Privacy Policy

Last updated 23 October 2026

PaceMate helps people find and join group runs, swims and rides. This policy explains what information we collect, why, who can see it, and the choices you have.

PaceMate is run by Vekgard Pty Ltd (ACN 702 938 547) ("we", "us"). We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

We only ask for information that PaceMate needs in order to work, and you choose what you add beyond your email address and name. By creating an account you agree to us collecting, holding and using your information as described in this policy.

What we collect

Account details: your email address. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive the basic details they share, usually your name, email address and profile picture.

Your profile: your name, plus anything you choose to add, such as a profile photo, a short bio, your general home area, the sports you do, your usual pace for each sport and what you are training for.

Your age check and agreement: when you sign up you enter your date of birth. We use it only to check that you are 18 or older and we do not keep it. We keep that the check passed, how and when, and that you accepted our Terms, with the date you did so.

Sessions and activity: sessions you post (sport, time, distance, pace or speed, general area, exact meeting point, message to the group and a route file if you upload one), sessions you join or wait for, the time you tap "I'm here" at a session, group chat messages, photos you add to a session, comments, questions and answers on a session, invites you send, props you give, the people you follow, and any reports or blocks you make.

Photos: only the photos you choose to upload, as your profile photo or to a session you took part in. Each photo is checked automatically by an image safety service before it is shown, so that explicit or violent images are blocked. The photo is sent to that service for this check only.

Notifications: if you turn on notifications, we store a code that identifies your phone to Apple's or Google's notification service so we can send you reminders and updates. You can turn notifications off at any time in your phone settings.

Location: only if you allow it, when you tap "Allow location" while setting up or "Use my location" later. We use it while the app is open to show sessions near you or to place a session you are posting. We do not track your location in the background and we do not keep a history of where you have been. The only position we keep is an alert area you choose to save.

Alerts: if you tap "Alert me", we keep the sport, the area (a map position and distance) and the place name you chose, until you turn the alert off in Settings. If you set it with "Use my location", that position is kept for the alert.

Links: when someone opens a PaceMate link (go.vekgard.com), the page shows a summary of that session or post (see "Who can see what"). If you install PaceMate on Android from a link, Google Play passes the link's code to the app when it first opens, so it can take you to that session or post after you sign up.

Place searches: when you search for a suburb or place, the words you type are sent through our server to mapping services to find it. When you place a meeting point, its position is sent the same way to check the spot.

Weather: to show the forecast for a session, our server asks a weather service for the forecast at the session's meeting area. This is the session's location, not yours, and nothing about you is sent.

Calendar: only if you tap "Add to calendar". This opens your phone's own calendar screen with the session filled in. PaceMate does not read your calendar.

Error reports: if the app hits an error, it sends us the error message, the screen it happened on, the app version and your phone type, so we can fix it. It may include technical crash details (stack traces, the list of program steps that led to the error). It does not include anything you typed.

Technical information needed to keep you signed in and the service secure, such as sign-in tokens and basic service logs.

What we do not do

We do not show ads. We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.

PaceMate does not access your contacts or microphone. It can only see the photos you choose to upload, never the rest of your photo library.

Who can see what

Other signed-in members can see your profile: your name, photo, bio, general home area, sports, pace, what you are training for, your badges, and how many followers and props you have. How many sessions you have joined and hosted is shown only to the people who can see your sessions (see below).

Sessions you host: you choose who can join each one. "Anyone" shows it to signed-in members nearby, "Followers" shows it to people who follow you, and "Invite only" hides it from everyone except the people you invite. Anyone you send a session's link to can also see it and join.

Sessions you join or have taken part in: you choose who sees these in Settings, under "Who sees my sessions". The choices are everyone, only people who follow you, or only you. If you choose "only you", you are still counted in a session's numbers, but your name and photo are not shown to others.

Photos and comments on a session can be seen by other signed-in members. You can remove your own photos and comments, and a host can remove any on their session.

Questions and answers on a session can be read by everyone who can see that session.

Meeting points: a host can choose to show the exact meeting point only to people who have joined. Otherwise signed-in members can see it. Only people who have joined a session can see its group chat and who has tapped "I'm here".

Most of PaceMate can only be seen by signed-in members. The exception is links people share. An invite link shows anyone who has it the session's sport, name, day and time, general area, the host's first name and how many are going, never the exact meeting point. A post link shows the same kind of summary for sessions open to anyone (sport, name, day, area and how many went). For Followers and Invite only sessions, or when the host keeps their sessions private, it shows nothing about the session. Chat apps such as WhatsApp may show this summary as a preview when a link is shared.

If you block someone, they cannot see your profile, sessions or messages, and you will not see theirs.

We may view information when we need to run the service, respond to a report, keep people safe or meet a legal obligation.

How we use it

To run PaceMate: showing sessions, managing places and waitlists, delivering messages and sending you sign-in codes and important account emails.

To keep the community safe: reviewing reports, preventing spam and misuse, and enforcing our Terms and Community Guidelines.

To meet our legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

Where your information is stored and who helps us

Your information is stored in a secure data centre in Sydney, Australia.

We use a small number of trusted service providers to run PaceMate. Each only receives what it needs to do its job, and none of them may use your information for their own marketing. Some of them handle information outside Australia:

Database, sign-in and file storage (Supabase): Sydney, Australia.

Emails such as sign-in codes and important account emails (Resend): sent from Japan. They include your email address.

Place search and maps (Google): United States. They receive the words you search for and map positions, not your name.

Backup place search and spot checks (OpenStreetMap's public services): Germany and Austria. They receive the words you search for and map positions, not your name.

Weather (Open-Meteo): Switzerland. It receives the session's meeting area only.

Image safety checks (Google Cloud Vision): Google's servers, mainly in the United States. It receives the photo you upload, for the check only.

Notifications: sent through Expo's push service in the United States, then Apple's or Google's notification service, to reach your phone. They include the notification text and your phone's notification code.

Link pages and previews (Cloudflare): a global network. It receives the address of the link opened and standard technical details such as your IP address.

App building and delivery (Expo): United States. Sign in with Apple or Google, if you choose to use them: their own servers, mainly in the United States.

Keeping it secure

Information is encrypted when it travels between your phone and our servers, and your login on your phone is stored encrypted. Our database only lets each person see what they are allowed to see.

No system is perfectly secure. If you think your account has been misused, contact us straight away.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account is open. You can delete your account at any time in Profile and settings. This permanently removes your profile, your photos, your messages and comments, your upcoming hosted sessions (people who joined are told they are cancelled) and your memberships. Past sessions you hosted stay for the people who went, shown as hosted by a former member, without your name or photo. If you cannot use the app, email us from the address on your account and we will delete it for you.

We may keep limited records where we need them for safety or legal reasons. A report about someone's behaviour, including a copy of the reported content, is kept for up to two years, even if either person deletes their account.

Some records are deleted automatically: notifications after 180 days, app error reports after 90 days, reports after 2 years, saved weather forecasts after 1 day, and records we use to limit how often a service can be used after 2 days.

Copies in our backups are removed within 30 days.

Your choices and rights

You can update your profile at any time, turn off location access in your phone settings, and delete your account in the app.

You can ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, by emailing info@vekgard.com.

If you have a privacy complaint, please contact us first so we can fix it. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

Age

PaceMate is only for people aged 18 or older. When you sign up we ask for your date of birth. If it shows you are under 18, the account can't be used, and we keep a record that the check failed so it can't simply be tried again.

Anyone can report an account they think belongs to someone under 18 (tap the three dots on their profile and choose "Appears to be under 18"). If we learn that someone under 18 has an account, we will close it.

Changes and contact

We may update this policy. If we make a significant change, we will tell you in the app.

Questions? Email info@vekgard.com.