Meetup Club (“Meetup Club,” “we,” “us”) helps people find their people and actually show up — in person. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have. We are the data controller for the information described here. Questions, or want to exercise a right? Email [email protected].
The short version: we collect the least we need to run the community, we never sell your data or use it for third-party advertising, we don’t run third-party ad trackers, and you can delete everything yourself at any time.
What we collect
- Account & identity — your email address; a display name if you add one; and, if you choose a social or passkey sign-in, the minimum that method returns: a Google, Apple, Facebook, or GitHub account identifier and verified email (and your name if the provider shares it), or a passkey’s public key (never a password — we don’t use them). If you opt into phone sign-in, your phone number.
- Your activity — gatherings you RSVP to or host (“Beacons”), attendance you or a host records, messages you post in an event’s group thread, and anything you choose to put in your profile.
- Notifications — if you opt in, a push-subscription token for your browser/device.
- First-party, privacy-respecting analytics — page views and an anonymous per-browser token so we can tell “is it working” and “did the launch land.” We do not store your IP address or any third-party tracking identifiers, and we don’t use Google Analytics or ad pixels.
- What we deliberately do NOT collect — your home address or precise location. Cities are a coarse community label, never a map pin.
Where it comes from
Mostly from you. When you choose “Continue with Google, Apple, Facebook, or GitHub,” that provider shares your account id and verified email (and sometimes your name) so we can sign you in and recognize you next time — we request the minimum scopes for that and nothing more (no access to post on your behalf, your contacts, or your friends list).
Why we use it, and our legal bases
- To provide the service — sign-in, RSVPs, hosting, threads, attendance (performance of our contract with you).
- To keep people safe — moderation, abuse/fraud prevention, and rate-limiting (our legitimate interest in a safe community, and legal obligation).
- To send what you ask for — sign-in codes/links and, if you opt in, event reminders and notifications (your consent / our contract).
- To improve — aggregate, non-identifying analytics (legitimate interest).
Where we rely on consent (e.g. notifications), you can withdraw it at any time.
Who we share it with
We never sell your data. We share the minimum necessary with vetted service providers (“processors”) who act on our instructions:
- Email delivery — to send sign-in codes/links and reminders.
- Sign-in providers — Google, Apple, Meta (Facebook), GitHub, and (for phone) our SMS provider, only when you choose that method.
- Infrastructure — our hosting provider, and Cloudflare for DNS, content delivery, and security (DDoS/WAF).
- The on-site assistant — the words you type to our concierge are processed by our AI model provider to generate a reply; we don’t send it your identity to train anyone’s models.
We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our members and the public.
Cookies
We use a single, strictly-necessary session cookie to keep you signed in (and short-lived cookies during a sign-in handshake). No advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. So there’s nothing to consent to beyond keeping you logged in.
How long we keep it
We keep your account data while your account exists. Sign-in codes/links are single-use and expire in minutes. Anonymous analytics are retained in aggregate. When you delete your account, we erase your personal data promptly and keep only an anonymized, no-PII record of past gatherings (see Delete your data).
Your rights & choices
You can access, correct, export, restrict, object to, or delete your data, and withdraw consent. The fastest path for deletion is self-serve at meetup.club/data-deletion. For anything else, email [email protected] and we’ll respond within the time the law requires (generally 30 days). You can also complain to your local data-protection authority.
International transfers
We’re based in the United States and our providers may process data in the US and elsewhere. Where data moves from the EEA/UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) with our processors.
Children
Meetup Club is not directed to children. You must be at least 18 to use it (see our Terms). We don’t knowingly collect data from children; if you believe a child has given us data, email [email protected] and we’ll remove it.
Security
We practice security by design: passwordless sign-in (passkeys, social login, one-time email codes — no passwords to leak), encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS 1.2+ with DNSSEC), strict tenant isolation in our database, least-privilege access, and rate-limiting. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and to notify you of a breach if the law requires.
U.S. state privacy rights (incl. California)
If you live in California or another U.S. state with a privacy law, you have rights to know, access, correct, delete, and to opt out of “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we don’t discriminate against you for exercising your rights. Exercise them at /data-deletion or via [email protected].
Changes
If we make a material change, we’ll update the date above and, where appropriate, tell you. Continuing to use Meetup Club after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
Privacy questions or requests: [email protected]. General: [email protected], or see Contact & safety.