PRIVACY POLICY

1. INTRODUCTION
BenchMark ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our website and mobile application (collectively, the "Service"). BenchMark is operated by BenchMark. You can contact us at any time at info@benchregistry.com.

2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We may collect the following types of information:
• Account information — email address, full name, and username when you register; an optional contact email you can set in your profile; and a profile photo if you upload one.
• Location data — your precise device location (from GPS, Wi-Fi, or cell tower data), collected with your express opt-in consent. Location is used to display benches and points of interest near you on the map, for ad personalization (showing more relevant ads via Google AdSense), for analytics, and for ad attribution. Location data may be shared with our advertising and analytics partners and is always transmitted via encrypted channels.
• User-generated content — benches you log (name, description, rating, photo, tags, and coordinates), comments and reviews (including photos and ratings), benches you save or like, and bench reports you submit.
• Social data — friend requests you send or receive, accepted friendships, and in-app notifications.
• Payment information — when you make a purchase (e.g. logging a bench or unlocking premium layers), payment is processed by our payment provider (Base44 Payments, powered by Wix). We do not store your full card details; the provider collects billing information directly at checkout.
• Usage data — how you interact with the Service, including device and browser information, which we use for analytics and to improve the app.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use the collected information to:
• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Display benches and points of interest on the map and show your contributions (benches, comments, photos, ratings) to other users
• Enable social features such as friends, leaderboards, and profile viewing
• Send you in-app and email notifications about friend requests and nearby benches (if you have enabled these in your settings)
• Send you a weekly digest of benches added near you (if you have opted in)
• Process payments for premium features and bench logging
• Send you marketing and promotional emails, but only if you have actively opted in via a checkbox (this feature will be added in a future update; until then, you will not receive marketing emails)
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our terms

4. COOKIES AND TRACKING
We and our third-party partners use cookies and similar technologies (such as local storage on your device) for the following purposes:
• Essential — to keep you logged in, remember your preferences (such as selected map style and layers), and store your saved benches locally for offline access.
• Analytics — to understand how the Service is used so we can improve it.
• Advertising — Google AdSense may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings (adssettings.google.com) or by opting out of third-party cookies in your browser settings.
Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies. Some features of the Service may not function correctly if cookies are disabled.

5. DATA SHARING
We do not sell your personal information. We may share data with the following categories of recipients:
• Base44 — our platform and hosting provider, which stores your account, bench, and social data on our behalf.
• Base44 Payments (powered by Wix) — processes payments for premium features and bench logging.
• Google AdSense — serves advertising within the Service.
• OpenStreetMap (OSM) — provides map data and certain points of interest shown on the map. Bench locations you log are crowd-sourced and visible to all users.
• Google Maps — used when you request walking directions to a bench or location.
• Email delivery providers — to send you notifications such as friend requests and weekly digests (to registered users only).
• Legal authorities — when required to comply with legal obligations or to protect our rights and the safety of others.

6. DATA RETENTION
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. Specifically:
• Account and profile data — retained while your account is active and deleted when you delete your account.
• User-generated content (benches, comments, photos) — retained until you delete it or until it is removed following a valid report.
• Social data (friendships, notifications) — retained while your account is active and deleted with your account.
• Payment records — retained by Base44 Payments (Wix) in accordance with their retention policies and applicable financial regulations.
• Usage and analytics data — retained for as long as necessary to improve the Service, in accordance with our analytics providers' policies.
You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time from within the app or by contacting us at info@benchregistry.com.

7. YOUR RIGHTS
Depending on your location (for example, if you are in the UK, EU/EEA, or certain US states), you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure — request deletion of your personal data, or delete your account directly in the app.
• Restriction — request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Data portability — receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection — object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent — withdraw your consent for location data, push notifications, and marketing emails at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@benchregistry.com. We will respond in accordance with applicable data protection laws (including the UK GDPR and EU GDPR).

8. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at info@benchregistry.com and we will take steps to delete such information.

9. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

10. CONTACT US
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise any of your rights, please contact us at:
Email: info@benchregistry.com