Privacy and data use
Updated 23 September 2026
PickaWhen stores the information needed to run your polls, including private invitee addresses when an organizer adds them. You can create and answer polls without signing in. Automatic reminders require the organizer to verify their email. We do not sell your data or use advertising trackers.
Who is responsible?
S. Kramer
For access, correction, deletion or other privacy requests, contact: admin@pickawhen.com
Scheduling assistant
The optional chat sends your chat message to an external AI provider to interpret scheduling instructions. Use only dates, times and requirements. Names and contact details can be added later; details in other fields are not forwarded. Checks block common email addresses and credentials, but cannot detect all personal or confidential information. PickaWhen does not save chat text with polls. The local chat text is removed when you clear it, leave or reload the page. The manual rule form works without external AI processing.
External AI processing
The AI provider is based in China, which has no EU adequacy decision for personal-data transfers. The provider’s retention period and exclusion from model training have not been confirmed. Do not enter personal or confidential information in the chat.
Polls and responses
We store the organizer’s email, event title, description, location, dates and settings. For participants we store names, email addresses, availability, bookings and any meeting-format choices. Suggestions, waiting lists, required-attendee addresses and earlier voting rounds also belong to the poll.
Automatic reminders
Organizers can add a private list of invitee email addresses and choose the reminder interval and maximum number. We store these addresses before invitees respond, compare them with response email addresses and send reminders to people who have not replied or booked. For group polls, matching applies to the current voting round. A booking, an unavailable response or joining a waiting list also stops these reminders. They are not reminders shortly before a booked appointment. We keep reminder settings, delivery records and opt-outs. Invitee addresses are private to the organizer and are not sent to the AI provider. Each reminder includes a link to stop reminders for that poll. Removing an address from the active list also stops its reminders.
Who can see your information?
Anyone with the shared poll link can see event details and availability counts. When shared results are enabled for a group poll, they can also see participant names and votes, including unavailable and unanswered options. The response page explains the visibility before you submit. Email addresses stay private to the organizer. New group polls enable shared results by default; the organizer can turn this off before creating the poll or later. Existing polls keep their previous visibility. Once replies exist, a private poll cannot switch to shared results. The organizer can view names, contact details and responses, and export a participant list. Keep admin and private response links private.
Optional sign-in
My planning uses your email address to find the polls you created. We send a single-use sign-in link that expires after 15 minutes. We store your email with sign-in and session records; access tokens are stored as hashes. We do not store a password. A necessary secure cookie keeps you signed in for up to seven days. Signing out removes the current session, while your polls and saved preferences remain. Other device sessions remain active until they expire or are ended.
Preferences and browser storage
Your browser provides a time zone for displaying times. If you save preferences in My planning, we store your selected time zone and notification setting with your email. Browser storage also remembers language, time format and private response access. Duplicated polls and reviewed appointment previews use session storage to move a draft between pages. Appointment drafts contain rules and selected times, without chat messages or contact details. The creation page removes a draft from storage when it opens it; unused drafts are rejected after 30 minutes. You can clear this browser storage on your device.
Why we use this data
We process scheduling and sign-in data to provide the service you request. Our legitimate interests support security and abuse prevention, including IP-based rate limiting. Service emails include access links, booking messages and notifications controlled by your settings. For automatic reminders, we rely on our legitimate interest in helping organizers collect scheduling responses. The organizer supplies the invitee email addresses. You can stop reminders through the link in each reminder or object to this use by contacting us. We do not use these addresses for marketing.
How long we keep it
Polls expire one year after creation. Daily cleanup removes expired polls and their linked records, including invitee addresses and reminder records. Organizers can delete a live poll sooner from its admin page. Removing an invitee from the active list stops reminders, but we retain the address, reminder count and opt-out until poll deletion so re-adding it cannot bypass those limits. Separate abuse-prevention counters use hashed identifiers and are kept for seven days. Unused sign-in links expire after 15 minutes and sessions after seven days; cleanup removes expired records. Saved preferences are removed after one year without changes. Expiry prevents access before cleanup runs.
Backups
Backups are kept separately for recovery. Routine server backups retain seven daily copies and four older weekly copies. Additional recovery copies can be retained for maintenance and deployment recovery. Deleting a live poll does not immediately erase these copies. Backup data is restricted to recovery and is not used to operate deleted polls. Contact us about deletion from retained recovery copies.
Hosting and email delivery
Hetzner hosts the core database in Germany. Connections to PickaWhen use HTTPS/TLS. Resend processes recipient addresses and message content to deliver email. Its data processing agreement describes primary processing in the United States and EU Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers.
Statistics and security
We use internal aggregate counts, such as polls and bookings per month. We do not use third-party analytics or advertising cookies. Private access links, input validation and rate limits protect the service. Security processing can include IP addresses and operational logs.
Your choices and rights
You can edit a response or cancel an appointment through its private link. Cancelling a booking does not delete all data connected to your participation. You can stop automatic reminders for a poll through the link in a reminder email, without signing in. This leaves any response you submitted in place. To request access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability or to object to processing, contact us. We verify your identity and normally respond within one month. You can complain to the Dutch Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.
Age and changes
PickaWhen is intended for people aged 16 and over. We update this notice when data use changes and show the revision date above. Material changes will also be explained where you use the affected feature.