Updated: 29th January 2026

Grounded Connections (“we”, “us”, “our”) is operated by Grounded In Freedom Ltd, trading as Grounded Connections. We are the controller of your personal data for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data fairly and transparently.

What personal data we collect;

How and why we use it;

The legal bases we rely on;

Who we share it with;

How long we keep it; and

Your rights under data protection laws.

If you have any questions, contact us at hello@groundedconnections.co.uk.

We collect and process the following categories of personal data.

Name;

Email address;

Mobile phone number;

Date of birth (used to verify that you are 18+ and to determine your age);

To create your Grounded Connections profile and improve match quality, we collect:

Profile photo;

Short and long bios;

Activities and interests (multiple choice and/or free text);

Feral score;

Intentions and preferences for connection (multiple choice);

Location via map select or geolocation;

Any other details you choose to add to your profile.

To help connect you with other users within a realistic travel distance, we collect:

Your location (manually selected on map or via geolocation);

Derived midpoints between group members’ locations for suggested meet-up areas;

Approximate locations for suggested meet-up points (e.g. a general area, town or city).

We use third-party mapping and geocoding services to translate into approximate locations and midpoints.

We do not publicly display your exact location or precise coordinates to other users.

Groups you are matched into and connection cycles you participate in;

Suggested meet-up locations, dates and activities generated for your groups;

Messages, photos and other content you send and receive in group chats;

Actions you take in the App (such as opening screens, updating your profile, opting into matching cycles);

Log data such as IP address, device identifiers, browser type, operating system, app version and timestamps.

If you purchase a Membership, we and/or our payment providers process:

Subscription plan details;

Billing frequency;

Payment status and history;

Limited payment card information (handled primarily by the third-party payment processor Stripe; we do not store full card numbers).

Emails and messages you send to us (for example, support requests, feedback or complaints);

Responses to surveys or interviews, where applicable.

We do not intentionally collect special category data (such as health information) through the App, and ask that you do not share such information in your profile or group chats.

We use your personal data for the following purposes and legal bases:

Legal basis: performance of a contract (UK GDPR Art. 6(1)(b))

We process your data to:

Create and manage your account;

Display your profile to matched group members;

Match you into groups of 3–5 based on location, travel radius, interests, feral score, age and other preferences;

Suggest meet-up locations, dates and activities;

Provide group chat functionality;

Send you service messages (e.g. “your connections are live”).

Without this data, we cannot provide the core Services to you.

Legal basis: legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))

We have a legitimate interest in monitoring and improving the App and protecting users, including by:

Analysing how the Services are used;

Troubleshooting, detecting and preventing errors;

Moderating content and enforcing our Terms and Safety & Community Guidelines;

Developing new features and enhancing match quality.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we balance our interests against your rights and freedoms and only process data where our interests are not overridden.

Legal basis: performance of a contract & legitimate interests

We may contact you via email, SMS or in-app notifications to:

Provide important service information (e.g. changes to terms, safety notices, connection cycle updates);

Ask for feedback to help us improve the Services;

Respond to your questions or support requests.

We may also send you information about new features or offerings that are similar to the Services you already use. You can opt out of non-essential communications at any time.

2.4. For marketing (where applicable)

Legal basis: consent and/or legitimate interests

If you opt in, we may send you newsletters or marketing communications about Grounded Connections (for example, new regions, retreats or related offerings). You can withdraw consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link or adjusting your preferences.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

Legal basis: legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c))

We may process and retain your data where required to:

Comply with tax, accounting and other regulatory requirements;

Respond to lawful requests from law enforcement or other authorities;

Enforce our Terms and defend legal claims.

We share your personal data with:

When you are matched with a group, other group members can see:

Your first name;

Your profile photo;

Your age;

Your bios;

Your feral score;

Your selected activities, interests and intentions;

Messages and photos you send in group chats.

We do not share your email address or phone number with other users through the App unless you choose to share them yourself.

We use trusted third-party providers to help us deliver the Services, including:

Cloud hosting and storage providers;

Mapping and geocoding services;

Analytics tools;

Payment processors (e.g. Stripe, app stores);

Communication tools (e.g. email delivery, SMS providers).

These providers only process your personal data on our instructions and under data processing agreements that require them to protect your information.

We may disclose your data to third parties where we reasonably believe it is necessary to:

Comply with a legal obligation, court order or lawful request;

Protect the rights, property or safety of Grounded Connections, our users or others;

Investigate potential Terms violations, fraud or security issues.

If Grounded In Freedom Ltd undergoes a reorganisation, merger, acquisition or sale of all or part of its business, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate protections.

We do not rent or sell your personal data to advertisers.

Some of our service providers may be located outside the UK. Where your personal data is transferred outside the UK (or UK+EEA), we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

An adequacy regulation issued by the UK government; or

Standard Contractual Clauses and additional safeguards where required.

You can contact us for more information about these safeguards.

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Policy, including:

For as long as your account is active;

For as long as we have a legitimate business need to retain it (for example, to maintain records of connections, address queries or improve the service); and

For as long as required by law (for example, tax and accounting records).

We may retain certain information for a defined period after account closure or ban for safety, fraud prevention and legal compliance, for example:

Records of serious reports, bans and associated messages;

Data necessary to prevent banned users from re-joining.

Retention periods will vary depending on the type of data and our legal obligations. We aim to minimise the data we retain and will delete or anonymise data when it is no longer needed.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or destruction.

However, no system is completely secure. You are also responsible for keeping your account credentials safe and for using common sense when sharing information with other users.

Under the UK GDPR, you have certain rights regarding your personal data, including:

Right of access – to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to rectification – to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.

Right to erasure – to request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances.

Right to restriction – to request that we restrict processing in certain circumstances.

Right to data portability – to receive your data in a structured, commonly used format and have it transferred to another controller where technically feasible.

Right to object – to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.

Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

To exercise these rights, contact hello@groundedconnections.co.uk. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how we handle your data. However, we would appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.

The Services are intended only for users aged 18 or over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

If we become aware that we have collected data from a person under 18, we will delete that data and may close the account.

Grounded Connections maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE).

We strictly prohibit any user from creating, uploading, sharing, requesting, promoting, or distributing content that exploits or abuses children in any form. This includes, but is not limited to, images, messages, links, discussions, or any behavior intended to groom, exploit, or harm minors.

Although Grounded Connections is a platform exclusively for adults aged 18 years and above, we acknowledge our responsibility to actively prevent and address any misuse of the platform for illegal or harmful activities involving minors.

We actively monitor user activity and investigate reports related to CSAE or child endangerment. Where concerns are identified, we take immediate and appropriate action, which may include:

Immediate removal of offending content

Permanent suspension or banning of violating accounts

Preservation of relevant evidence

Reporting to appropriate law enforcement and child protection authorities, including the National Crime Agency (NCA) or other relevant bodies, as required

Users can report any suspicious behavior or content directly through the application or by contacting us at:

All reports are treated as high priority and are investigated promptly.

Grounded Connections is committed to maintaining a safe environment for all users and fully complying with the Google Play & Apple App Store Child Safety Standards and policies.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Effective date” at the top of the page and may notify you via the App or email where appropriate.

We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of the Services after changes have been made indicates your acceptance of the updated Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact:

Controller: Grounded In Freedom Ltd, trading as Grounded Connections

Email: hello@groundedconnections.co.uk