Language
Deutsch English Italiano Español Français Nederlands Polski Register Log in

Privacy policy

Version 4 · published on 05.11.2026

This is a translation for your information. Only the German version is the basis and legally binding. Read the German version

Privacy policy

1. Data protection at a glance

General information

The following information gives you an overview of what happens to your personal data when you use RideTree. Personal data is any data that can be used to identify you personally.

RideTree is a community platform for motorcycle riders. In addition to providing the website, we offer you in particular user accounts, community functions, profiles, groups, communities, tours, events, location functions, messages, notifications and premium functions.

Who is responsible for data processing?

The controller responsible for data processing is:

Steffen Greven
Kupferdreher Straße 266
45257 Essen
Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 2103 486 474 20
Email: info@ridetree.de

If you have questions about data protection or wish to exercise your data protection rights, you can also contact us at the email address above.

2. Hosting

External hosting

RideTree is hosted by the following provider:

SC-Hosting.info
Owner: Patrick Greger
Mehrkuhle 10
48231 Warendorf
Germany
Phone: 02584 919316
Email: info@sc-hosting.info

The servers are located in Germany. The databases, user content, images, files and technical data required to operate RideTree are processed on the servers in particular.

Processing takes place in particular to fulfil our usage relationship with you pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR and on the basis of our legitimate interest in the secure, reliable and efficient provision of RideTree pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Processing on behalf of a controller

We have concluded a data processing agreement with our hosting provider pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR.

3. Server log files

When you access RideTree, our web server processes technical information in server log files. This may include in particular:

We process this data to provide RideTree technically, to analyse errors, to ward off abuse and to ensure system security. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Server log files are generally stored for four weeks and then deleted, unless longer storage is required due to a specific security incident.

4. Registration and user account

You need a user account to use essential RideTree functions.

When you register, we process the following data in particular:

Your public name does not have to match your legal name. You can also use a fictitious name for this.

We never store your password in plain text. For this purpose, RideTree uses a password hash function based on Argon2id.

Processing takes place to set up and carry out your usage relationship with RideTree pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

Email verification

After registering, you must confirm the email address you provided. If you change your email address later, you must also verify the new address.

Minimum age

You must be at least 18 years old to use RideTree. We check this using the date of birth you provide when registering. There is no identity or ID check.

5. Consent to the privacy policy and community guidelines

When you register, you must confirm the applicable privacy policy and our community guidelines.

So that we can document and prove your consent, we store:

In the event of material changes, we publish a new version and ask you to consent again.

Processing takes place to document and prove your consent or the rules applicable to your usage relationship on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b), (c) and (f) GDPR.

6. Your user profile

You can voluntarily add further information to your RideTree profile. This may include in particular:

Among other things, you can add links to Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, YouTube, Strava, WhatsApp and Threads. These are merely links you provide. We do not integrate any social media SDKs through this profile information.

You can use your privacy settings to determine which profile information is displayed to other users.

You can generally change or remove voluntary profile information at any time in your profile settings.

7. Location in your profile

You can set a location for your profile. Coordinates may be stored for this purpose. You can determine your location using your device's location function or select a place or position yourself.

Whether and in what form this location is displayed to other users depends on your privacy settings.

Your profile location is technically separate from the current position used for live functions.

8. Motorcycles and vehicle profiles

You can add your motorcycles to RideTree. In particular, the manufacturer, model, year of manufacture, technical data, images and information on modifications may be stored.

RideTree does not store an official licence plate or mileage in your vehicle profile, unless you publish such information yourself in free-text content.

Processing takes place to provide the profile and community functions you request pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

9. Community content

On RideTree you can publish content and interact with content from other users. This includes in particular:

Depending on the visibility selected, this information may be displayed to other RideTree users or to a group of people you specify.

Processing takes place to provide our community functions pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.

10. Images and file uploads

You can upload images on RideTree, for example as a profile picture, banner, motorcycle image, feed image, gallery image or message attachment.

Depending on the function, we support in particular JPG/JPEG, JPE, JFIF, PNG and WebP. GPX files can also be processed for routes.

For normal user images such as profile pictures, banners, motorcycle images, feed photos and gallery images, RideTree processes the uploaded image file and saves it anew. For JPEG files, the EXIF orientation may first be read so that the image is rotated correctly. Other EXIF metadata, such as GPS coordinates contained in the original file, are not transferred to the newly created image file.

Images uploaded as private message attachments, on the other hand, may be stored unchanged as the original file. As a result, metadata contained in the original file, in particular EXIF data of a JPEG image, may be retained. If you do not wish to transmit such information, you should remove it from the file before sending.

11. Private messages and chats

RideTree provides you with private messages and chat functions. In doing so, we process in particular message content, images, sender, recipient, time of sending and read status.

The read status shows whether a message has been read. We do not display a separate time of reading.

Private messages are generally stored to provide the conversation history and currently cannot be deleted individually by you.

If you delete your user account, messages remain with the respective conversation partner. The link to your deleted user account is removed and you are then shown as "Deleted member". New messages to your deleted account are no longer possible.

Our administrators and moderators have no general access to complete private conversation histories. If you or another user reports specific content, the reported content required to process the report may be viewed by authorised moderators or administrators.

12. Friends, followers and blocks

RideTree offers you both friendship and follower functions. For this purpose, we store which user accounts are connected to each other and which accounts you follow.

If you block another member, we store this block until you lift it or one of the accounts involved is deleted. Existing messages may still be displayed in the previous conversation history despite a block.

13. Groups and communities

On RideTree you can use groups and communities and, depending on the respective function and your permissions, create or manage them yourself.

The following data in particular may be processed within groups and communities:

Groups may have different visibility settings. Your group memberships are not automatically displayed publicly via your profile.

Your role within a group may be displayed to other group members.

14. Dates and events

If you create or take part in an event, in particular the title, description, date, time, meeting point, coordinates, images, participant information, tour information, visibility and other information provided by you or the creator may be processed.

If you take part in an event, we store the link between your user account and the event. Depending on the event and its visibility, other authorised users may be shown that you are taking part.

Communication and safety functions may also be provided for events.

15. Tours, tour planning and GPX

On RideTree you can create, plan and publish tours and routes. The following data in particular may be processed:

Published GPX files may be downloaded by other users depending on the respective sharing setting.

Route calculation is carried out using a GraphHopper installation operated on the RideTree infrastructure. The coordinates used for your route calculation are therefore not transmitted to an external GraphHopper API solely for the purpose of route calculation.

We do not create an ongoing location history from your general live position. However, individual RideTree functions may store their own location, route and time data. This applies in particular to rides and tours you deliberately create or record, RideRadar and other location-based functions.

16. Spots and biker meeting points

You can create and edit spots. We store the respective content and your assignment as a user.

You can report biker meeting points. Such reports are processed for review by our moderation team.

There are currently no corresponding user functions for creating or changing passes.

17. Live location

With your express permission, certain RideTree functions may use the current location of your device.

Your automatically recorded live position is technically separate from the location stored in your profile.

If you activate automatic location updates, your current position may be updated regularly during use. Your previous live position is replaced by the new position. We do not create an ongoing location history from this general live position.

If you deactivate automatic location updates, your automatically stored live position is deleted immediately. Live positions that are not renewed are automatically cleared after 24 hours at the latest.

You can generally also use RideTree without sharing your device location. Location-dependent functions may then be unavailable or only available to a limited extent.

18. RideRadar

With RideRadar you can be shown to other authorised RideTree users as active or on the road for a period of your choice.

You must activate RideRadar yourself. You can limit the visibility in time, for example for a certain period, until the evening or until you deactivate RideRadar manually.

For RideRadar, in particular your current location or the location used at the start, the start time, the selected duration and the status may be processed.

Ended RideRadar status records are automatically deleted after seven days.

Processing takes place to provide the location function you have expressly activated pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR and, where consent is required, on the basis of Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

19. Radius search and location-based functions

For functions such as searching for users, activities or content near you, RideTree may use your current GPS location.

You can set a search radius for this. Your location data is processed as part of the location-based function you use.

20. Spontaneous rides

If you create or take part in a spontaneous ride, in particular the meeting point, coordinates, time, description, participants, visibility and other information about the ride may be processed.

The meeting point and coordinates are automatically removed 30 days after the planned end of the spontaneous ride. The ride itself and information about your participation may then be retained insofar as they are still required for community and history functions.

21. Safety and check-in functions on rides

RideTree provides you with optional safety functions for certain events and rides. For example, after the planned end we may ask you whether you are still on the road or have already reached your destination.

If you have activated the corresponding option and use RideTree on a suitable mobile device, your current location may also be checked for this function.

Use of this function is voluntary. Depending on your settings, notifications may be sent via in-app notification, push message and/or email.

22. Reports and moderation

You can report profiles, posts, comments, messages, groups and other community content, among other things.

To process a report, we process the report, the content concerned, the user accounts involved, the processing status and the necessary moderation information.

Our moderators and administrators only have access to the content required for processing. Reporting a single private message does not give general access to your complete private conversation history.

Completed moderation reports are generally deleted after 12 months, unless longer storage is required due to ongoing proceedings, a specific case of abuse or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Processing takes place to enforce our community guidelines, to protect our users and to prevent abuse on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) and (f) GDPR.

23. Two-factor authentication and account security

RideTree offers you two-factor authentication. In particular, you can use TOTP via an authenticator app and one-time codes by email for this purpose.

Recovery codes can be generated for TOTP. We do not store these in plain text. A SHA-256 hash of each code is stored.

For active sessions, technical information such as your IP address, device or browser information and the time of the session may be processed. If you use "Stay logged in", your session can be maintained for up to 30 days.

Processing takes place to secure your user account and to prevent unauthorised access pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

24. Notifications

RideTree informs you about events relevant to you. These include, for example:

Depending on the event, we may inform you via in-app notification, email and/or push message.

In your settings you can individually determine for numerous events through which channels you wish to be notified.

25. Push notifications

RideTree supports web push notifications. You only receive push messages if you have granted the corresponding permission via your browser or device.

For technical delivery, we process the necessary push subscription data. The push function is managed by RideTree. We do not use any additional push marketing provider for this.

You can withdraw push permission at any time in the settings of your browser or device.

26. Community digest

You can voluntarily activate our weekly RideTree community digest. It informs you about news and activities from the RideTree community, for example new community content, new members or newly published routes.

The community digest is deactivated by default for new user accounts and is only sent once you activate it.

Processing takes place on the basis of your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future in your notification settings.

The emails are sent via our server infrastructure or via SC-Hosting. We do not use any external newsletter service for this.

27. Recommendation and referral system

RideTree provides you with a recommendation or referral system. If you open a corresponding invitation link, a referral code may be stored. This allows us to assign a later registration or an associated benefit to the referring user.

Depending on the promotion, referrals may be linked to community functions, vouchers, discounts or other benefits.

You can use your settings to determine whether you are displayed as the referrer to users you have referred.

Processing takes place to carry out the referral programme pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR and, where necessary, on the basis of our legitimate interest in administering the referral programme and preventing abuse pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

28. RIDE and RIDE+ premium memberships

RideTree offers you paid premium services under the names RIDE and RIDE+.

If you purchase a premium service, we may process the following data in particular:

RideTree offers both fixed terms and renewing premium memberships.

Processing takes place to initiate and fulfil the contract pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR and to comply with statutory retention and documentation obligations pursuant to Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

29. Payment processing with PayPal

We use PayPal for paid services. The provider for users in Germany is PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg.

Depending on the payment process, you are redirected to PayPal or can use PayPal payment functions integrated into RideTree. Data is exchanged between RideTree and PayPal to the extent necessary to initiate, carry out, confirm, manage or reverse your payment.

Depending on the respective transaction, we store in particular:

We do not store any card or online banking access data in our own payment system.

Payment processing takes place on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. We store payment and invoice data relevant under tax and commercial law on the basis of Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR.

PayPal processes personal data under its own responsibility in accordance with the data protection provisions applicable to PayPal.

You can find further information in the PayPal privacy statement .

Storage of technical PayPal data

We use a tiered retention concept for technical PayPal events:

Invoices, credit notes, payment and accounting records that must be retained by law are excluded from these technical deletion periods.

30. Invoices and credit notes

After a successful payment, RideTree may automatically create an invoice for you. For this purpose, we process in particular the invoice number, description of services, amounts, your user or customer name, your email address and, if you have voluntarily provided it, your billing address.

You do not have to provide a separate billing address unless it is required for the specific transaction.

To keep your invoice traceable, we store a snapshot of the customer data relevant to the invoice. Invoices and credit notes may also be stored as PDF files.

We store invoice, payment and accounting data relevant under tax and commercial law in accordance with the applicable statutory retention periods. This data is therefore not deleted merely by deleting your RideTree user account.

31. Cookies and local settings

RideTree uses cookies and comparable local storage technologies. Some of these are technically necessary. Matomo analytics cookies are only set if you have previously expressly consented to statistical analysis.

Cookie / storage Purpose Duration
PHPSESSID Session and login up to 14 days
rt_remember "Stay logged in" function 30 days
rt_ref Assignment of a referral code after opening an invitation link 30 days
rt_standalone Stores whether RideTree is running as an installed application/PWA 1 year
cms_ansicht Stores your chosen list or tile view in the knowledge section 1 year
*_karte_ausgeblendet Stores for each page whether you have hidden the map 1 year
_pk_id* Matomo – recognition of a visitor for web analytics by default up to 13 months
_pk_ses* Matomo – assignment of actions to a session session/short-term storage
mtm_consent_removed Stores that you have not consented to Matomo analytics or have withdrawn consent depending on the consent configuration

The Matomo analytics cookies _pk_id* and _pk_ses* are only set after you consent. If you refuse analytics, no Matomo tracking takes place.

Where cookies or comparable technologies are strictly necessary to provide a service you have expressly requested, their storage or access to your terminal device takes place on the basis of § 25(2) TDDDG (German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act).

We obtain your prior consent for Matomo analytics cookies and the associated web analytics. Storage or access to your terminal device takes place on the basis of § 25(1) TDDDG; the subsequent processing of personal data takes place on the basis of your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

32. Web analytics with Matomo

We use Matomo to understand how RideTree is used and to develop our service further technically and in terms of content. Matomo is web analytics software that we operate ourselves on our server infrastructure at SC-Hosting. We do not use Matomo Cloud. The analytics data collected with Matomo is therefore processed on our own hosting infrastructure.

After your consent, Matomo may process the following information in particular:

We have activated Matomo's IP anonymisation. Two bytes of your IP address are masked before the IP address is stored in Matomo. This reduces the accuracy of attribution and considerably limits the personal reference of the stored IP address.

We do not transmit any RideTree user ID to Matomo and do not use Matomo to link your analytics data with your RideTree user account.

We currently use Matomo for page views, link and download tracking and to measure the duration of visits. We do not currently use heatmaps, session recordings, A/B tests or Matomo Tag Manager for web analytics.

Matomo only after your consent

We have configured Matomo so that no tracking takes place before your consent. We use Matomo's requireConsent function for this.

The technical JavaScript file of Matomo may already be loaded from our own server infrastructure when RideTree is opened. However, this alone does not trigger any analysis. As long as you have not consented, Matomo does not send any tracking requests and does not set any analytics cookies.

Only after you have consented to the statistics or web analytics category does Matomo analysis begin and can Matomo set the analytics cookies required for this.

If you refuse analytics or withdraw your consent, your decision is technically taken into account and no further Matomo tracking takes place.

Purpose and legal basis

We use Matomo to statistically analyse how RideTree is used. This allows us, for example, to recognise which areas and functions are frequently used, through which pages visitors reach RideTree and where technical or content improvements make sense.

The storage of analytics cookies or access to information in your terminal device takes place exclusively after your consent pursuant to § 25(1) TDDDG. The processing of the associated personal data takes place on the basis of your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.

You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future via our privacy or cookie settings. The lawfulness of the processing carried out before your withdrawal remains unaffected.

Storage period

The analytics data collected via Matomo is only stored for as long as it is required for our statistical analysis. We regularly review the retention period and may automatically delete older raw data using Matomo's data protection functions.

33. Maps with OpenStreetMap and CARTO

To display maps, RideTree uses map data from OpenStreetMap and map tiles or basemap services from CARTO. The technical map display is carried out using Leaflet, among others.

When you open a map, the required map tiles are retrieved from CARTO servers. Technically necessary connection data is transmitted to CARTO. This may include in particular your IP address, HTTP referrer, user agent, time stamp and information about the requested map tiles.

The provider of CARTO is CartoDB Inc., USA. Data may be processed in the USA in this context.

We need the map display in particular for tours, locations, spots, rides and other geographic RideTree functions.

Processing takes place in particular to provide the map function you have accessed pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR and on the basis of our legitimate interest in a functional map display pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

You can find further information in the CARTO privacy notice .

34. Locally integrated resources

To display RideTree, we use fonts, icons and other static resources, among other things. Where these resources are delivered locally from our own servers, no connection to the servers of the original providers takes place when these resources are loaded.

This applies in particular to the Font Awesome icons used by RideTree, which are provided locally on our server infrastructure.

35. No advertising trackers

We do not currently use any advertising and marketing tracking services such as Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel or comparable advertising network trackers.

The web analytics with Matomo that we use is self-hosted and is described in section 32 of this privacy policy.

36. Backups

To back up and restore our RideTree infrastructure, we regularly create backups of databases and files.

There are daily backups or restore points. Additional backups may be retained for a period of up to 12 months.

Data that you or we have deleted in the production system may therefore still be contained in existing backup copies for a limited period.

We do not use backups to deliberately restore deleted user accounts or content. However, a restoration may be required as part of a technically necessary restoration of the entire system.

Processing takes place on the basis of our legitimate interest in data security, protection against failure and recoverability pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

37. Storage period

Unless we state a more specific storage period in this privacy policy, we only store your personal data for as long as is necessary for the respective processing purpose.

If there are statutory retention obligations, we store the data concerned for the duration of the respective statutory retention period and then delete it.

We may also store data to the extent necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or to investigate specific cases of security incidents or abuse.

38. Deletion of your user account

You can delete your RideTree account yourself in your profile settings. Your user account is deleted immediately.

In doing so, we delete in particular your user profile and your normal own feed posts.

Certain community content may be retained if its complete removal would impair the context of existing community content. This may include in particular:

We remove your personal reference here as far as intended. You are then shown as "Deleted member".

If you manage groups or communities, their management may be transferred to other authorised users.

Your normal own feed posts and your own news are deleted when your account is deleted. Likes on content that still exists may be retained in anonymised form or decoupled from your deleted user account.

Uploads clearly assigned to you and no longer required are removed from the database and physically deleted.

Invoice, payment and accounting data that must be retained by law are not covered by your account deletion and continue to be stored for the applicable statutory retention period.

Backups already created may still contain your deleted data until the respective backup period expires.

39. Recipients of your personal data

We only transfer your personal data to external recipients if this is necessary to provide RideTree or to fulfil a contract, we are legally obliged to do so, you have consented or another legal basis permits the transfer.

Possible recipients include in particular:

We operate Matomo ourselves on our server infrastructure at SC-Hosting. The web analytics data is therefore not transferred to Matomo Cloud or the Matomo manufacturer merely because Matomo is used.

Resources provided locally on our server infrastructure, such as Font Awesome, likewise do not result in any data transfer to their original providers.

40. Data transfer to third countries

Some external providers we use may process personal data outside the European Economic Area. This applies in particular to CARTO. PayPal may also process data within its international group of companies in countries outside the European Economic Area.

Where personal data is transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area, this takes place in accordance with the applicable statutory requirements, for example on the basis of an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards such as the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission.

41. Legal bases for processing

Depending on the processing operation, we base the processing of your personal data in particular on the following legal bases:

Our legitimate interests include in particular the secure and stable provision of RideTree, prevention of abuse and fraud, IT security, moderation and the enforcement and defence of legal claims.

42. Withdrawal of your consent

If you have given us consent, you can withdraw it at any time with effect for the future. The lawfulness of the processing carried out before the withdrawal remains unaffected.

Where RideTree provides corresponding settings, you can withdraw directly in your user account or via our privacy and cookie settings. Alternatively, you can contact us at info@ridetree.de.

43. Your right to object under Art. 21 GDPR

IF WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA ON THE BASIS OF ART. 6(1)(E) OR (F) GDPR, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA AT ANY TIME ON GROUNDS RELATING TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION. THIS ALSO APPLIES TO PROFILING BASED ON THESE PROVISIONS.

IF YOU OBJECT, WE WILL NO LONGER PROCESS THE PERSONAL DATA CONCERNED UNLESS WE CAN DEMONSTRATE COMPELLING LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR THE PROCESSING WHICH OVERRIDE YOUR INTERESTS, RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, OR THE PROCESSING SERVES THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXERCISE OR DEFENCE OF LEGAL CLAIMS.

44. Your right of access

In accordance with Art. 15 GDPR, you have the right to request information from us as to whether and which personal data we process about you.

A complete automatic download of all personal data is not currently available. You can send your access request to info@ridetree.de.

45. Your right to rectification

In accordance with Art. 16 GDPR, you have the right to have incorrect personal data corrected or incomplete data completed.

You can change much of your profile data directly in your profile settings. You cannot change certain data, for example roles, moderation, verification or billing data, via normal profile editing.

46. Your right to erasure

In accordance with Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to request the erasure of your personal data.

This right does not apply without restriction. For example, we may or must continue to store data if this is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or for another reason provided for by law.

47. Your right to restriction of processing

In accordance with Art. 18 GDPR, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data under the statutory conditions.

48. Your right to data portability

In accordance with Art. 20 GDPR, you have the right to receive personal data that you have provided to us and that we process by automated means on the basis of your consent or a contract in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or, where technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller.

49. Your right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

Under Art. 77 GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority if you believe that the processing of your personal data violates the GDPR.

You can contact in particular a supervisory authority in the member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

50. SSL or TLS encryption

RideTree uses SSL or TLS encryption to protect the transmission of confidential content.

You can recognise an encrypted connection in particular by the fact that the address of the website begins with "https://".

51. Contact by email

If you contact us by email, we process the data you transmit, including your contact details, to handle your enquiry and to answer any follow-up questions.

The legal basis depends on the content of your enquiry. For contract-related enquiries, processing takes place in particular on the basis of Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. Otherwise, processing may be based on our legitimate interest in handling your enquiry pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

52. Changes to this privacy policy

We may amend this privacy policy if functions, data processing, services used or legal requirements change.

We will inform you accordingly of material changes. Where new consent or approval is required for changed processing, we will request it from you again.

We may store the version you confirmed, the time of consent and the IP address processed in this context for evidence purposes.

53. Date of this privacy policy

Last updated: November 2026