers associated with analytics sessions.

Where legally required, Google Analytics is activated only after the required consent has been obtained.

8.2 Google Analytics for Firebase

The mobile application may use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand application usage, improve features, diagnose problems and measure application performance.

Depending on configuration, analytics information may include:

  • application interactions and events;
  • screen views;
  • application version;
  • device and operating-system information;
  • application instance or similar identifiers;
  • approximate geographic information; and
  • technical usage information.

Where consent is required by applicable law, analytics collection is subject to that consent.

9. Advertising

9.1 Google AdSense

The website may display advertising through Google AdSense.

Depending on your location, consent choices and applicable settings, advertising may be personalized, non-personalized or otherwise limited.

Google and participating advertising providers may process information including cookies, advertising identifiers, IP address, device information, approximate location, advertising interactions and information used for measurement, fraud prevention and frequency limitation.

9.2 Google AdMob

The mobile application may display advertising through Google AdMob.

Depending on applicable law, device settings and your consent choices, AdMob may process advertising identifiers such as the Android Advertising ID or, where permitted by Apple and authorized by the user, Apple's advertising identifier.

Advertising may be personalized or non-personalized depending on your privacy choices and the requirements applicable in your region.

Where required, advertising consent is managed through Google's consent tools, including the User Messaging Platform (UMP).

On Apple devices, additional permission may be requested through Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework where the relevant form of tracking is used.

10. Cookies, Local Storage and Consent Management

The website uses cookies and similar technologies for purposes including login, security, preferences, maps, analytics and advertising.

We use Complianz to manage website consent choices. Depending on your location, different consent requirements or localized cookie information may apply.

Detailed information about cookies and similar technologies is available through our Legal Hub.

Our European Cookie Policy is also available at urbexplorer.net/cookie-policy/.

You can change available cookie and privacy choices through the privacy settings made available on the website.

11. Security and Abuse Prevention

11.1 Wordfence

We use Wordfence to protect the website against unauthorized access, malicious requests, attacks and other security threats.

For these purposes, security-related information such as IP addresses, requests, login attempts, timestamps and suspected malicious activity may be processed and, where necessary, shared with the security provider.

11.2 Google reCAPTCHA

We use Google reCAPTCHA, including reCAPTCHA v3, on certain forms and authentication pages such as registration, login and password recovery.

reCAPTCHA analyzes technical and interaction information to distinguish legitimate users from automated or abusive traffic. This may include IP address, browser and device information, interaction patterns and cookies or similar technologies used for security analysis.

We use this processing for the security and abuse prevention of our Services and, where applicable, on the basis of our legitimate interests in protecting the platform.

12. Payments, App Stores and RevenueCat

12.1 Apple App Store and Google Play

Purchases made through the mobile application may be processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The relevant platform processes payment credentials and transaction information under its own privacy terms. Urbexplorer generally receives only the information necessary to identify the purchased product and maintain the associated account entitlement.

12.2 RevenueCat

We use RevenueCat to manage and verify mobile purchases, subscriptions and entitlements.

RevenueCat may process information including:

  • an App User ID or similar customer identifier;
  • device type and operating-system information;
  • purchase and subscription information;
  • product identifiers;
  • purchase and renewal status;
  • Apple purchase receipts;
  • Google Play purchase tokens; and
  • related transaction and entitlement information.

The identifier used with RevenueCat may be capable of being linked to your Urbexplorer account so that purchases can be restored and account access can be provided across supported devices.

RevenueCat does not receive your full payment card details merely because it manages an app-store purchase.

12.3 Website payments

Website payments may be processed through payment providers such as Stripe, PayPal or another payment provider displayed during checkout.

Payment providers process payment credentials under their own privacy policies. Urbexplorer may receive and retain limited transaction information required to confirm payment, provide access, handle refunds, maintain accounting records and comply with legal obligations.

13. Emails and Push Notifications

We may send service-related emails necessary to operate your account, including:

  • registration or account verification messages;
  • password reset messages;
  • security notifications;
  • moderation or Place submission updates;
  • purchase-related information; and
  • responses to support or contact requests.

These operational messages are not treated as optional marketing communications where they are necessary to provide or secure your account.

The mobile application may also offer optional push notifications. If enabled, a device push token and related technical information may be processed by the relevant mobile platform or notification infrastructure, such as Apple or Google/Firebase.

You can disable push notifications through your device settings.

14. Moderation, Trust Indicators and Automated Rules

We may process account activity, submission history and moderation information in order to prevent abuse and improve the efficiency of moderation.

Urbexplorer may use rules-based internal trust or moderation indicators. For example, an account with a history of accepted Contributions may require less frequent manual review than a new or repeatedly problematic account.

These systems may use factors such as previous submission outcomes, account activity or other platform interactions.

We do not intend to use such systems to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on users solely by automated means.

15. When We Share Personal Data

We may disclose personal data where necessary to:

  • hosting and infrastructure providers;
  • content delivery and security providers;
  • analytics providers;
  • mapping providers;
  • advertising providers;
  • payment processors and app stores;
  • purchase and subscription infrastructure providers;
  • email and notification providers;
  • professional advisers where necessary;
  • competent authorities where legally required; or
  • another entity in connection with a lawful business restructuring, acquisition or transfer.

Depending on the service, relevant providers may include ALL-INKL.COM, Cloudflare infrastructure used by FlyingCDN, Google, Firebase, Mapbox, RevenueCat, Apple, Stripe, PayPal and Wordfence.

We do not sell personal data to third parties for monetary consideration.

However, certain advertising activities may be legally classified as “sharing”, “targeted advertising” or similar concepts under some United States privacy laws even where no money is paid in exchange for personal data. Where applicable, users are provided with legally required choices to opt out of such processing.

16. International Data Transfers

Our primary website hosting infrastructure is located in Germany.

However, some service providers used by Urbexplorer operate internationally, including in the United States and other countries outside the European Economic Area.

Where personal data protected by European data-protection law is transferred to a country without an applicable adequacy decision, the relevant provider or transfer may rely on legally recognized safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

Where applicable, providers may also rely on recognized adequacy frameworks, including the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for participating organizations.

17. How Long We Keep Personal Data

We retain personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

In particular:

  • account information is generally retained while the account exists and until deletion is requested;
  • public Contributions may be retained while they form part of the Services, subject to account deletion and applicable legal rights;
  • factual Place information may remain in anonymized form where it no longer identifies the contributor;
  • contact, edit, reporting and deletion requests may be retained as reasonably necessary to process the request, document moderation decisions, prevent abuse or establish legal claims;
  • purchase, invoice and accounting information may be retained for legally required tax and accounting periods;
  • security logs are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for security, fraud prevention and investigation;
  • analytics information is retained according to the configured retention periods of the relevant analytics service;
  • deleted information may temporarily remain in backups until those backups are overwritten or expire; and
  • locally stored offline information remains on the user's device until removed or application data is deleted.

When personal data is no longer necessary, we delete or anonymize it unless continued retention is legally permitted or required.

18. Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your Urbexplorer account through:

Account deletion may require verification to prevent unauthorized deletion requests.

When an account is deleted, we will delete or anonymize personal account information and associated personal data where required by applicable law.

Public community posts, profile content and uploaded photographs associated with the deleted account will be deleted or anonymized as appropriate.

Purely factual Place information that is no longer personal data may be retained in an anonymized form where reasonably necessary to preserve the integrity and usefulness of the Urbexplorer location database.

Certain information may continue to be retained where necessary for legal obligations, accounting requirements, fraud prevention, security, dispute resolution or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Deleted information may also remain temporarily in technical backups until those backups are routinely overwritten.

19. Public Content and Other Users

Information that you intentionally publish in public areas of Urbexplorer may be viewed, copied or shared by other users or third parties.

Although we may remove content from Urbexplorer, we cannot guarantee deletion of copies that other users or third parties independently created before removal.

You should therefore avoid publishing personal information that you do not want to make publicly available.

20. Users Under 18

Urbexplorer is intended for users who are at least 18 years old.

We do not knowingly permit persons under 18 to create or maintain an Urbexplorer account.

If we become aware that an account belongs to a person under 18, we may restrict or delete the account and take reasonable steps to delete associated personal data, subject to applicable legal retention requirements.

If you believe that a person under 18 has provided personal data to Urbexplorer, please contact us at hello@urbexplorer.net.

21. Rights in the EEA, United Kingdom and Similar Jurisdictions

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights including:

  • the right to obtain information about our processing of your personal data;
  • the right to access your personal data;
  • the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
  • the right to request deletion of personal data;
  • the right to restrict processing;
  • the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests;
  • the right to data portability where applicable;
  • the right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent; and
  • rights relating to certain automated decision-making where applicable.

You may exercise these rights by contacting us through our contact page or at hello@urbexplorer.net.

We may request reasonable information to verify your identity before responding to a privacy request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data-protection authority in your country. Our lead supervisory authority in Austria is the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Datenschutzbehörde), where applicable.

22. Privacy Rights for Residents of the United States

Depending on the state in which you reside and whether the relevant privacy law applies to Urbexplorer, you may have rights including:

  • the right to know whether we process your personal data;
  • the right to access personal data;
  • the right to correct inaccurate personal data;
  • the right to request deletion;
  • the right to obtain a portable copy of certain data;
  • the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data, targeted advertising or certain profiling where applicable;
  • the right to limit certain uses of sensitive personal information where applicable;
  • the right not to be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights; and
  • the right to appeal certain denied requests where provided by applicable law.

We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration.

Personalized advertising or advertising technologies may nevertheless qualify as “sharing”, “targeted advertising” or similar processing under certain state laws. Where applicable, you may exercise available opt-out choices through our website privacy settings, mobile application privacy options or by contacting us.

Precise device location, where processed, is used to provide requested location-based functionality and is not used by Urbexplorer to infer sensitive characteristics about you.

We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. Where permitted by law, an authorized agent may submit a request on your behalf, subject to appropriate verification.

23. Rights in Other Countries

Users in countries outside the EEA, United Kingdom and United States may have additional privacy rights under their local laws.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit mandatory privacy rights that apply to you under the law of your country or region.

You may contact us if you wish to exercise a privacy right available under applicable law.

24. Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures intended to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

These measures may include access controls, encrypted connections, authentication controls, security monitoring, backups, software updates and security tools.

However, no internet service or electronic storage system can guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for protecting your own account credentials and should notify us if you believe your account has been compromised.

Urbexplorer may contain links to websites or services that are operated independently from us.

We are not responsible for the independent privacy practices of third-party websites or services. You should review their privacy information before providing personal data to them.

26. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our Services, technologies, service providers or legal obligations change.

The current version and date will be displayed at the beginning of this Policy.

If changes materially affect how personal data is processed, we may provide additional notice through the website, application, email or another appropriate method where required.

A change to this Privacy Policy does not by itself replace any consent that applicable law requires us to obtain separately.

27. Contact

The operator and data controller of Urbexplorer is identified in our Imprint.

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, contact:

Email: hello@urbexplorer.net
Contact form: https://urbexplorer.net/contact/
Account deletion: https://urbexplorer.net/delete-account/

BETA

New: Multi-Language Support!

We’ve started rolling out multilingual support across UrbeXplorer!
Please note that location titles remain in their original language. The Community section and some other sections will remain in English for now.

This feature is still in beta, and we currently support German and Italian only. If you notice any translation issues, want to help us improve, or speak a language we don’t yet offer, feel free to reach out through the contact form.

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We've updated our Terms & Conditions

We’ve made a few changes to the Terms and Conditions for Urbexplorer. Please take a moment to review them — you’ll need to accept the current version to keep using your account.

You must be logged in to delete a place!

To delete a place, please log in to your account.
If you’re new here, you’ll be able to unlock the map by submitting a location or supporting the project after creating an account.

If you’re having trouble, feel free to contact us.

You must be logged in to edit a place!

To edit a place, please log in to your account.
If you’re new here, you’ll be able to unlock the map by submitting a location or supporting the project after creating an account.

If you’re having trouble, feel free to contact us.