Privacy policy

Last updated: 30 October 2026

Who is responsible

Cogvivo (cogvivo.com) is made and run by Tim Wijnands, as a private individual, in the Netherlands. He is responsible for your data. Questions or a request about your data: info@cogvivo.com.

What we keep

  • Account: your email address, year of birth, country, username, and what you fill in yourself (name, bio, profile photo).
  • What you post: photos and videos, captions, comments, your own challenges, and who you follow or challenge.
  • Places and countries: which monument you visited on which day, which country and when, and your last check-in with its time (for the speed check). We never store your exact GPS location.
  • Votes and reviews: your votes on "Is this real?" and how often they were right.
  • Viewing data: which cards you saw and for how long, so you don't see them again and the feed gets better.
  • Consents: your choices for ads and external videos, with the date.
  • Reports and decisions: reports you make or that are about you, and the moderation decisions.
  • For a minor under the age of consent: a parent's email address. It is never part of an export and is deleted with the account.

Location

The app only asks for your location when you tap (for example "Near you" or checking in). Your location is only used for that one check and is not stored. Nobody can see where you are now; your profile shows visits per month. Photos go through the app, which removes the location and other data in the file.

Why

  • To provide the service (our agreement with you): your account, posts, badges, leaderboards and notifications.
  • For safety (legitimate interest): bot protection when you sign up, checking texts and images before they go online, the speed check on check-ins, and handling reports.
  • With your consent: personalised ads, videos from YouTube, TikTok and Facebook, and your location.
  • Because the law requires it: reports of illegal content and requests from authorities.

Ads

Cogvivo is free and paid for by ads from Google AdSense. On your first visit, Google's consent screen (in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland) asks whether ads may be personalised. Declining is as easy as accepting. Without consent, Google only shows non-personalised or limited ads. You can change your choice via "Privacy settings" at the bottom of the page or in your settings. Minors never get personalised ads. How Google uses data: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Videos from YouTube, TikTok and Facebook

In Shorts, from age 16, you can choose to see videos from YouTube, TikTok and Facebook. Only after your "yes" does the app load their player, which then sends data (such as your IP address) to Google, TikTok or Meta. For loading the player we are jointly responsible with that platform; what the platform does next falls under its own privacy policy. Cogvivo uses the YouTube API Services; the YouTube Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy apply. Of YouTube videos we only keep the video ID permanently; everything else is refreshed or deleted within 30 days. You can turn this off in Settings → Privacy → External videos.

Who helps us

  • Supabase: database and sign-in.
  • Cloudflare: the website, storage of photos and videos, and bot protection (Turnstile).
  • OpenAI: checking texts and images for harmful content before they go online.
  • Brevo: sending emails (sign-in links, the email to a parent).
  • Google: signing in with Google (if you choose that), ads and the consent screen.
  • OpenFreeMap: the map tiles; your browser loads them directly.

Some of these services process data outside the EU, mainly in the United States. This is based on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission's standard contractual clauses. We never sell your data.

Cookies and storage on your device

Needed for the app: a cookie that keeps you signed in, your language, and a random device number so you don't see cards twice. Google only sets cookies for ads according to your choice in the consent screen.

How long

We keep your data as long as your account exists. If you delete your account, we delete your profile, your posts and your files. Data we must keep longer by law (such as a decision about illegal content) we keep no longer than needed.

Children

Cogvivo is for ages 13 and up, or older if the law of your country requires it. If you are younger than the age at which you may consent yourself in your country (16 in the Netherlands), a parent confirms by email. Until 18 your profile is private and the settings are at their safest by default.

Your rights

You may see, correct, download or delete your data, object, or withdraw a consent. Email info@cogvivo.com; you will get an answer within a month. If you disagree with how we handle your data, you can complain to your data protection authority; in the Netherlands that is the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

Changes

If this policy changes on an important point, you will see it in the app before it takes effect.