Who we are
This Privacy Policy explains how Settle Holidays ("Settle", "we", "us") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use the app. Settle Holidays is published by Dave App Development Ltd (trading as Settle) and distributed under the package identifier com.settleholidays.
Settle Holidays helps you and a partner choose a hotel together: you each swipe through hotels for a trip, see the ones you both liked, and then book with a travel provider. We do not sell holidays or take bookings ourselves.
By using Settle Holidays you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.
Information we collect
We collect only the information needed to run the app:
- Account identifiers from Google Sign-In: your email address and your Google account ID. We do not save your Google name or profile picture.
- Your display name: the name you type in the app so your partner can recognise you. You choose it, and you can change it at any time.
- Your couple link: if you pair with a partner, we store the connection between your two accounts, and the invite code used to make it, so that your trips, swipes and matches can be shared between you.
- Your trips: the destination you pick and the trip details you enter, which are your dates, the number of adults and children travelling, the board type, your price ceiling and your minimum star rating and review score. We store the number of children travelling, never their names, ages or anything else about them.
- Your activity in the app: the hotels you like or pass on, the head-to-head choices you make in Decision Mode and the ranking that results, the hotels you and your partner both liked (your matches), and the destinations you like while browsing.
- Click-outs to a travel provider: when you tap through from a match to book, we record which trip and hotel it was for, the link we sent you to, and when.
- Sign-in sessions: a session credential for each device you sign in on. On Android it is held in the device's secure keystore; on our servers it is stored only as a one-way hash, never in its original form.
- A push notification token for each device you sign in on, so that we can tell you when your partner joins, when you match on a hotel, and when it is your turn on a trip.
- Crash and stability data: we use Google Firebase Crashlytics to record crashes and errors. When the app crashes, or a notification fails to send, Crashlytics collects a diagnostic report containing the technical details of the failure (such as the error and the stack trace), together with information about the app and device at the time (for example app version, operating-system version, device model, and a Crashlytics-generated installation identifier).
- Analytics data: through Google Firebase Analytics in the app, and Google Analytics from our servers, we record steps you take in the app (starting to browse destinations, signing in, pairing with a partner, creating a trip, swiping, matching, finishing Decision Mode and clicking out to book), together with app and device information (such as app version, device model, and general region) and an identifier for your installation of the app. When you click out to book we also record the IDs of your trip and couple with that event, so that we can tell which trips lead to a booking. These are internal codes, not your name or email address.
Some things are kept only on your device and never sent to us: your language choice, the destinations you like before you sign in (until you sign in, when they are added to your account), and the reminders the app schedules on your device to nudge you about a trip.
How we use your information
We use your information only to operate the app:
- To sign you in and keep you signed in.
- To find hotels that fit your trip, and to store the ones you like or pass on.
- To share trips, matches and Decision Mode results between you and your partner.
- To send you notifications about your trips and your partner's activity.
- To send you to a travel provider to book, and to record that you did, so that we can be paid the commission described below.
- To understand how the app is used and where people stop, using Google Analytics and Google Firebase Analytics.
- To diagnose and fix crashes and errors, using Google Firebase Crashlytics.
We do not sell your data, and we do not use it for advertising.
Booking with a travel provider
Settle Holidays does not take bookings or payments. When you choose to book a hotel, we open a link to a travel provider's own website or app, and you book with them directly. That link carries a code that tells the provider the booking came from us, so that the provider can pay us a commission. It does not carry your name, email address or any other personal information.
Anything you give the travel provider, including your name, contact details and payment details, goes to them, not to us, and is governed by their own privacy policy. We never see your payment details.
Hotel names, photos, prices and reviews in the app come from our hotel data provider. Hotel photos are loaded from that provider's servers, which see your device's IP address when they send them, as any website would.
Where your data is stored
Your data is stored on Google Cloud (Cloud Run) and in a managed PostgreSQL database hosted by Neon. All communication between the app and our servers uses encrypted HTTPS connections.
Third-party services
We rely on a small number of service providers to run the app. They process data on our behalf; we do not sell or share your data with third parties for their own purposes.
- Google: for Google Sign-In, for hosting our backend on Google Cloud, for delivering push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging), for app analytics (Google Analytics and Google Firebase Analytics), and for crash and error reporting (Google Firebase Crashlytics).
- Neon: for hosting our PostgreSQL database.
- Our hotel data provider: for the hotels, photos, prices and reviews you see. We send it your trip's destination, dates and number of travellers to find hotels, never your name or email address.
- The travel provider you choose to book with, only when you tap through to book, as described under "Booking with a travel provider".
Data retention and deletion
We keep your data for as long as your account is active.
You can ask us to delete your account and its data at any time by emailing [email protected] from the email address you sign in with. Our account deletion page sets out what is deleted, what is kept if you are paired with a partner, and how long it takes.
If you leave a couple, each of you keeps your own copy of every shared trip, with only your own swipes in it, and the couple link between you is removed.
Signing out removes that device's session and push notification token.
Deleting your account does not delete analytics data already sent to Google Analytics or crash reports already sent to Crashlytics. That data is identified by internal codes and installation identifiers, never by your name or email address, and once your account is deleted it can no longer be connected to you. Google keeps it for the retention periods we set in Google Analytics and Crashlytics, after which it is deleted.
Children
Settle Holidays is intended for adults. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them. You can tell us how many children are travelling on a trip, but we store only that number.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last changed. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
If you have any questions about this policy or your data, contact us at [email protected].
Data safety summary
The data Settle Holidays () collects, as declared for its store listing:
- Personal info: Email address, used for Account management.
- Personal info: Name, used for App functionality.
- Personal info: User IDs, used for Account management, Analytics.
- App activity: App interactions, used for App functionality, Analytics.
- App activity: Other user-generated content, used for App functionality.
- App info and performance: Crash logs, used for Analytics.
- App info and performance: Diagnostics, used for Analytics.
- Device or other IDs: Device or other IDs, used for App functionality, Analytics.
Data is encrypted in transit.
You can delete your account by emailing [email protected] from the address you sign in with; see https://settledevelopment.com/holidays/delete-account/.