privacy
Your story stays yours.
For our community, privacy is not a legal checkbox but safety. So instead of a wall of legalese, here are six clear promises. Questions? Ask via the contact page.
We ask as little as possible
Only what is needed to match you or answer you: your chosen name, how to reach you and what you choose to share. Never your legal name, documents or diagnoses.
You decide what you share
Every sensitive question in our signup form is optional and has a "rather not say". What you do not share does not exist with us.
We share nothing without your yes
Your data never goes to advertisers, other organisations or researchers. Only the person arranging your match sees what is needed for it.
Everything can be deleted
One message and we delete everything we have about you. No questions, no waiting period, permanently.
We keep things as briefly as possible
If you do not continue after an introduction, we delete your data. If your match ends, we keep only what the law requires, as briefly as allowed.
No tracking software
This website uses no tracking cookies and no ad pixels. We do keep anonymous visit statistics: how many people view a page, nothing more. Nothing is placed on your device and nothing we store can be traced back to you, no IP address and no profile. The counter works with a code that changes every day, so nobody can follow you across days. The participant portal and the dashboard pages are never counted.
You may always change your mind
Everything with us happens on the basis of your explicit consent. You can withdraw it at any moment, just as easily as you gave it. Matching is done by humans, never by automated decision-making.
Concrete retention periods
Contact messages are kept for at most 12 months. Signups that do not lead to a match are deleted after 3 months. After a match ends we keep only what the law requires, as briefly as allowed. Messages in Mijn Break Buddy and shared contact details are stored encrypted, as is your journal in Mijn Break Buddy (which only you can read).
Complaining is allowed, and works
Unhappy with how we handle your data? Email us first and we will fix it. You also always have the right to lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) via autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl.
Formally: Stichting Break Buddy (KvK 97571008, Kapittelweg 140, Hilversum) is the data controller. The legal basis for signups and sensitive data is your explicit consent (art. 6(1)(a) and 9(2)(a) GDPR); for ordinary contact questions, our legitimate interest in answering you. Your data stays within the EEA. For your rights (access, correction, deletion, withdrawal, objection) email us via the contact page. Signing up is possible from age 16. This statement was updated on 6 July 2026.