Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

Information you provide

• Account details. When you create an account we collect your email address and a password, or - if you use Sign in with Apple - the identifier Apple shares with us. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider and are never visible to us.
• Profile. Your display name, @username, optional profile photo, and the optional golf details you choose to add: handicap, home course, town or area, playing styles, round vibes and the clubs in your bag.
• Content you create. Rounds, scorecards, shots and statistics; posts, comments, polls and photos in the Clubhouse; game listings and join requests; tournament and league entries; and messages you send in direct and group chats.
• Reports and feedback. If you report content or another user we collect the report and the content it refers to. If you send feedback or a feature request through the app, we collect what you write so we can respond and act on it.

Information collected when you use the app

• Precise location (with your permission). Used during a round for the GPS rangefinder, distances to the pin and hazards, shot tracking, and to fetch local playing conditions. It is also used to centre the "near you" lists so we can show how far away games and players are. You can withdraw location access at any time in iOS Settings; the rangefinder and nearby features will stop working but the rest of the app will not.
• Approximate location saved to your profile. The town or area you set during onboarding is saved to your profile, along with its coordinates, so we can work out distances to games and players. You control whether other people see your location with the "Show location on profile" setting.
• Activity status. We record the time you were last active in the app so other players can see a rough status on your profile card (for example "Active now" or "2 hours ago"). This is deliberately coarse - we do not build a detailed history of your usage.
• Push notification token. If you allow notifications, we store the device token Apple issues so we can send you notifications (for example join requests, messages, and game updates). You can turn notifications off at any time in iOS Settings.
• Subscription status. If you subscribe to Players Premium we record whether your subscription is active. All payment is handled by Apple - we never see your payment details.

What we do not collect

We do not collect advertising identifiers, we do not use any third-party advertising or analytics SDK, we do not track you across other apps and websites, and we do not sell your personal data. The Home screen may show a small number of sponsored cards, but these are placed by us directly and are the same for everyone - they are not targeted using your personal data and no ad network receives your information.

2. How we use your information

• To provide the app: accounts, scorecards, handicap calculation, GPS features, games and join requests, messaging, and the Clubhouse feed (performance of our contract with you).
• To generate optional features you trigger, such as AI round summaries (see section 3).
• To send you service messages about things you are involved in - a request to join your game, a reply to your post, a new message (performance of our contract, and consent for push notifications).
• To keep the community safe: enforcing our terms, screening usernames, processing reports, and honouring blocks (legitimate interests).
• To respond to feedback and support requests you send us (legitimate interests).
• To maintain, secure and improve the service (legitimate interests).

3. Who we share information with

We use a small number of service providers to run Players Golf. We share only what each one needs:

We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights and safety of our users.

What other users can see

• Your profile - display name, @username, photo, and whichever of your handicap, location, home course and playing details you have chosen to show.
• Your rough activity status ("Active now", "2 hours ago") on your profile card.
• Posts in the Clubhouse and games you host are visible according to the visibility you choose (public, friends only, or invite only).
• If you join a shared round, your scores on that scorecard are visible to the other players in it.
• Messages are visible to the members of that conversation. If you are added to or leave a game's group chat, the other members see a short status line saying so.
• If you request to join someone's game, the host sees your name and handicap so they can decide.

Links shared outside the app

You can share a link to your profile or to a game. Anyone who opens that link - including people without the app - can see a limited public card for it (for example your display name, photo and handicap). Only share these links with people you are happy to have that information.

Your privacy controls

In Settings → Privacy you can make your profile friends-only, hide your handicap, hide your location, hide your friends list, choose whether you appear in player search, and set the default visibility of new posts. You can also block any user - which hides their content from you and yours from them in both directions - and report any content or user from within the app.

4. International transfers

Our service providers may store or process data outside the UK (for example in the EU or US). Where they do, transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or EU Standard Contractual Clauses entered into by those providers.

5. How long we keep your information

We keep your information for as long as you have an account. You can delete your account at any time from Settings → Account → Delete account (Settings is the gear icon on your profile). Doing so deletes your profile, your content, your messages, your push tokens and your authentication record.

Some residual copies may persist in encrypted backups for a limited period before being purged. We may also keep, for as long as we need it: reports and moderation records, so that a blocked or reported account cannot simply be recreated; feedback you have sent us; and anything we are required to retain to comply with a legal obligation. Messages you sent to other people remain visible to those people, as they would in any messaging app.

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to our processing of your personal data, and to data portability. Most of these you can exercise directly in the app - editing your profile or deleting your account - or by emailing support@playersgolf.app. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

7. Children

Players Golf is not directed at children under 13, and you must be at least 13 to create an account. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

8. Security

All traffic between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit, data is encrypted at rest, and access to user data is restricted by row-level security policies so users can only read what they are entitled to see. Passwords are hashed by our authentication provider and are never visible to us.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves. We will post the updated version here with a new effective date, and notify you in the app if the changes are significant.

Who is responsible for your data

The data controller for Players Golf is Source 3 Media Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company no. 12028862), whose registered office is 11a Jew Street, Brighton BN1 1UT, United Kingdom. Players Golf is a trading name of Source 3 Media Limited. Contact us about anything in this policy at support@playersgolf.app.