El Camino Meeting — Terms & Conditions

Effective date: 15 September 2026 🧭 El Camino Meeting is a community of Pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. By using this app you agree to walk with integrity, respect your fellow Pilgrims, and abide by these terms.

1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

By creating an account or using El Camino Meeting you confirm that you are at least 18 years old and that you accept these Terms & Conditions in full. If you do not agree, you must not use the app.

2. PURPOSE OF THE APP

El Camino Meeting exists for a single, clear purpose: to help Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago find each other and exchange contact details so they can meet in person or continue their conversation through their own preferred channels (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.).

Except for connection requests, El Camino Meeting does not provide, store, or transmit messages between users. Once two Pilgrims have accepted a mutual connection, their contact exchange is complete and all further communication happens entirely outside this app. The app records only the fact that a request was sent, accepted, or declined — never the content of any conversation.

3. COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT

All users must treat fellow Pilgrims with respect and dignity.

The following are strictly prohibited:

• Harassment, threats, or intimidation of any kind

• Sexual solicitation or unsolicited intimate communication

• Sharing another user's personal information without consent

• Impersonating another person or creating a false identity

• Using the app to organise, facilitate, or promote any illegal activity

• Sending spam or unsolicited repeated connection requests

You can block any Pilgrim from the Connections tab. A block is private — the other Pilgrim is not told — and permanent: it cannot be undone from the app. It works in both directions: neither of you can send the other a request, you stop seeing each other in the Pilgrims list, and any pending request or existing connection between you ends. When blocking you may also report the account to the administrator with an optional description of what happened. Reports and blocks from several different Pilgrims are what trigger a review.

Serious or repeated violations may result in account suspension or permanent removal at the administrator's sole discretion. Users who believe a suspension decision was made in error may contact the administrator at camino.meeting@gmail.com. The administrator's decision is not subject to appeal.

4. CONNECTIONS & CONTACT EXCHANGE

A connection in El Camino Meeting is a mutual, bilateral free agreement to share contact details. The process works as follows:

1. Pilgrim A sends a connection request to Pilgrim B. A's selfie and Credencial photo are shared with B, enabling B to verify A's identity before accepting.

2. Pilgrim B accepts or declines. Acceptance is entirely voluntary.

3. Upon acceptance, both Pilgrims receive each other's WhatsApp number and/or Telegram username, and can open each other's profile card (profile photo, nationality, bio, languages, travel dates — and age or gender only if that Pilgrim enabled them). These contact details are stored on our servers for as long as your account exists, and are disclosed only to a Pilgrim whose connection request you have accepted (or who has accepted yours).

4. All further communication between connected Pilgrims happens outside El Camino Meeting, via the contact channels they have chosen to share.

To keep requests meaningful: I) You can send at most 10 connection requests per day; II) After a Pilgrim declines your request you cannot send him/her a new one for 7 days; and III) There is never more than one open request or connection between the same two Pilgrims.

El Camino Meeting stores the connection record (request, status, and resolution date) and the contact details described in point 3. It does not store, read, or transmit any messages or conversation content. Selfie and Credencial photos are permanently deleted from our servers as soon as the request is accepted, declined, cancelled, or ended by a disconnection or a block.

5. ANONYMOUS PROFILES & PEER IDENTITY EXCHANGE

El Camino Meeting does not collect, store, or process government-issued identity documents. All profiles are anonymous by default:

• Only an approximate location is shown — never your exact position

• No real name is required — you may use a Pilgrim alias

• Account registration uses only your Google or Apple account — no identity document is ever required

Registration selfie (mandatory): During account setup, every user is required to take a selfie. This photo is stored on your personal device. When you send a connection request to another Pilgrim, your selfie is automatically and mandatorily shared with the Pilgrim who receives your request of connection, as part of the connection procedure. To enable this exchange, your selfie and Credencial photo are temporarily transmitted to our server for the sole purpose of displaying them to the recipient. Once the request is accepted or declined, the server copies are permanently deleted. This exchange cannot be opted out of — it is one of the trust mechanisms that keeps the community safe.

Credencial photo (mandatory): During account setup, every user is required to photograph their Credencial del Peregrino (Pilgrim passport). This photo is stored on your personal device. When you send a connection request, your Credencial photo is automatically and mandatorily shared alongside your selfie with the Pilgrim who receives your request of connection, under the same temporary-transmission rules described above — temporarily transmitted and permanently deleted once the request is accepted or declined.

Neither your selfie nor your Credencial photo is permanently stored on our servers, and neither is ever reviewed by the administrator or any third party. Temporary copies exist only for the duration of a pending connection request.

6. WHAT OTHER PILGRIMS CAN SEE ABOUT YOU

There are two ways other Pilgrims can notice you, and both are under your control.

Location sharing (the Pilgrims list). While location sharing is on, Pilgrims on the same Camino within one location cell of you (roughly 55 km) can see you in their Pilgrims list: your public name (or, until you set one in your Profile, the first name of your sign-in account), your Camino and whether you walk or cycle — shown with that name and generated initials, never your photo. Nothing more, and never your exact position. Turn location sharing off and you leave the list immediately — and you can no longer see it yourself.

Anonymous counts — two separate options: 1) The map shows how many Pilgrims are in each area of your chosen Camino, and 2) How many Pilgrims declared each stage for tonight. These are counts only — no names, no positions. For safety, a number is shown only once at least 5 Pilgrims are counted; below that, other Pilgrims see "some" if at least one of those Pilgrims has switched the matching option on, and nothing otherwise. The two options are independent and both are off by default: "Let other Pilgrims find me nearby" (option 1 above) covers the area count (based on your rounded GPS position, so it only works while location sharing is on); "Let other Pilgrims know where I'm staying tonight" (option 2 above) covers the stage count (based on the town you declare, with or without GPS). Switching either on means: in a quiet area or stage, you may be the only person behind a "some". You can switch each off at any time.

Profile photo, age and gender are shown only to Pilgrims you are connected with — the photo always, age and gender only if you have enabled "Show age" or "Show gender" in your Profile.

The legal basis for all of the above is your explicit consent under GDPR Article 6(1)(a) . You may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

Your display name, age, and gender are not shared with third parties and not used for advertising.

7. PERSONAL DATA & PRIVACY (GDPR)

El Camino Meeting is committed to compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679) and applicable Spanish data protection law.

We collect only the minimum data needed to operate the service. Stored on our servers:

• Email address and the name provided by your sign-in provider (for account access and service communications)

• Profile details you choose to fill in: display (public) name, nationality, age, gender, languages, bio, your Camino, whether you walk or cycle, your travel dates, and your display preferences

• Profile photo (stored on our servers; shown only to Pilgrims you are connected with; deleted when you replace it or delete your account)

• WhatsApp number and/or Telegram username (stored on our servers for as long as your account exists; disclosed only to a Pilgrim you have connected with)

• Approximate location: your exact position is sent only to be rounded to a cell of roughly 55 km, and only that cell is stored — never your exact coordinates

• Your declared stage for tonight (used only for the anonymous count shown on the map; one entry per account, replaced whenever you declare a new one, no longer counted after 24 hours, removed when you clear it)

• Whether your selfie and Credencial photos are present on your device (a yes/no flag only — the photos themselves stay on your device)

• Connection records (request sent, accepted, declined, cancelled, or disconnected — no message content)

• Pilgrims you have blocked, whether you also reported them, and the reason you gave

• Diary entries and their photos, and Sello Album photos with the place and time each sello was taken (visible only to you)

Stored only on your device, never on our servers:

• Credencial and selfie photos (temporarily transmitted to our servers only while a connection request is pending, then permanently deleted — see Section 5)

• Emergency contacts

• Camino route packages (GPX data, waypoints, and stage information downloaded on demand; never transmitted back to our servers)

Route data storage: When you select a Camino, the app downloads a route package (GPS waypoints and stage information) from our servers and stores it locally on your device. This data is sourced from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors — ODbL) and is cached for offline use. You can delete any downloaded route package at any time from the "DOWNLOADED MAPS" list in your Profile (the trash icon next to each Camino). This data is never associated with your identity on our servers.

We may occasionally send you service communications by email (for example: maintenance notices, security alerts, or important changes to the app). These are sent on the legal basis of performance of contract (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)) and are not marketing messages. Every such email includes instructions on how to unsubscribe or request erasure of your data.

You can export what the app holds about your Camino at any time with "Download my Camino" in your Profile: your profile details, your diary (text and photos), and your sellos with the place, date and coordinates of each one.

Your GDPR rights include: access, rectification, erasure, portability, and the right to object. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at camino.meeting@gmail.com or by replying to any service email. Requests are processed within 30 days.

8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

El Camino Meeting facilitates contact exchange between Pilgrims but is not responsible for the actions, behaviour, or conduct of any user after their contact details have been exchanged.

We expressly disclaim all liability for:

• Any in-person interaction that results from use of the app

• The accuracy of identity documents exchanged between users

• Loss arising from reliance on information provided by other users

• Any communication that takes place outside this app (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.)

• Interruption of service, data loss, or technical failures

Each user is solely responsible for exercising personal judgement before agreeing to meet any connection in person. Always exercise common sense on the Camino.

9. FUTURE FEES & SUBSCRIPTION

El Camino Meeting is currently free to use. We may introduce optional premium features or a subscription in the future if this benefits the community.

Any change to a paid model will:

• Be announced at least 30 days in advance

• Require your explicit consent before any charge is made

• Never retroactively charge for previously free features

You will never be charged without your clear and separate consent.

10. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The El Camino Meeting name, logo, and all content created by us are our intellectual property. User-generated content remains yours, but you grant us a limited licence to display it within the app solely for the purpose of operating the service.

11. GOVERNING LAW

These terms are governed by the laws of Spain and the European Union. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

12. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS

We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email, to the address of your sign-in account. Continued use of El Camino Meeting after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

🚶 Buen Camino. Walk with respect, care for your fellow Pilgrims, and carry the spirit of the Way. © FreeDoors! 2026. All rights reserved.