Last updated: 6 May 2026

Donegal Guide respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal data when you use the Donegal Guide mobile app, Donegal Guide website, public profile pages, embedded profile cards, and related services.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Donegal Guide”, “we”, “us”, or “our” means:

Donegal Guide
[email protected]

This Privacy Policy applies to users of the Donegal Guide mobile app, visitors to Donegal Guide website pages, businesses or experience providers listed on Donegal Guide, and administrators who manage Donegal Guide content.

1. What Donegal Guide does

Donegal Guide is a digital guide for discovering experiences, attractions, amenities, and businesses in Donegal. The service allows users to browse profiles, view maps, get directions, like experiences, mark places as explored, receive optional notifications, and open external booking, website, social media, phone, email, or map links.

Businesses and experience providers may have public profiles in the app and on the website. These profiles may include information such as name, description, photos, contact details, location, opening hours, website links, booking links, and social media links.

2. Personal data we collect

We collect different types of information depending on how you use Donegal Guide.

2.1 Account information

When you create or use a Donegal Guide account, we may collect and store:

  • User ID generated by Firebase

  • Email address

  • Display name

  • Profile image/avatar, if you add one or sign in with a provider that supplies one

  • Account type, such as guest account, email account, or Google sign-in account

  • Account status, such as active, blocked, or closed

  • Role, such as standard user or admin

  • Email verification status

  • Password authentication information, handled by Firebase Authentication

We do not store your plain-text password. Password authentication is managed by Firebase Authentication.

You may also use the app as a guest. Guest accounts allow you to use parts of the app without providing an email address, but your guest activity may still be linked to a Firebase-generated anonymous user ID.

2.2 Profile information you choose to provide

If you edit your profile, we may collect:

  • Name

  • “From” or location text that you choose to enter

  • Profile/person type field, if used

  • Avatar/profile image

  • Email address linked to your account

This information is used to operate your Donegal Guide account and display your own profile information back to you.

2.3 Location data

The Donegal Guide app may request access to your device’s foreground location.

We use your location to:

  • Show your position on the map

  • Help sort or display nearby experiences

  • Help you discover places around you

  • Improve map-based features

The app requests foreground location permission from your device. This means location access is intended to operate while you are using the app.

Based on the current app implementation, Donegal Guide uses your current location for app functionality and does not appear to store your live device location in your user profile. Business and experience locations are stored separately as listing data so that they can be shown on maps.

You can disable location access at any time in your device settings. Some map and nearby features may not work properly without location access.

2.4 Likes, bucket list, and explored places

When you like a place, add a place to your bucket list, or mark a place as explored, we may store:

  • The ID of the experience or business you liked

  • The ID of the experience or business you marked as explored

  • Your user ID in the relevant profile’s likes/check-in records

  • Counts used to show how many places you have liked or explored

This allows the app to show your saved places, your completed/explored places, and relevant profile engagement counts.

2.5 Notification preferences

If you manage notification settings in the app, we may store your preferences for:

  • News notifications

  • Offers notifications

  • Email newsletter preference

For push notifications, Donegal Guide uses Firebase Cloud Messaging. When you enable News or Offers notifications, your device may be subscribed to Firebase notification topics such as news or offers.

Firebase Cloud Messaging may process technical identifiers such as device tokens to deliver notifications. These tokens are handled by Firebase/Google services. Based on the current implementation reviewed, the app subscribes the device to topics but does not appear to store the FCM token directly in your Firestore user record.

You can change notification preferences in the app or disable notifications through your device settings.

2.6 Email newsletter preference

If you turn on the email newsletter preference, we may use your account email address to send Donegal Guide news, updates, or related communications.

You can unsubscribe or change this preference at any time, either through the app if available or by contacting us.

If we use a third-party email marketing service in the future, that provider will process your email address on our behalf.

2.7 Contact actions and outbound links

Donegal Guide profiles may include buttons or links such as:

  • Website

  • Facebook

  • Instagram

  • Email

  • Phone

  • Booking link

  • WhatsApp booking link

  • Google Maps directions link

When you tap some social or website links, the app may record that your user ID opened that type of link for that profile. This helps us and listed businesses understand engagement with profiles.

When you tap “Book Now”, the app may record a booking button click containing:

  • Experience/profile ID

  • Experience/profile name

  • Source, such as detail screen

  • Timestamp

The current reviewed implementation does not attach your user ID to the Book Now click record. However, the external booking website, WhatsApp, social media platform, map provider, email app, or phone app may collect information according to its own privacy policy.

For non-WhatsApp booking links, Donegal Guide may add UTM tracking parameters such as utm_source=donegalguide, utm_medium=app, and utm_campaign=book_now. These help businesses understand that traffic came from Donegal Guide.

2.8 Business, experience, and public profile data

If you are a business, experience provider, or listed organisation, we may collect and publish profile information including:

  • Business or experience name

  • Description

  • Category/type

  • Attributes

  • Images

  • Public URL slug

  • Website link

  • Booking link

  • Facebook link

  • Instagram link

  • Phone number

  • Email address

  • Eircode

  • Map coordinates/location

  • Opening hours

  • Contact person or internal contact field

  • Featured status

  • Renewal or subscription-related status

  • Profile status, such as active or inactive

Some of this data is intended to be publicly visible in the Donegal Guide app, on the Donegal Guide website, or in embedded profile cards on third-party pages.

Public profile cards may display information such as profile name, description, image, app link, directions link, booking link, and website link.

2.9 Images and media

If you upload a profile image, avatar, business photo, or experience photo, we may store that image in Firebase Storage.

Images may be compressed or resized before upload. Public listing images may be displayed in the Donegal Guide app, website, and embedded profile cards.

Do not upload images unless you have the right to use them.

2.10 Technical and diagnostic information

We may process technical information necessary to operate, secure, debug, and improve the service, such as:

  • Device type and operating system

  • App version

  • Authentication state

  • Error logs

  • Permission status

  • Timestamps

  • Basic usage events

  • Firebase-generated identifiers

  • Server logs from hosting, database, or cloud services

In development or testing builds, additional diagnostic logs may be used to troubleshoot issues. Production logging should be limited to what is necessary for operation and security.

3. How we use personal data

We use personal data to:

  • Create and manage user accounts

  • Authenticate users

  • Allow guest access

  • Verify email addresses

  • Reset passwords

  • Display user profile information

  • Save likes, bucket list items, and explored places

  • Show map and location-based functionality

  • Provide directions to businesses and experiences

  • Send optional push notifications

  • Manage newsletter preferences

  • Record profile engagement

  • Record Book Now click counts

  • Operate and display business and experience profiles

  • Publish website profile cards and embedded profile content

  • Administer subscriptions or profile listings

  • Prevent misuse and protect the service

  • Diagnose bugs and improve app performance

  • Comply with legal obligations

4. Legal bases for processing

Where EU or Irish data protection law applies, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases:

Contract

We process account and app data where necessary to provide the Donegal Guide service you request, such as creating an account, saving liked places, showing your bucket list, and operating profile features.

Consent

We rely on consent where required, including for:

  • Device location permission

  • Push notification permission

  • Optional email newsletter preferences

  • Optional profile image upload

  • Optional marketing communications

You may withdraw consent at any time, although this may affect the availability of certain features.

Legitimate interests

We process some data for our legitimate interests, including:

  • Securing the app and admin system

  • Understanding profile engagement

  • Improving the user experience

  • Debugging technical problems

  • Preventing misuse

  • Helping listed businesses understand general engagement with their profiles

We only rely on legitimate interests where we consider that our interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

Legal obligation

We may process or retain information where required to comply with applicable law, regulatory obligations, accounting requirements, dispute resolution, or lawful requests.

5. Who we share data with

We may share or process data through trusted service providers who help us operate Donegal Guide.

These may include:

Google Firebase / Google Cloud

We use Firebase and Google Cloud services for authentication, database storage, file storage, cloud functions, and push notifications.

This may include Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Firebase Storage, Firebase Cloud Messaging, and related Google infrastructure.

Google Maps

We use Google Maps-related services to display maps, geocode locations, and open directions. If you open Google Maps or a Google Maps directions link, Google may process information under its own privacy policy.

Google Sign-In

If you choose to sign in with Google, Google provides authentication information such as your Google account email, name, and profile image where available.

Website and hosting providers

The Donegal Guide website and admin tools may use website, hosting, DNS, deployment, or content delivery providers such as Squarespace, Netlify, Cloudflare, or similar providers.

External booking, social media, phone, email, and messaging providers

If you tap a booking link, WhatsApp link, website link, Facebook link, Instagram link, email link, phone link, or directions link, you may leave Donegal Guide and interact with a third-party service. That third party may collect and process your data according to its own privacy policy.

Professional advisers or legal authorities

We may disclose data to accountants, legal advisers, insurers, regulators, or authorities where necessary for compliance, legal claims, or protection of rights.

We do not sell your personal data.

6. Public profile information

Business and experience profile information may be publicly visible.

This may include:

  • Name

  • Description

  • Images

  • Location

  • Opening hours

  • Contact details

  • Social links

  • Website links

  • Booking links

  • Public profile URLs

  • Map/directions links

If you provide business or experience information to Donegal Guide, you should only provide information that you are authorised to publish.

If you want a public profile corrected, unpublished, or deleted, contact us at [email protected]

7. Location and directions

Donegal Guide may use your device location to show nearby places or display your position on a map.

When you request directions, the app may open Google Maps or another map application using the destination coordinates of the selected profile. The external map provider may process your location and route information independently.

Donegal Guide is not responsible for how third-party map providers process data once you leave the app.

8. Push notifications

If you enable push notifications, Donegal Guide may send notifications about news, new experiences, offers, reminders, or relevant updates.

Push notifications are optional. You can disable them:

  • In the Donegal Guide notification settings, where available

  • In your device notification settings

  • By withdrawing app notification permission

Disabling notification permission may prevent News and Offers alerts from being delivered even if your in-app preferences are switched on.

9. Email communications

If you opt in to email communications or the newsletter, we may send you updates about Donegal Guide.

You can opt out by:

  • Changing your newsletter preference in the app, where available

  • Using an unsubscribe link, where available

  • Contacting us at [email protected]

We may still send essential service emails, such as email verification, password reset, account-related messages, or legal notices.

10. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Typical retention periods include:

  • Account data: retained while your account is active

  • Guest account data: retained while the guest account remains active or until deletion/cleanup

  • Likes and explored places: retained while your account is active or until removed

  • Notification preferences: retained while your account is active

  • Profile images/avatar: retained while your account or profile uses the image

  • Business and experience profile data: retained while the profile is active, contracted, listed, archived, or required for business records

  • Book Now click records and engagement data: retained for analytics and reporting unless deleted or anonymised

  • Admin logs and operational records: retained as needed for security, audit, support, and legal purposes

If you close your account, we will delete or anonymise personal data where appropriate, unless we need to retain it for legal, security, accounting, dispute, or legitimate business reasons.

Some public or business profile information may remain available if it relates to a business listing rather than a personal user account.

11. Account closure and deletion

The app may provide a “Close Account” option. If you close your account, we will take steps to close or delete your user account and associated personal data, subject to technical, legal, and operational limitations.

You can also request deletion by contacting us at [email protected]

When requesting deletion, we may need to verify your identity before acting on the request.

Account deletion may not remove:

  • Aggregated analytics that no longer identifies you

  • Records we must keep for legal or accounting reasons

  • Public business profile data that is not personal user account data

  • Data already processed by third-party services you accessed from Donegal Guide

12. Your data protection rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under data protection law, including the right to:

  • Access your personal data

  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete data

  • Request deletion of your data

  • Restrict processing

  • Object to certain processing

  • Withdraw consent

  • Request data portability

  • Complain to a data protection authority

To exercise your rights, contact us.

If you are in Ireland, you may contact the Data Protection Commission at:

Data Protection Commission
Website: https://www.dataprotection.ie

13. Security

We use technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data. These include authentication controls, restricted admin access, Firebase security features, and controlled access to systems used to manage Donegal Guide.

However, no digital service is completely secure. You should use a strong password, keep your device secure, and contact us immediately if you believe your account has been compromised.

14. International transfers

Some of our service providers, including Google/Firebase and other cloud providers, may process data outside Ireland or the European Economic Area.

Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses, provider data processing terms, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

15. Children

Donegal Guide is not intended for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13.

If you believe a child has provided personal data to Donegal Guide, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

For users under 18, use of the service should be with the consent or supervision of a parent or guardian where required by law.

16. Third-party links and services

Donegal Guide contains links to third-party websites and services, including booking websites, WhatsApp, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, email clients, phone apps, and business websites.

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

17. Business and experience providers

If you are a business, experience provider, advertiser, or listing owner, you are responsible for ensuring that any information you provide to Donegal Guide is accurate and that you have the right to publish it.

If you provide personal contact details, such as a contact name, phone number, email address, or social media profile, you confirm that you have permission to provide and publish that information.

18. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

If we make material changes, we may notify users through the app, website, email, or another appropriate method.

The “Last updated” date at the top of this page shows when this Privacy Policy was last revised.

19. Contact us

For privacy questions, requests, or complaints, contact:

Donegal Guide
Trading Name: Donegal Guide
[email protected]