Legal — Gowme Travel

Privacy Policy

Gowme Travel AS ("we", "us") is a tourism information service registered in Norway. We provide digital tools that generate personalized trip information, including route suggestions, points of interest, cost estimates, KML files, and Google My Maps links. We do not sell, organize, book, or facilitate travel services of any kind. Contact: [email protected].

Personal data we process

• Account data: email, display name (if provided).
• Usage/technical data: IP, user-agent, timestamps, basic app events.
• Trip data: POIs, routes, generated KML, resulting My Maps URLs.
• Support data: messages you send us.

Purposes & lawful bases (GDPR Art. 6)

• Contract — deliver your map link, send confirmations/magic-link.
• Legitimate interests — security, fraud prevention, service improvement.
• Consent — optional analytics or product updates (opt-in only).

Sharing

We use infrastructure/email/analytics providers under appropriate data protection terms. We do not sell personal data.

International transfers

Where data is transferred outside the EEA/UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards (e.g., Standard Contractual Clauses).

Retention

• Account data: while your account is active or necessary for the purposes.
• Logs/usage: typically 30–180 days, then deletion or aggregation.
• Trip artifacts: as needed to provide the service; you may request deletion.

First-party product analytics

We collect anonymised usage data (page views, button clicks, scroll depth, video engagement, and similar in-app events) using our own internal system. This data is stored solely on our own servers, is never shared with or sold to third parties, and is used exclusively to understand how the product is used and to improve it.

The lawful basis for this processing is our Legitimate Interest (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)) — specifically, the interest in improving the quality and usability of the Service. Where you have consented to analytics cookies, we may additionally associate a full IP address with an event record; otherwise only your country (derived from network routing) is stored. Each visitor is assigned a pseudonymous identifier (gowme_vid) stored in your browser (cookie and local storage) to link events and identify you when you return.

You may object to this processing at any time by contacting us at [email protected]. Event records are retained for up to 90 days, after which they are deleted or aggregated.

Referral / partner data

If you join our Referral Program, we additionally process: your name, email, country, business type and organisation/tax number (if provided), your referral activity (clicks, referred sales, commissions earned), and payout records. Identity verification and bank/payout details are collected and stored directly by Stripe (our payments & payouts processor) under Stripe's own terms — we do not see or store your full bank details.

Lawful bases: performance of a contract (the Referral Agreement, GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)) and our legitimate interest in operating and securing the program (Art. 6(1)(f)).

We share limited, masked data about referred customers with the responsible referrer (partial email, first name, country) solely to attribute and verify commissions. Referrers are contractually prohibited from contacting those customers directly.

Partner and payout records are retained for the duration of the partnership and afterwards as required by Norwegian accounting/bookkeeping law (typically 5 years). You can exercise your GDPR rights, or object to this processing, by contacting [email protected].

Third-party processors

We may use the following categories of service providers to help operate the Service:

• Payments & payouts: Stripe — card processing, identity verification, and Referral Program payouts via Stripe Connect
• Infrastructure: hosting, CDN, database services
• Email delivery: transactional email providers
• Analytics (opt-in): Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity (if you consent to analytics cookies)
• Marketing (opt-in): Meta/Facebook Pixel (if you consent to marketing cookies)

All processors are bound by appropriate data protection agreements (DPAs) and process data only on our instructions.

Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (TLS), access controls, and regular security reviews.

Your rights

Under GDPR (and similar laws), you have the right to:

• Access — obtain a copy of your personal data
• Rectification — correct inaccurate data
• Erasure — request deletion ("right to be forgotten")
• Restriction — limit how we use your data
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw consent — at any time (for consent-based processing)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days (or as required by applicable law).

Right to lodge a complaint

If you believe we have not handled your personal data properly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (supervisory authority). For EEA residents, you can find your authority at EDPB Member List.

Automated decision-making

We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects concerning you (GDPR Art. 22).

Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13 (or a higher age where required by law).

International privacy rights

Depending on your country of residence, you may have additional rights:

• EEA residents (GDPR): all rights listed in the "Your rights" section above apply in full. Your data protection authority can be found at the EDPB Member List.
• UK residents (UK GDPR): you have equivalent rights under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. You may lodge a complaint with the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office).
• California residents (CCPA/CPRA): you have the right to: (1) know what personal information we collect and how it is used; (2) request deletion of your personal information; (3) opt out of the "sale" of personal information. Gowme does not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. To exercise your rights, contact [email protected].
• Other jurisdictions: if your local law grants you additional data protection rights not listed here, we will honor them to the extent required by mandatory applicable law. Contact [email protected].

Email & Communications Policy

Types of messages

• Transactional: personal My Maps link, confirmations, magic-link, status.
• Product updates (optional): only if you explicitly opt-in.

Where addresses come from

Users enter emails themselves in the app. We never use purchased/scraped lists.

Unsubscribe & preferences

• Every non-essential message has an Unsubscribe or preference link. We also supportList-Unsubscribe headers for compatible clients.
• For essential transactional messages, if you reply and ask us to stop, we will suppress the address.

Bounces & complaints

• Hard bounce: address is suppressed (no further sends).
• Spam complaint: address is suppressed; we may investigate the event.

Abuse prevention

We rate-limit, monitor patterns, and may temporarily restrict sending to protect users and the platform.

Cookies Policy

We use cookies to make the site work and, with your consent, to understand usage and improve the product. You can change preferences anytime via Manage cookies.

Categories

• Strictly necessary (Essential) — session/security, consent storage. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics (optional) — usage metrics (only with your opt-in).
• Marketing (optional) — advertising and conversion tracking (only with your opt-in).

What we set

Managing consent

New visitors see a banner with options: Accept, Reject, Manage. Change anytime via the link in the footer.

Terms of Service

Acceptance

By using the Service, you agree to these Terms and the policies above.

Service description

Gowme Travel AS is a tourism information service (informasjonstjeneste). We provide digital tools that generate personalized trip information, including route suggestions, points of interest, cost estimates, KML files, and Google My Maps links. We also provide a Trip Sharing feature that displays information about other travelers with similar plans and provides communication tools so travelers may contact each other independently. Some features may rely on third-party services (e.g., Google My Maps). We do not sell, organize, book, or facilitate travel services of any kind.

Your responsibilities

• Provide accurate information, protect your access, and comply with applicable laws.
• No spam, fraud, scraping personal emails, or abusive behavior.

Intellectual property

You retain rights to your content. You grant us a non-exclusive license to process it solely to provide and improve the Service. Our brand/code are protected.

Plans & payments

If paid features appear, pricing/taxes/refunds will be disclosed in the UI and/or checkout.

Liability

The Service is provided "as is." To the fullest extent permitted by Norwegian law (norsk lov), Gowme Travel AS, its directors, employees, and affiliates shall have no liability for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from or in connection with: use of the Service; any interaction between users (online or offline); any personal injury, death, illness, property damage, theft, or financial loss occurring during or as a result of any shared trip; any dispute between users; any false or misleading information provided by users; any reliance on match scores or algorithmic output; any third-party services or products. This limitation applies regardless of the legal theory (contract, tort/delikt, strict liability, or otherwise). Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory Norwegian law, including liability for gross negligence (grov uaktsomhet) or willful misconduct (forsett) by Gowme Travel AS itself.

Suspension & termination

We may suspend or terminate access for violations, security risks, or unlawful use.

Changes

We may update these Terms and policies; material changes will be announced in-app or by email.

International users

The Service is operated by Gowme Travel AS from Norway and is available to users worldwide. By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms regardless of your country of residence.

• European Economic Area (EEA) users. Your rights under GDPR (as implemented in your country) and the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) are fully preserved. Gowme Travel AS does not organize package travel within the meaning of EU Directive 2015/2302 (Package Travel Directive) or any national implementation thereof.
• United Kingdom users. Your rights under UK GDPR and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are preserved. Gowme does not organize package travel within the meaning of the UK Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
• United States users. The Service is provided "as is" without warranties. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable U.S. state and federal law, Gowme disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) as described in our Privacy Policy.
• All other jurisdictions. If any provision of these Terms is unenforceable in your jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and all remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

Regardless of your jurisdiction, Gowme Travel AS is an information service provider only and does not organize, sell, or facilitate travel services in any country.

Governing law & jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute arising from the use of the Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Norway (norsk lov). Any dispute that cannot be resolved amicably shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Norway (Oslo tingrett as first instance). If you are a consumer resident in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or any other jurisdiction with mandatory consumer protection laws, nothing in these Terms deprives you of the protection of the mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and mandatory local consumer law, the mandatory local law shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.

Contact

Questions: [email protected]

Referral & Affiliate Program Terms

Provisjonsavtale. These Referral & Affiliate Program Terms (the "Agreement") govern participation in the Gowme Referral Program. You accept this Agreement by checking the acceptance box during referral signup at /referral/join. This is the canonical, publicly available version of the terms presented during signup.

1. Parties

This Agreement is between Gowme Travel AS (org. no. 933 862 953), Oslo, Norway ("Platform", "we") and the individual or entity who applies to and is accepted into the Program, identified by the email used at signup ("Referrer", "you").

2. Commission

Referrer earns 30% of the net sale price (excluding VAT/sales tax) for each customer who purchases through their unique referral link.

3. Independent Contractor

Referrer is an independent contractor, not an employee, agent, or representative of Platform. Referrer is solely responsible for their own taxes and social contributions.

4. Holdback & Payouts

Commissions are held for 15 days after purchase (customer return period). Payouts are processed automatically via Stripe Connect to Referrer's bank account.

5. Refunds

If a customer receives a refund, the corresponding commission is reversed. If already paid out, Platform may deduct it from future payouts or request repayment.

6. Prohibited Conduct

The following actions are strictly prohibited and will result in immediate termination: self-referral (purchasing through your own link); cookie stuffing or forced clicks; toolbar or browser extension injection; impersonation — presenting yourself as a Gowme Travel employee or official representative; fake reviews or testimonials; misleading claims such as "free trip" or "win a prize".

7. Brand & Trademark

Bidding on "Gowme", "Gowme Travel", "Fluffy Trip Planner" or any variations as keywords in Google Ads or any search engine PPC is strictly prohibited. Paid advertising on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube is allowed, but ads must not imply an official partnership unless agreed in writing. Registering domains containing "gowme", "fluffy trip planner" or similar names is prohibited. Referrer may use Platform's logo in promotional materials.

8. Allowed Promotion Channels

Personal blogs, YouTube, social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads), Reddit, Quora, forums & communities (with appropriate disclosure that the link is a referral), podcasts, Telegram channels.

9. Prohibited Traffic Sources

Referrer must not place referral links on or drive traffic from: adult or pornographic content sites; gambling or betting sites; sites promoting weapons, drugs, or contraband; hate speech or discrimination content; malware, spyware, or phishing sites; pirated content sites; doorway pages created solely to rank for specific queries and redirect to the referral link; sites with poor reputation including link farms, private blog networks (PBN), or scraped content aggregators; spam of any kind including unsolicited email, SMS, social media, forum, or comment spam; email newsletters or any form of bulk email distribution; pop-under or pop-up ads without relevant content context; bot or artificial traffic including purchased clicks, click farms, or automated scripts; traffic exchange networks.

10. Incentivized Traffic

Placement on cashback, loyalty, or coupon sites requires prior written approval from Platform. "Click for reward" schemes are prohibited.

11. Data & Privacy

Referrer receives limited, masked client data (partial email, first name, country) for tracking purposes only. Referrer must not attempt to contact clients directly. Platform processes Referrer's personal data (name, email, country, bank details via Stripe) for the purpose of administering the referral program and payouts. Data is processed in accordance with GDPR and Platform's Privacy Policy. Referrer may request data access, correction, or deletion by contacting Platform at [email protected].

12. Termination

Either party may terminate with 30 days written notice. Pending commissions for verified sales will be paid out. Platform may terminate immediately for breach of points 6–10.

13. Liability

Platform's total liability is limited to unpaid commissions. Platform is not liable for lost profits, indirect or consequential damages.

14. Governing Law

This Agreement is governed by Norwegian law. Disputes shall be resolved by Oslo District Court (Oslo tingrett).

Contact

Referral program questions: [email protected]