Consent and safety

1. Who this page is for

This page is written for anyone who visits between-us.app, submits our contact form, joins the private-event interest list, or reads our editorial content. It describes how consent, age checks and safety work on the site.

2. Adult access — 18+

Access to Between Us is restricted to adults aged 18 or older. Our forms require an explicit age confirmation checkbox where age matters (the private-event interest form). Content is deliberately non-explicit and non-pornographic; we do not host or link to explicit imagery. If you are under 18, please leave the site.

• The interest form requires an unticked “I confirm I am at least 18 years old” checkbox before submission.
• The contact form is available to adults for editorial or privacy enquiries; sensitive lifestyle information should not be sent unless you have ticked the explicit consent checkbox.
• We do not verify identity documents and do not collect photo or ID uploads. Access control relies on your truthful confirmation.

3. What consent means on this site

Consent on Between Us is purpose-specific, informed, freely given, and revocable. Consent checkboxes are always unchecked by default, described in the same language as the surrounding form, and separated from ordinary form fields. We never combine unrelated purposes behind a single tick.

• Ordinary privacy acknowledgement: confirms you have read the privacy notice. Required to submit the contact or interest form.
• Explicit Article 9 consent: only relevant if you voluntarily submit sensitive information (see section 5). Optional. Unticked by default.
• Interest-list confirmation: separate email verification step. You are only added to the list after clicking the verification link we send by email.

4. How consent is recorded

Every consent action is recorded server-side with the fields we need to demonstrate that consent was given. We do not store your raw IP address or device fingerprint alongside consent records.

• An immutable consent version identifier for the exact wording you were shown.
• The locale (“en” or “de”) in which the wording was displayed.
• A UTC timestamp of the tick.
• The purpose and form context (e.g. “contact form — special category”).
• An audit event when consent is later withdrawn.

5. Sensitive (special-category) information and Article 9

Information about your sex life, sexual orientation, or lifestyle affiliation is “special category” personal data under Article 9 GDPR and needs a stronger legal basis than ordinary data. On Between Us, the free-text fields on the contact and interest forms could technically contain such information. Because we cannot reliably detect it from free text alone, we handle it with a clear, separated explicit-consent step:

• A separate, unticked-by-default explicit-consent checkbox appears on both forms, in addition to the ordinary privacy acknowledgement.
• On the interest form, if you fill in the free-text fields (chosen names, note) AND indicate sensitive content, submission is blocked server-side unless the explicit consent checkbox is ticked. This is enforced by server-side validation, not just the browser.
• On the contact form, the explicit consent checkbox is optional. If you have not ticked it, please do not paste sensitive information into the message. If you do, the notice above the checkbox asks you to tick it; if you submit without ticking, we treat the message as ordinary correspondence and reply accordingly. Please avoid pasting sensitive information you do not want us to process on this basis.
• You can withdraw explicit consent at any time using the withdrawal and erasure page. Withdrawal takes effect for future processing; processing that already happened up to that point remains lawful.

6. Interest-list verification and withdrawal

Joining the private-event interest list requires two independent steps: (1) submitting the form, and (2) confirming a verification link we send to your email. Records that are not verified within 30 days are deleted. At any time you can withdraw using the link in your verification email or by requesting removal via /contact. Withdrawal deletes or anonymises your record within 30 days and is confirmed by an audit event.

7. Contact form and follow-up

When you write to us through the contact form, we use the email address you provide only to reply to your enquiry. We do not add contact-form senders to any newsletter and do not follow up on unrelated topics. Contact submissions are retained for up to six months after the matter is resolved, unless a legal obligation or ongoing matter requires longer, and you can request full erasure earlier.

8. Safety and reporting

Between Us is a couple-first editorial platform. We do not host user profiles, direct messaging, or community posting. If you encounter content on the site that feels coercive, non-consensual, or otherwise unsafe, please report it via /contact with the URL and a short description. We take reports seriously and respond within a reasonable time.

• For personal safety emergencies please contact the police (112 in Germany/EU).
• For anonymous crisis support in Germany: Telefonseelsorge, 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222, 24/7.
• For questions or concerns specific to Between Us content: hello@between-us.app.

9. Editorial ethics

Editorial content is written for adult couples exploring specific relationship dynamics with mutual consent. We refuse framings that treat one partner as an object, that push readers into non-consensual scenarios, or that trivialise coercion, degradation, or safety risks. We do not publish crude or pornographic imagery. Where topics touch on emotional risk, we describe the risk and point to preparation, aftercare, and boundaries.

10. Cookies, analytics, tracking

We do not use analytics, advertising cookies, marketing pixels or profiling. We do not display a cookie banner because we do not set non-essential cookies. The only information stored locally in your browser is your language preference and, for signed-in administrators only, an authentication session.

11. Contact for consent and safety questions

For anything on this page — to ask a question, to report a concern, to withdraw consent, or to request full erasure — write to hello@between-us.app or use the /contact form. For withdrawal and full erasure, see the withdrawal and erasure page.